Newsweek did a very bad thing when it published an item without a second source regarding alleged misuse of the Koran at Guantanamo.  Many deaths have resulted and many more will.  Dennis Prager has gone so far as to say that "Newsweek is directly responsible for the deaths of innocents and for damaging America." (www.dennisprager.com)  The left denies that the item was politically motivated and seem to be chagrined that the story might not be true (see The Nation, June 6, 2005 issue).  We may never know the truth.  In actuality, it doesn’t matter.  The article did its damage.  Especially during wartime, the news media needs to be careful about what it prints.  This means that facts MUST be confirmed.  This is not censorship.  It is good journalism.

Having said that, I believe that we are missing the mark.  Newsweek handed ammunition to the terrorists in Afghanistan and in the rest of the world.  The magazine, however, did not directly kill anyone.  We are not focusing our attention on the REAL enemy in this situation. 

In an editorial written for the New York Times (Minneapolis StarTribune, May 20, 2005) David Brooks pointed out that even the administration is “bending over backward to show sensitivity to the Afghans who just went on a murderous rampage.  Talk about the bigotry of low expectations”.

Brooks went on to write that “maybe we should all focus on what's important. Newsweek's little item was seized and exploited by America's enemies in a way that was characteristically cynical, delusional and fascistic.  The people who seized upon this item, like the radical clerics in Afghanistan, are cynical in the way they manipulate episodes like this to whip up hatred and so magnify their own standing.  At the same time, they believe everything that could be alleged about America -- and more. They've spent so many years inhabiting a delusional mental landscape filled with conspiracy theories and paranoia that you could drill deep into their minds without ever touching reality”.

As asserted by Brooks, the point is this:  “The rioters are the real enemy, not Newsweek and not the American soldiers serving as prison guards”.

Brooks pounded home his viewpoint by quoting a section from a sermon delivered by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris, which ran last weekend on the Palestinian Authority's official TV station:

‘The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and the entire world -- except for the Jews. The Jews will not enjoy a life of tranquility under our rule because they are treacherous by nature, as they have been throughout history. The day will come when everything will be relieved of the Jews -- even the stones and trees which were harmed by them. Listen to the Prophet Muhammad, who tells you about the evil end that awaits Jews. The stones and trees will want the Muslims to finish off every Jew.’

This is the mindset of the enemy: hatred for Americans and Jewish people.  Ever time a media outlet publishes a story that can be used to inflame Muslims, the extremists will take advantage of that story to incite.  Terrorists will be created with every such occurrence.  Newsweek may have underestimated the threat or it may have intentionally used the story to undermine our administration.  It doesn’t matter.  We cannot ignore the fact that it was terrorists who have killed and who will continue to kill anyone with whom they disagree. 

As Brooks stated, “These are…the real enemy. Let's keep our eye on the ball.”