Pacific Views

What escalation in Iraq?

That's the question you'd be asking yourself if all you were reading was the editorial pages of the major US newspapers.

As a critical turning point in America’s role in the nearly four-year-old Iraq war nears, the editorial pages of the largest U.S. newspapers have been surprisingly — even, appallingly — silent on President Bush’s likely decision to send thousands of more troops to the country.

It follows a long pattern ... of the editorial pages strongly criticizing the conduct of the war without advocating a major change in direction. Now it comes at what appears to be a crucial point, with Democrats in Congress, overcoming their own timidity on the issue, finally emerging Friday with opposition to the buildup — setting up a possible battle royal in the days ahead.

Newspapers, at least in their editorials, have chosen to retreat to the sidelines so far. This comes even as hawkish conservatives such as Oliver North, and dozens of other op-ed contributors, have come out against the idea, and polls show that 11% or less of the public back the idea. That would seem to set the stage for editorials taking a strong stand, for or against.

So, editorialists and editorial page editors, when the f'n hell are you going to write some editorials against the escalation, hmmmm? When you might be able to help prevent it? Or later on, when the escalation has failed, and it's politically safe to criticize?

Via Editor and Publisher.

Posted by Magpie at January 6, 2007 10:58 AM | Iraq | Technorati links |