Then on Monday, October 29 …
The U.S. is to blame for the killing of 16 Protestant worshipers in Pakistan? That seemed to be the implication of what Dan Rather said on Monday night: “Religious tensions are running higher after the U.S.-led terror war in Afghanistan touched off such events as a funeral today for Pakistani Christians gunned down during church services yesterday.”
Rather's brief item in full from the October 29 CBS Evening News: “In Pakistan, religious tensions are running higher after the U.S.-led terror war in Afghanistan touched off such events as a funeral today for Pakistani Christians gunned down during church services yesterday. Three masked gunmen fired on the Protestant congregation, meeting in a Catholic church, with automatic weapons, killing at least 16 people. No one has claimed direct responsibility.”
So “religious tensions are running higher” because of a funeral for the victims of a terrorist attack, not because of the attack itself? And the attack was fueled not by hatred of Christians and/or Westerners, but by a reaction to the war?
Terrorists killed 16 Christian worshipers at a church in Pakistan on Sunday, October 28, but instead of mentioning that as did the NBC Nightly News with a full story on it Sunday night, ABC again concentrated on highlighting civilians killed by U.S. bombing.
Sunday's World News Tonight featured a full story on the deaths of two people in Northern Alliance-controlled territory.
Anchor Elizabeth Vargas set up the October 28 story caught by MRC analyst Jessica Anderson: “Today marks the beginning of the fourth week of the American air strikes in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the bombing campaign was proceeding as expected and he indicated fighting might continue during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. There is also a new round of civilian casualties, as ABC's David Wright reports from Afghanistan.”
From northern Afghanistan, Wright checked in: “Villagers buried their dead today on Afghanistan's Shamali Plain, north of Kabul. The grave is shrouded because this victim was a woman. Even in death, only her immediate family is allowed to see her face. Local doctors say she was one of two who died and 10 hurt when American bombs meant for the Taliban frontlines went astray yesterday. The Pentagon has had no comment. These aren't the first civilian casualties in this war, but it is the first time that U.S. bombs have struck civilians on the Northern Alliance side, and it underscores the risks for U.S. policy. Even when the target's the frontline, the trouble is, people live here.
“An old woman cried out to God in pain. Her daughter says the jets circled overhead before dropping their bombs. All of the wounded were taken to this Italian surgical hospital, the only modern medical facility in this part of Afghanistan. The victims included children as young as four.”
Kate Rowlands, identified as with “Emergency Surgical Center for War Victims,” asserted: “Any victim of bombardments or war is not just a surprise. I mean, it's a tragedy and it's a shock and it shouldn't happen.”
Wright concluded by emphasizing the anger at the U.S.: “In the villages hit, people are angry, especially those on the Northern Alliance side. 'You killed these people. Now you can kill me too,' said this man. Today in Kabul itself, there were new bombing raids. According to witnesses at least 13 more civilians died.”
Referring to the killing of the 16 Protestants in a church in Pakistan, on Monday's Special Report with Brit Hume on FNC, Fred Barnes predicted: “If this had been an errant American bomb that hit this church it probably would have gotten bigger play in the American press, particular on the network news shows that seem to be more interested in American collateral damage, or collateral damage caused by American bombing.”
That's certainly true for ABC News. On Sunday, NBC Nightly News ran a full story from Keith Miller on the church attack, but ABC's World News Tonight didn't touch it on Sunday or Monday night. Good Morning America barely got to it as news reader Antonio Mora read a short item about it during Monday's 7:30am news update.
(This update courtesy of the Media Research Center.)
Note: To see the story of the church massacre, as reported by Catholic World News and featured on Catholic Exchange, click here.
