On the Corner at NRO, Jonah Goldberg mentions a letter that revelas the real opinion of a lot of neoconservatives: "who cares if the story about the Qu'Ran was true? We should have suppressed it!"
Which is exactly what this sadistic blogger said a year ago.
The reason that the talk over whether or not Newsweek should have printed the story is important is because it indictaes a desire of many neoconservatives to try to control the media in order to make certain that their agenda isn't questioned, or at least that the evidence that might cause us to question them isn't widely known.
This particular story about flushing the Qu'Ran doesn't strike me as too big a deal. I also think that we are not critical enough of the rioters; even if Newsweek printed a story based on too little information, and even if the riots were a result of that, I still think that blaming Newsweek lets the rioters way off the hook.
Let's be clear. The Newsweek story didn't kill anyone. Rioters did.
Nevertheless, I think that given the brouhaha, it is important to determine whether or not the story was true; just because so many were so quick to condemn Newsweek as liars. And, to be honest, because some of the neocons are definitely trying to muzzle the press. Not that they (most of them, anyway) are trying to violate the First Amendment by putting legal restrictions on the media; but they definitely want the media intimidated into parroting the Bush agenda, and the truth is not high on the list of their priorities.
That is all.
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