Letter to the Christian Science Monitor - on Russia & Georgia

I find it increasingly important to challenge the conflict reporting of mainstream media. One, they are often not professional or fair; two, in their implications they legitimize animosity and war much more than the opposite.

The general Western media coverage - text as well as pictures - of the Georgia crisis has been particularly disturbing, coming as it did after so much coverage of Iraq that shold - should - have been a cause for self-reflection and caution throughout the media world.

We obviously cannot write to the editor every time - I myself would get nothing else done - whenever we see a biased report or less professional journalism or commentaries. But we can do it now and then, and I encourage you to do it too. Even if not printed, it will be read by the editors.

Here is an example - however not printed by the Christian Science Monitor. I should add that I respect this newspaper a lot, it is very decent and have high editorial standards and an open mind for ethics and human dimensions of what happens. Here is my Letter to the Editor


Robert Marquand's "Russia tries to exploit division in Europe" of September 3 is yet another one-perspective article in the Western press. The EU has been divided on every major foreign policy issue the last decade or more - Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Georgia - in spite of its stated goal to have a common policy. It does need Russia for that.

Is the Russian foreign minister’s statement that Germany is an important partner really an evidence of such a wish to split - such as you maintain?

It would be great if just one leading Western media would point out that U.S. foreign policy has world-divisive consequences. Handling the Georgia crisis and omitting that Georgian nationalism, U.S and Israeli build-up of its military, and the West's “need” for oil and bases is part of the problem too, isn't professional - even though Russia's re-action to Georgia's attack was not proportional. Was NATO’s bombing of Serbia – or the US of Iraq - proportional?

Black-and-white images lead nowhere but to self-deception and new wars, Cold or warm.

Finally, what about just once quoting experts from institutes and think tanks that are not automatically defending the US and other West? There do exist broader views on this crisis.

Dr. Jan Oberg, director
TFF – The Transnational Foundation, Sweden
www.transnational.org