The White (Wo)Man's Burden

Interviewing is just not NPR's strong suit. Regarding Iraq Renee Montagne this morning let Nancy Pelosi get away with this statement: "The United States overthrew their dictator, gave them elections. Now it is their turn to take responsibility for their security and safety of their people, and the reconstruction of their country."

That is a doozy! It deserves a little unpacking: Overthrew their dictator? No, overthrew OUR dictator, and that only after dismantling THEIR country 16 years ago (...that is so 2oth century), and choking it slowly for another ten. Oh and let's not forget an illegal and lethal invasion and occupation started just four short years ago. Oh, and a corrupt occupation authority. Oh and....you get the picture.

What is Renee Montagne's follow up to this distortion of the past? She asks Pelosi, "Did you learn from the Prime Minister precisely what the benchmarks are that are being discussed?" Unlike interviews, non sequiturs are definitely NPR's strong suit.

This is not just nit-picking. Allowing this statement to go unchallenged is immoral and dangerous. It not only covers-up the gross violence of US foreign policy, but actually glosses it with a veneer of the "noble cause." Also it shifts all the blame onto the Green Zone Government of Iraq. And finally, it justifies the Bush invasion of Iraq, only finding problems with the timing of it and the execution of the occupation, not the entire project.