“The next day, February 15, more than 10 million people took part in protests worldwide. Without access to intelligence data, with nothing more than their own questioning minds, millions of ordinary people had figured out what journalists had been unable or unwilling to see ? that there were glaring flaws in the U.S. case for war.”
– Linda McQuaig, rabble.ca
I’m always late to the party, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m just discovering Linda McQuaig. It should also be no surprise that I like what I read and hear from her.
The short piece quoted above first appeared in the Toronto Star, but was re-printed at Rabble.ca, last Monday. It’s a critique of the media’s pathetic mea culpa in the wake of the ‘faulty intelligence’ alibi put forth by the US government a few weeks ago.
In the run up to the Iraq war as everyone, except the United States government, pleaded for more time in the search for WMD, the big networks of US media, from CBS to CNN, acted like White House stenographers instead of investigative journalists. It was appalling and ironic to see Wolf Blitzer on the Daily Show last week claiming that the media should have “been more skeptical.” I echo McQuaig’s response: “What do you mean ?we,? white man?”
Mainstream media’s late acknowledgement is just one more reason to turn off the TV and tune into other forms of less-filtered media. But that’s old news, we’ve had a few other apalling reports come out from the US to deal with.
McQuaig is a regular columnist for the Toronto Star newspaper and the authour of a new book It’s the Crude, Dude (out this September from RandomHouse Canada.) Her book discusses the US’s ever-changing reasons for the invasion of Iraq and lays out the real reasons behind the war: oil.
I had the chance to hear McQuaig speak about her book during last month’s Book Expo Canada. It was one of those stupid lunch talks, where the poor speakers (in this case David Suzuki, Michael Harcourt and McQuaig) have to struggle to be heard over clanking cultery and shouting waiters. My media pass didn’t buy me the lunch, so I hovered in the back of the room and watched.
It was a pleasure to see the book store owners, publishing executives and aspiring authours stop chewing and start listening to McQuaig as she linked the US’s thirst for oil with the current war and occupation of Iraq. To me, all this was completely obvious and old news. I (and millions of others) had been shouting this at our TVs and in rallies around the world for the last year. But the way McQuaig relentlessly brought up the facts of history and tied them to corporate connections of today made me feel like I was hearing it for the first time. It was great to hear these truths spoken outside of my regular news sources and away from the protest marches. It was even better to see Suzuki and Harcourt nod as McQuaig spoke. I bet they yelled at their TVs too.
Like her articles in the Star and in Rabble, McQuaig’s book isn’t blowing the lid of any dark secrets. She admits that her book is aimed at those people who still think Bush & Co really were looking for WMD/Liberating Iraq/Going After Saddam/Invaded Under Faulty Intelligence (or whatever the latest war excuse is currently being peddled.)
The good thing about McQuag is that she doesn’t preach to the converted. She writes to convert and is still operating below the radar of the right. Michael Moore can’t take a dump without the right accusing him of being biased (as if this is something new in the media.) McQuaig’s books and articles can be passed on to friends, relatives or colleagues who may have swallowed a few too many CNN stories. And because she hasn’t been vilified by conservatives, her work doesn’t come with the media baggage that unfortunately puts off the undecided and unthinking when they see anything with Moore’s name attached to it (“I hear he’s really biased.”, “He’s got an agenda.” and all that crap.)
If you haven’t already, check out her semi-regular articles every Monday on rabble.ca. I’d love to hear what you think.
