Bashir Goth at PostGlobal

Bashir Goth

Somalia/UAE

Bashir Goth is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, the first Somali blogger and editor of a leading news website. He is also a regular contributor to major Middle Eastern and African newspapers and online journals. Close.

Bashir Goth

Somalia/UAE

Bashir Goth is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, the first Somali blogger and editor of a leading news website. more »

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Better Feral Beasts than Ignoble Lackeys

Look who’s talking about sensationalism. Someone should remind Tony Blair that it was not the media but his government that “sexed up” intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction -- famously known as the September Dossier -- amplifying lie after lie to stir up support for a war against the non-existent danger of Saddam Hussein’s fatal weapons.

It was your government, Mr. Blair, not the media, who dropped the fraud investigation into the infamous arms deal between UK and Saudi Arabia, giving the media raw material for speculation about your share of the hefty kickbacks. Call it sensationalism if you like.

It was you Mr. Blair who quivered and appeared spineless and at a loss for words when standing beside George Bush on the White House lawn, trying to defend the indefensible.

As P.J. O'Rourke once said, “We journalists don't have to step on roaches. All we have to do is turn on the kitchen light and watch the critters scurry.” It was therefore your duty, Mr. Blair, to keep your kitchen clean instead of blaming the media for turning on the light.

The duty of the media is to speak up when the emperor is naked, when politicians decide to act like invisible creatures and insult people’s intelligence. And if exposing the truth makes the journalists “feral beasts” so be it sir. I am sure they would rather be “feral beasts” than ignoble lackeys.

May I pester you with more “sensational” questions, question that you may like to stay as invisible as the emperor’s new clothes: How much have you been paid, what kind of reward have you been promised, what kind of secret deal have you made with Bush and the American oil barons to ridicule yourself and the mighty history of Great Britain in reducing yourself to become Bush's poodle? Oops! Too sensational?

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