For the presstitutes, who probably gulped their own swill of the invincible, unconquerable and indomitable 'Taliban', the scene of Northern Alliance rag-tags suavely breaching supposedly impermeable enemy lines at Mazar-i-Sharif yesterday was a harrowing reality check.
To the Taliban groupies at Reuters -- this ignominous enemy mouthpiece which hustles with wanton abandon every Taliban cock and bull they stumble upon -- this simply could not be happening, their glazed eyes, welling with tears, watching as Northern Alliance fighters waltz triumphantly into the city with nary any resistance.
Psst! Psst!
Where was the fabled, mythical Taliban?
Where were these 'brave', 'fierce', 'heroic', 'gutsy', 'valiant', 'towering' 'lionhearts' the media and 'experts' had been peddling for weeks?
Where were the 'fearless', 'battlehardened' 'warriors' of the Taliban -- whom, we were told, would remain 'defiant', would never surrender territory to those 'hated' 'infidels'?
For the press, the morbid events unfurling at Mazar-i-Sharif must have felt like watching a crummy movie with a lousy plot: The bad guys are winning! The bad guys are winning!
To the media crackpots, we -- America and our allies -- are the "bad guys", of course; the Taliban, the "good guys", in accordance with an old Arab proverb: To wit, the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend'.
The torrent of absurd/inflated/exaggerated claims by the media regarding the Taliban could fill ten Congressional libraries -- wall-to-wall.
Most 'experts' never gave the Northern Alliance a snowball's chance of advancing absent massive numbers of American ground troops to lead the way.
Their 'predictions' have passed from the sublime to the preposterous.
Apparently, the empty suits at Reuters et al, in their haste to cast the enemy as unbeatable Goliaths, blithely ignored the most salient lesson from Desert Storm: Never short-sell the men and women of our military.
Doubtless, the rebels' victorious advance on Mazar-i-Sharif -- this vital northern city which opens up pivotal munitions and logistical re-supply lines -- would not have been thinkable absent the searing bombardment from the air.
As with the Gulf war, air supremency was key in dismantling the enemy's defenses, even his will to fight.
But the newsies, all wrapped up in their bleeding-heart liberal, guilt-ridden, third-world gobbledygook, wouldn't know the first thing about military doctrine or the art of modern warfare if their lives depended on it.
The Four Estate seems interminably frozen in the mindset of Vietnam. It might well be wishful thinking -- ergo, a partisan yearning to see their nemesis, President George W. Bush, colossally defeated on an issue which traditionally has played to Republican strength, or it might just be abysmal ignorance.
Or maybe both.
Either way, filling the airwaves with unbridled distortions and half-truths does the public a hideous disservice.
Item: Bob Schiffer, CBSNEWS' chief Washington correspondent and host of Face The Nation, speculated openly on the Larry King show following the President's address, that the war, by his lights, "was not going well"; that the U.S. badly miscalculated how long it would take to defeat the Taliban.
All was pure speculation. No authoritative names or sources were cited.
Yet, this worthless clap-trap is trotted out as gospel each night on the news before millions of viewers.
Thankfully, however, all of the polls suggest the public, wisely, isn't buying it.
Memo to the 'armchair' "generals" and second-guessers: With the crushing defeat of the Taliban at Mazar-i-Sharif, your credibility is now in a death spiral.
God bless our President, God bless our troops, and God bless the United States of America!
My two cents..
"JohnHuang2"
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