From The Jawa Report:
AP photographer Rahmatullah Naikzad was a witness to a Taliban murder. The two women were alleged to have been prostitutes who served Western clientèle.
Two unidentified Afghan Women chat with each other a few minutes before they were executed by Taliban in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on late Saturday, July 12, 2008.
(AP Photo/Rahmatullah Naikzad)
Local people watch two Afghan women shot and killed by Taliban in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on Sunday, July 13, 2008.
(AP Photo/Rahmatullah Naikzad)……Rahmatullah Naikzad also took a snuff video of the two women being murdered.
We would remind the AP that the act of the Taliban inviting a reporter to the murder means they wanted this news out there. The AP was clearly being used as a propaganda outlet for the Taliban.
Does this make him an accomplice or only a witness to the crime? When you know a crime is about to be committed, do you not have a moral and ethical obligation to try to prevent that crime? Even if you’re a journalist? Even if all you do is try to call the authorities, in this case someone in the Afghani government or NATO?
A quick Yahoo News photo search of Rahmatullah Naikzad seems to indicate that he’s very friendly with the Taliban. Many of the pictures show Taliban fighters posing for the AP photographer.
……Once again the AP is aiding and abetting the enemy. This time with a group listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. and which several U.N. Security Council Resolutions forbid giving any assistance to.
……The key point here is the context in which the photos/videos are shown.
In the context of this blog it is clear that the photos are meant to show what horrible evil we are fighting. But when the the AP chooses to use value neutral terms to provide context for the photos they cross a line into a moral relativism which is more than just unpatriotic, it’s downright disgusting!
Instead of calling the Taliban what they are–primae faciea war criminals & illegal combatants–they simply label them militants. Worse, they allow the Taliban to choose the words to describe the horrible murders of two women calling it an execution.
AP’s ‘reporters’ and ‘photographers’ certainly have a propensity for being in the right place at the right time when it comes to getting pictures.
Bilal Hussein, an AP reporter, was charged with aiding and abetting terrorists after being found in the possession of bomb-making materials, insurgent propaganda, and a surveillance photograph of a US military installation. But unfortunately, he was given amnesty by an Iraqi court, so he could pick up where he left off.
Links: http://sfcmac.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/associated-press-terrorist-employee-finally-charged/
http://sfcmac.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/ap-reporter-who-embedded-with-terrorists-given-amnesty/
Phyllis Chesler at Pajamas Media writes this:
……The photo, taken on July 12th, 2008 could be an illustration for Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Please recall that this novel, tailored to American tastes, still convincingly shows us how sadistic and twisted the Taliban are, how they routinely use orphaned Afghan boys for sex play, force women into prostitution, then kill them for it. Amnesty International has also documented these practices and American feminist groups have denounced them as well.
Many say that “Islam” has nothing to do with such behaviors. And yet–the Taliban view themselves as “holy warriors” and perhaps as Afghan (Saudi) Arabs. Thus far, the Taliban has not been publicly denounced as anti-Islam by leading Muslim clerics world-wide.
Funny, a few years ago, thousands of Egyptian men went on a “sexual wilding” rampage in Cairo right after they heard a Ramadan sermon in a mosque; they undressed and assaulted women who were both veiled and unveiled. And, in Algeria, after hearing their mullah denounce the impoverished women who were working for foreign companies in their city of Hassi Messoud, about three hundred men also went on a rampage–only they killed, gang-raped, mutilated, and buried women alive.
Muslim men sure do respect women.
Yoooooohoooooooo….National Organization for Women? Where the hell are you?
The American feminist groups, contrary to Ms. Chesler’s comment, haven’t been very vocal about human rights abuses toward women under Islamic rule, primarily due to their opposition to the war.
To protest against these types of atrocities goes against their hatred of George Bush, the military, and the war against Islamic terrorism.
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Marie,
Even the casual observer with a couple of firing neurons can note the absence of outrage by the feminists and the Left over Islam’s brutality. I’ve seen no reports in the MSM, nor have I seen any compliants from NOW over the misogynist treatment of women under Sharia Law. Where is it?
What kind of anti-women Bush “policies” are you referring to?
He hasn’t implemented a single bill or law that discriminates against women during his tenure.
Put your BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) aside and think about the women he placed in powerful positions in his Cabinet and Staff.
Condi Rice, for one, would vehemently disagree with your viewpoint.
On a side note, Your buddy Clinton sure “helped” women, didn’t he?
SFC MAC
I have to disagree with this statement. Many individual feminsts and groups denounce these atrocities against women, independent of any opposition to the war in Iraq. Most feminists I know approve of military action against the Taliban.
It is not either/or – there can be feminist denunciation even while critiquing policy mistakes of the Bush administration that have not helped women at all.