THE PRESS AND THE WAR: Reading through the New York Times today over lunch was a truly weird experience. The paper is full of details about the stunning success of the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance but the tone is of unremitting gloom. There is a grim photo-spread of a revenge killing by the NA troops against a Taliban soldier. There is much hand-wringing over the difficulties of winning over the Pashtun. There is worry over Pakistan. As I noticed last night, there isn't a sentence of celebration in the editorial. The same mood prevails at NPR and the BBC, according to several emailers to me today. The question is why? I don't think the Times, the BBC or NPR are actually hoping that the West loses in Afghanistan. I don't think any of the major opinion-writers or reporters actually favor the subjugation of women, the murder of homosexuals, the extermination of Jews, the repression of any free press, or the promotion of world-wide terrorism. So why does left-wing NYT-BBC-NPR opinion essentially lament victory? Yes, there's good reason for the press to ask hard questions about the war - but that doesn't fully explain the gloomy mood among many, especially on the left. One thought I've had is that these characters are depressed because they feel disempowered by this war. They are used to determining - or believing they determine - critical events in national and international life. Their predecessors believe - with good reason - that they were critical in ending the Vietnam War and bringing down president Nixon. They like to be the arbiters of our fate, and for the current boomer generation controlling the media, this was a critical reason for their choosing this career path. But in fact, the real arbiters of our fate at moments like these are not liberal media-types. They are warriors from barbaric places in distant continents, hard-headed generals and airforce pilots, commanders of Special Forces units, and elected officials. In this war, the pundits and editorialists and cable news executives have been knocked down a few pegs in the social hierarchy. They have much less power than they had before September 11. And so, even though their minds tell them that they are glad we are winning, their self-interest perpetuates a kind of gloom not felt by anyone else. Of course, their (our?) social and political disempowerment is a very encouraging development of this war, and may well intensify. But in response, the media gloom may also intensify. My prediction: the media elites will get even angrier about this and will soon step up initiatives to throw doubt on the war, undermine it, and generally disparage it. Ignore them. - 11/13/2001 03:56:54 PM

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001