Angry Arab on the NYT 17, October 2009
Posted by thegulfblog.com in American ME Relations, Middle East.Tags: Angry Arab, New York Times
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The Angry Arab, in a brief comment on a recent New York Times article, comes up with an absolute peach of a comment, laying out American hubris and purported exceptionalism bare and for all to see.
Look at this dispatch by Adam Nossiter: “China has been determined in its pursuit of minerals in Africa, often without consideration of how countries are governed.” Was there no editor at the desk to note that this is not different from US policies? Like US ever cares about how oil-rich countries are governed? Let me re-write this sentence for you to see what I mean: The US has been determined in its pursuit of oil in the Middle East, often without consideration of how countries are governed.” The only word I would change is often: I would replace it with always.
The Gulf blog 
“laying out American hubris and purported exceptionalism bare and for all to see”–are you bloody serious David? What an easy, cheap shot at the NYT! I read the comment and the article and struggled to find exactly where the NYT editors so egregiously erred. I see no reason why this American author needs to clarify the Chinese-Guinean relationship through the lens of immoral American activity elsewhere in the world. Does Angry Arab believe that this mention of China’s lack of concern for government behavior should have been omitted? It is certainly an important, if not crucial, point for the article. Or does Angry Arab believe that any event that even brings to mind similar American bad behavior warrants requires an editor’s note: “because this news has extremely little to do with America, we don’t want you to forget, readers, that America also does these bad things.-ed.” Does any mention of an evil perpetrated by a government without mention of America’s similar evils reflect the author’s “hubris and exceptionalism”? No, it is good, non-contrived and not dumbed down reporting. I would say that’s the most objective reporting of all.