weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener) (04/23/86)
In article <7404@cca.UUCP> dee@cca.UUCP (Donald Eastlake) writes: >I am pretty disgusted with the TV coverage of the aftermath of the raid >on Libya.... ... I think that one could >reasonably be opposed to such slanted coverage regardless of whether you >thought the US raid was, on balance, a good idea or not. It is not even >that I would mind slanted coverage, it is the essentially total shut out >of any pro US administration views ... I think all the media is interested in is making money. If it's more fascinating to the public to show ranting and raving Libyans, as opposed to a boring interview with G Schultz, then that's what's going to get shown on TV. As it is, most of the footage angers most Americans, and does not convince them that Reagan is a loonie. If you were correct, the media will carefully avoid showing any more results of terrorist attacks on Americans. ucbvax!brahms!weemba Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
fritz@hpfclp.UUCP (04/29/86)
I accidentally posted this to net.general. Here it is, where it belongs: /***** hpfclp:net.general / fritz / 9:36 am Apr 23, 1986*/ >> I hope that on the net and in America are some people who share my views. > Well, I doubt that you will find people in America who share your > views, because the brainwashing there is getting rather complete. Unfortunately, it is true that the majority of Americans seem to support Reagan in this action. One only has to watch the local stations with their "man on the street" polls to see that. However, don't assume that every person in the US has been "brainwashed" into the Rambo mindset. I have yet to talk to a single person who thought the attack was a good idea. Granted, most of the people I talked to were well-educated and may have understood the ramifications better than the average citizen. These are also mostly people who think Reagan is a bonzo movie cowboy with absolutely no idea of what he is doing to our country and the world. Reagan's agressive tactics (in Libya, in Grenada, with the Soviets, you name it) AND his irresponsible fiscal policies scare the bejeebers out of many of us! And don't assume that the "American propaganda" is all tilted towards Reagan. As little as I watch TV, I still saw several shows (e.g. Nightline) that asked some very hard-hitting questions as to why in blazes we did such a crazy thing, what the rest of the world thinks of us, how it will affect our standing in the world community, how it will affect the safety of Americans AND others, etc. Now, to be honest, I don't necessarily feel that attacking Libya (especially with a ""surgical"" strike like this) was a 100% wrong idea. I don't know how else one gets the attention of a paranoid megalomaniac like Khaddafi. I agree with Reagan on one point: Khaddafi is a dangerous man. He harbors, trains, and encourages terrorists to strike around the world. I am truly grateful he doesn't have access to nuclear weapons. However, ALL OTHER POSSIBILITIES should have been exhausted before we went in with guns blazing -- if for no other reason than to show that we really TRIED, so that we wouldn't have looked quite so much like trigger-happy Rambo's (or cowboys, or state terrorists, or whatever you want to call it). I object to the "state terrorism" label, because at least Reagan, unlike Khaddafi's terrorists, didn't intentionally TRY to kill innocent civilians. The strike was very carefully planned to damage Khaddafi's headquarters, elite guard, and military installations. They even tried to miss the Libyan army installations that weren't fanatically loyal to Khaddafi! I believe that much of the damage to civilian areas was caused by Libya's stray SAM-5 missiles. (Even some of the pictures that Libya released showed Russian writing on the wreckage of the "American" bombs and "plane wreckage"!) And if Khaddafi didn't hide behind innocent civilians by putting his military headquarters in the middle of a civilian area, perhaps NO civilians would have been hurt. I don't want the US to be perceived as some kind of international bully (at least, any more than it already is, *sigh*). I don't want the people of the world to think of America the way intelligent Americans (as opposed to rabid "anti-Commie" types) think of the USSR -- as an agressive, warlike nation that furthers its ideologies and political/economic needs by conquest (in Czechoslovakia, Afganistan, etc.). (I am not sure how to interpret Russia's recent peaceful offers -- as genuine attemps to reduce the tension in the world, or as propagandistic moves that they know Reagan will reject.) But until this right-wing, aggressive, John Wayne/Rambo/kick-their-asses attitude swings back toward a more normal outlook, and we replace Reagan with a more sane leader, I fear America will earn itself more black marks in the eyes of the world. I just hope that's the worst that happens. Gary Fritz Ft Collins, CO {ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz The above are my own opinions, and in no way represent the views of my employer or anybody else who might object.
bane@parcvax.UUCP (05/02/86)
Well, the raid happened. What is the result? It had SOME effect: on "All Things considered" (or was it "Morning Edition) I heard that suddenly translators were being corrected: "Oh, no, we didn't mean 'liquidate American influence', liquidate means kill; we meant 'remove'." The news story said that apparently khadaffi's coalition (and I thought he ruled by himself!) was trying to tone him down. On the other hand, days after I heard that, I heard that terrorism was being increased, perhaps testing Reagan to see if he will follow through on his commitment to militarily oppose terrorism. Whether or not it was the right thing to do, one thing is certain: the raid will be worse than useless if not followed up. We've already shown our willingness to use military force against terrorism (or, we've already lowered ourselves to the terrorists level); to change our tactics now would say, "well, we didn't REALLY mean it", which prompts sneers from the terrorists, and won't convince anyone who thought the bombing raid was a horrible thing. - rene -- Rene P S (nee Steiner) Bane bane@parcvax