Like a Rolling Stone
By Jeffrey Breinholt
I have written about the increased tendency of journalists to transform clear U.S. law enforcement victories into crushing defeats, by giving a platform to those who argue the government should not have prosecuted certain people who were ultimately convicted. To most, a conviction or guilty plea should wash this argument away. If not, we must allow the government to claim victory even when it loses a terrorism prosecution, something for which few rational people argue. Legal results matter, unless you are a nihilist.
This trend is on display in a Boston Globe article by Drake Bennett and in a forthcoming Mother Jones article by Eric Umansky, though neither of these articles are particularly disturbing. An article along these lines by Guy Lawson in Rolling Stone a few weeks about convicted terrorist Dareek Shariff, however, drew protest from FBI spokesman John Miller.
Miller’s letter (here) speaks for itself. However, it is important to consider the source of his consternation. Since when is Rolling Stone a source of hard news about counterrorism and public affairs? I appreciate its occasional attempts to be serious, and I have been known to sometimes rely on its music reviews. However, people should be wary about treating it as a reliable bellwether for hard news and political analysis.
Need proof of this? Consider the current issue, which has “Britney Spears: An American Tragedy” on the cover. If you read the article by Matt Taibi, entitled “The Chicken Doves,” you will readily see why Rolling Stone has such a long way to go before it is treated as a respectable source of enlightened political commentary. Here’s how Taibi concludes his article:
Even beyond the war, the Democrats have repeatedly gone limp-d___ every time the Bush Administration so much as raises its voice. Most recently, twelve Democrats crossed the aisle to grant immunity to phone companies who participated in Bush’s notorious wiretapping program. Before that, the Democrats caved in and confirmed Mike Mukasey as attorney general after he kept his middle finger extended and refused to condemn waterboarding. . . . . How much of this bulls___ are we going to take? How long are we supposed to give the Reids and Pelosis and Hillarys of the world credit for wanting, deep down in their molding hearts, to do the right thing? Look, f___ your hearts, OK. Just get it done. Because if you don’t, sooner or later this con is going to run dry. It may not be in ’08, but it’ll be soon. Even Americans can’t be fooled again.
Like, right on, dude! Totally speaking truth to power. Now take a deep breath and ask yourself: is this the type of sentiment that passes for journalism in this day and age? Rolling Stone might tell us about Sheryl Crow’s new album or the upcoming Led Zeppelin tour, but perhaps it should stick to what it knows.
The views in this post are the author's own and do not reflect those of the Department of Justice.