Greeted Warmly

(the graphic comes from this site)

I wish I could write that David Greene did a great job reporting on Bush in Guatemala. It would be great to say that he both conveyed the words Bush's spoke and that he accurately explained the history of Guatemala: how in 1954 the US orchestrated the overthrow of a peaceful government and proceeded to direct and advise one of this hemisphere's most gruesome, sadistic assaults against poor people, resulting in the murders of over 200,000 people. Furthermore, I'd tell you how Greene explained that the champions of this torture and mass murder policy - people like Elliot Abrams, Dick Cheney, and John Negroponte - are important members of the Bush administration.

Instead on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, Greene (and Robert Siegel) simply parrot the words of our sociopath President and let them stand unchallenged - even Bill Clinton had more decency!

• Siegel: "Mr. Bush visited the countryside there to make the point that the US is using its financial resources to help solve the regions problems."
• Greene: "The town [Bush is visiting] was totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1976 and was rebuilt with help from the US. Mr. Bush was greeted warmly."
• Greene: "Mr. Bush did everything he could to send a message that the United States cares. "

Greene does hint at the dirty little secrets that follow the leader of the "free" world: "There are also memories of this country’s 36 year civil war when the US at times backed the repressive government. " That's it - but that should come as no surprise, NPR has a real fondness for the US policy in Guatemala and for counterinsurgency in general.