WSJ

Reuters' 'Holy War'

A Reuters dispatch with the joint dateline KABUL/WASHINGTON includes the following paragraph:

With the campaign now in its fifth week, a hard-line Pakistani Islamic party said on Monday that thousands of pro-Taliban fighters had crossed into Afghanistan, armed with rocket launchers and swords, to wage holy war against the United States.

So the same wire service that refuses to call Sept. 11 "terrorism" refers, without irony, to the war against America as a "holy" one.

Meanwhile, New York Times photographer Vincent Laforet (second article) reports TV networks are overstating expressions of support for the Taliban in Pakistan: "We covered a pro-Taliban demonstration . . . attended by maybe 5,000 protestors. CNN stated there were 50,000. The BBC estimated 40,000. We're continually hearing of 'violent clashes with police' when the TV stations report on non-violent demonstrations we covered ourselves."

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001