Moral Equivalency

As I’m sure you’ve heard, CNN recently decided that, in the spirit of journalistic integrity, the public interest was served by showing a video (made by Iraqi insurgents) that contains multiple sniper hits on civilians and US
military personnel in Iraq.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fudKBxQyTrk

Hat tip: LST

It’s no real surprise to see CNN doing their best to become Al-Jazeera West – the cultural legacy of Ted Turner lives on and probably will never die. To me, the most disturbing aspect is the matter-of-fact nature of the narration. There is no indignation, no suggestion by the tone of the reporter that there's anything wrong with this.

It contrasts sharply with the way that most reporters in the major media describe how allied forces conduct even the most basic of operations. I suppose in someone's twisted collection of morals and values, sniping at soldiers and civilians really is considered valorous. Especially compared to something truly reprehensible, like forcing someone to wear panties as a hat or make a naked human pyramid.

I write this not to condone what was done at Abu Ghraib, but to make a point about the incessant addiction of the left to draw moral equivalencies between things that are clearly on different planes of right and wrong.