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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| The Media has Been Obsessed with Al-Sadr - Amir Taheri | |
| 2004-09-04 | |
"This is not to blame television. After all, the seizure of a holy shrine by a militia makes dramatic footage. "There is also the fact that nostalgics of pan-Arabism and pan-Islamists of all ilk, badly in need of a new cult figure, believe that they have found it in the person of the 30-year old Sadr. "Anyway, let us not begrudge Sadr's 15 minutes of fame. The firework that he has provoked in Najaf is unlikely to be remembered either as the rebirth of pan-Arabism or as the revival of the Islamic caliphate in Baghdad. "All this does not mean that Sadr's little show should not be covered. It should. After all, journalism, the realm of the ephemeral, seeks its daily fare in transient events. "Students of journalism, however, know the difference between the events that furnish most of the daily headlines and the undercurrents that shape the broader context of a society's political life. Now, what are the undercurrents that, with eyes fixed on the current events, are largely ignored?" No, they are 'possed to, but apparently, someone is forgetting to tell them. | |
| Posted by:Zarathustra |
| #1 What undercurrents? The usual ones in Iraq. Some tribalism, but more lately, a craving for a "Strong Man" government htat is also fairly benighn. Add to that the natural hostility of Iraq for Iran, and the distrust of the neighbors. Hopefully the Iranians will keep screwing with Iraq, and doing so in way where they get caught - the fastest way to get Sunnis, Shia and Kurds away from each other's throats is to have Persians trheaten to take over. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-09-04 2:42:27 AM |