Manipulation, conspiracy, and complicity

Submitted by Ed Halper (United States), Sep 26, 2006 at 22:12

These riots show the depth of ignorance of many Muslims and the ease of manipulating them. No conspiracy? I'm not sure. How many of these people could read the Pope's speech or Rushdie's book? Yet, they are shown carrying protest signs in English! These are not spontaneous protests, but carefully organized.

Moreover, they exist because news sources in the west are willing to broadcast them. They show the extent to which Islamists have been able to use western media to spread terror and sustain the protests--a riot in one area that is broadcast around the world provokes riots in other areas. The media are unwittingly complicit in spreading fear. Since the Islamists are not going to stop, we can only hope that western media comes to recognize how they are being exploited--but I'm not optimistic that that will happen.

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