As Baghdad reels from a wave of suicide bombings claimed by Islamist extremists which have killed and wounded over 400 in the past week, there are lessons to be learned from how the media deals with these terror attacks – whether they are in the Middle East or in the heart of Europe.
Semantics and social media narratives are crucial battlegrounds in the war against terrorism.
Smoke rises from a building struck by artillery in north Damascus [Xinhua]
John Rosenthal is a European-based journalist and political analyst who writes on European politics and transatlantic issues.
He has also written extensively about the Syrian Civil War.
Image: Grand ayatollah Ali Al Sistani said on Friday that no country should “send its soldiers to the territory of another state under the pretext of supporting it in fighting terrorism without the conclusion of an agreement”. Handout/AFP Photo
“In a speech to US Congress punctuated by standing ovations, Benjamin Netanyahu depicted Iran as a “threat to the entire world”.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31716684
Raising claims and making the wildest accusations is easy, but on what grounds does Netanyahu want to substantiate his claim or even prove it?
Unlike Israel, Iran…
– has not attacked any country for 200 years
– does not occupy foreign territory
– has no nuclear weapons
“Everyone alive today in Lebanon and for many generations to come will have their family’s lives negatively affected by the rapidly spreading sectarian hostility. The Sunni-Shia hatred is poisonous—it’s the new political Ebola virus! Can it be eradicated? How can we stop it from engulfing the Middle East or has it already done so?”
