One Diplomat Speaks

The mainstream news media is always quick to publicize the dissenting opinions of any and every individual who has so much as a negligible amount of authority. The Associated Press has done it again.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A senior U.S. diplomat said the United States had shown “arrogance” and “stupidity” in Iraq but was now ready to talk with any group except Al-Qaida in Iraq to facilitate national reconciliation.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera television aired late Saturday, Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department offered an unusually candid assessment of America’s war in Iraq.

“We tried to do our best but I think there is much room for criticism because, undoubtedly, there was arrogance and there was stupidity from the United States in Iraq,” he said.

There are several things that are worth saying about this. True to form, I'll do so in a bulleted list.

First and foremost, what authority does Alberto Fernandez have to make statements like this? Is Fernandez a Sate Department spokesman? No, he's a mid-level diplomat, probably equivalent to a Captain or a Major in the Army/Marine Corps. If a member of the military made these kind of statements, he'd be likely to be court martialed. This mid-level diplomat's personal opinion undermines American efforts in Iraq, all because one administrator disagrees with President Bush's policies.

As usual, the media should be ashamed of themselves for making this frontpage news on both MSN and Yahoo! News. If Secretary Rice or Secretary Rumsfeld claim that we're acting with "arrogance" or "stupidity" in Iraq, then maybe I'll listen. I'm tired of the media pushing the partisan opinions of one congressman, or a handful of liberal professors, or some ultra-liberal NGO at me.

There are plenty of people in positions of minor authority in the government who disagree with the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq. I'm not terribly interested in what a mid-level diplomat, or a mid-level CIA analyst, or a mid-level military officer thinks. The fact that the media would turn such a situation into news is just further evidence of how partisan and desperate the media is to try and justify how stupid they think President Bush and his cabinet are. It's getting pretty tired.

Don't believe that the mainstream news media is biased? Don't believe that they have an agenda? Don't believe that they'll find any and every scrap of non-news they can, and then blow it out of proportion to try and force that agenda? Think all reporters are objective and honest professionals? Welcome to the real world. I'm your host, The Fly. Stay tuned.