Don Imus is a racist. Much as I love him, I can see it in him. And yes, we’re all racists; but Imus stepped in it bad, and it will be fascinating and good to see him reform. I wish him well.
At least he apologized and is doing time. What about all the journalists who were wrong on Iraq? The Rutgers women held a press conference saying Imus hurt their feelings. What about all the American and Iraqi families destroyed, torn apart, blown to the wind, etc., by one of the greatest mistakes in history? Hordes of journalists out of desire for influence and status peddled the administration’s lies and distorted reality to rationalize attacking Iraq. Tom Friedman saw the war as good because of suicide bombers in Israel. Ken Pollack didn’t see any real strife between Sunnis and Shi’as, and neither did Kristol and Kaplan, and none of them thought the Israeli occupation had any bearing on the case. I could go on and on.
At the very least they showed terrible judgment. Last year I watched Pollack rationalize one or two of his errors before the Council on Foreign Relations. George Packer sought to excuse his credulity, wishy-washily, in Assassin’s Gate. Don’t they owe us a lot more? Don’t the New York Times, Washington Post, and WSJ owe us investigations of their conduct and sourcing? The only reporter to suffer professionally for getting us into this horror is Judith Miller. Shouldn’t there be more?
