Today... We May Have Dodged A Lot Of Bullets
Published by BG on Wednesday, May 09, 2007 at 5:53 PM.Whatever you want to think about MediaMatters.org, sometimes the work that they're doing makes a great deal of sense. Take this clip:
Media Matters - ABC's Gibson uncritically reported claim that "we dodged a bullet" by foiling terror plot on Fort Dix
What does "dodged a bullet" mean to you? How do you internalize that message? In my view, it's evocative of a near miss, something that was on the precipice of being truly dangerous, but was pulled back at the very last second.
Obviously, there's no evidence that was a fact. I'm happy that this alleged terror plot has gotten the attention it has, simply because it does provide a template for how these problems can be solved through the cooperation of law enforcement and intelligence efforts.
But who benefits when it is uncritically reported that the FBI says, "we dodged a bullet?" This persistent fearmongering has gone on too long, and when our media is complicit in allowing law enforcement to amplify what was, by all accounts, a bad situation into something that's evocative of a far worse scenario, that's a problem.
No one wanted these guys to strike, but keep in mind that the alleged plot had been under law enforcement surveillance for over a year at this point, and they made the arrests through a weapons-buy sting.
What does that tell you?
Maybe that these guys weren't equipped to strike yet, and that law enforcement knew what they were doing getting close to these guys without just yanking them off the streets and throwing them in Gitmo?
Even the so-called liberal media likes an attention-grabbing headline, and this certainly qualifies. With or without the added hyperbole.
Media Matters - ABC's Gibson uncritically reported claim that "we dodged a bullet" by foiling terror plot on Fort Dix
On the May 8 edition of ABC's World News, anchor Charles Gibson introduced a report about the indictment of six men alleged to have plotted an armed attack on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey, by reporting as fact FBI Philadelphia special agent in charge J.P. Weis' statement that "[t]oday, we dodged a bullet. In fact, when you look at the type of weapons this group was trying to purchase, we may have dodged a lot of bullets."
What does "dodged a bullet" mean to you? How do you internalize that message? In my view, it's evocative of a near miss, something that was on the precipice of being truly dangerous, but was pulled back at the very last second.
Obviously, there's no evidence that was a fact. I'm happy that this alleged terror plot has gotten the attention it has, simply because it does provide a template for how these problems can be solved through the cooperation of law enforcement and intelligence efforts.
But who benefits when it is uncritically reported that the FBI says, "we dodged a bullet?" This persistent fearmongering has gone on too long, and when our media is complicit in allowing law enforcement to amplify what was, by all accounts, a bad situation into something that's evocative of a far worse scenario, that's a problem.
No one wanted these guys to strike, but keep in mind that the alleged plot had been under law enforcement surveillance for over a year at this point, and they made the arrests through a weapons-buy sting.
What does that tell you?
Maybe that these guys weren't equipped to strike yet, and that law enforcement knew what they were doing getting close to these guys without just yanking them off the streets and throwing them in Gitmo?
Even the so-called liberal media likes an attention-grabbing headline, and this certainly qualifies. With or without the added hyperbole.
Powered by ScribeFire.
