Friday, May 04, 2007

IslamoPhobe Of The Day

MSNBC's Crowley Distorted 9-11 Report In Interview With Right-Wing "Terrorism Expert"

Tue, Nov 30, 2004 6:26pm EST
MediaMatters

...The 9-11 Commission Report offers no indication "that our colleges and universities may in fact be breeding grounds for terrorism, for terrorists and terrorist activity." A search of the report for the words "college," "campus," "university," or "breeding ground" reveals no part of the report that supports Crowley's characterization.

Nonetheless, Emerson responded by agreeing that "terrorists have recruited," but he offered no evidence to support Crowley's contention that recruitment has occurred on college campuses or that they may be "a breeding ground for terrorism." On August 5, Media Matters for America noted that Emerson was discredited in a 1999 Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting article that documented his checkered journalistic history:

A closer look at Emerson's career suggests his priority is not so much news as it is an unrelenting attack against Arabs and Muslims. ...

A New York Times review (5/19/91) of his 1991 book Terrorist chided that it was "marred by factual errors...and by a pervasive anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias."

His 1994 PBS video, Jihad in America (11/94), was faulted for bigotry and misrepresentations.

...Emerson's most notorious gaffe was his claim that the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing showed "a Middle Eastern trait" because it "was done with the intent to inflict as many casualties as possible." (CBS News, 4/19/95)

Afterward, news organizations appeared less interested in Emerson's pronouncements. A CBS contract expired and wasn't renewed.

..."He's poison," says investigative author Seymour Hersh, when asked about how Emerson is perceived by fellow journalists.

...He has received funding from [right-wing financier Richard Mellon] Scaife.

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