I (Still) Do Not Buy It
Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 2 May 2011
by Javier Cavanilles (link to original)
(Spain) on 2 May 2011
by Javier Cavanilles (link to original)
Translated from
by Yanina Weingast.
Edited by Sam Carter.
The crime of having an opinion is back again, and it is forbidden to doubt. Bin Laden is dead, and it's thanks to a cleaning operation that makes the comic book “War Deeds” look like drivel. The only truth, however, is that there is no more evidence for bin Laden’s death than there was for his still being alive.
I am not saying that what they are telling us is not true. But if it is, it is too soon to believe it. People trust Obama more than Bush because Obama is African-American, but this does not mean he is much better than Bush. Obama ran a campaign pledging to end the war in Afghanistan, close Guantanamo and to make those who caused the financial crisis pay dearly for their errors. He is a pathological liar. I do not know if he is lying now, but his credentials are not the best. I would rather wait.
Besides, one of the guarantees that this story is true (as if it was a joke) is that the source is the CIA. I guess I am not the only one who remembers when weapons of massive destruction actually meant something. In these cases, the credibility of the CIA as an official source is useless.
The story is, at least, very suspicious. Navy SEALs, who avoided causing any harm to civilians at all costs — at this point, I burst out laughing — ordered bin Laden to surrender; when he resisted, they killed him. Then — and please hold on to the chair as you read the following — “the body has been buried at sea after the U.S. conducted DNA testing scrupulously, following Islamic tradition. The body has to be buried within 24 hours in accordance with Islamic law.”* Has bin Laden’s body been thrown into the sea? The body has been thrown into the sea!
We should also take into account that Khaled Sheikh Mohammed — who, after years of torture, confessed to be the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks — is still waiting for his trial, even though he was detained in 2003.
I am sorry, but for the moment I believe that it is best to put bin Laden’s death in quarantine. The question is not so much a case of whether it’s true or false but rather whether newspapers firmly believe a story that does not have the evidence to support itself. This might sell, but it is not journalism.
*Editor’s Note: This quote, while accurately translated, could not be verified.
I am not saying that what they are telling us is not true. But if it is, it is too soon to believe it. People trust Obama more than Bush because Obama is African-American, but this does not mean he is much better than Bush. Obama ran a campaign pledging to end the war in Afghanistan, close Guantanamo and to make those who caused the financial crisis pay dearly for their errors. He is a pathological liar. I do not know if he is lying now, but his credentials are not the best. I would rather wait.
Besides, one of the guarantees that this story is true (as if it was a joke) is that the source is the CIA. I guess I am not the only one who remembers when weapons of massive destruction actually meant something. In these cases, the credibility of the CIA as an official source is useless.
The story is, at least, very suspicious. Navy SEALs, who avoided causing any harm to civilians at all costs — at this point, I burst out laughing — ordered bin Laden to surrender; when he resisted, they killed him. Then — and please hold on to the chair as you read the following — “the body has been buried at sea after the U.S. conducted DNA testing scrupulously, following Islamic tradition. The body has to be buried within 24 hours in accordance with Islamic law.”* Has bin Laden’s body been thrown into the sea? The body has been thrown into the sea!
We should also take into account that Khaled Sheikh Mohammed — who, after years of torture, confessed to be the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks — is still waiting for his trial, even though he was detained in 2003.
I am sorry, but for the moment I believe that it is best to put bin Laden’s death in quarantine. The question is not so much a case of whether it’s true or false but rather whether newspapers firmly believe a story that does not have the evidence to support itself. This might sell, but it is not journalism.
*Editor’s Note: This quote, while accurately translated, could not be verified.
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