The films and still pictures from Vietnam, the living-room war, were more responsible for shaping public intolerance toward that conflict than anything else. I'm not suggesting that CNN emulate Al-Jazeera. The idea is not to take sides but to show images that acknowledge human suffering - and in doing so, foment indignation not against any enemy but against war itself.
My friend's photos tend to fare better with European publications. Are the French just more ready for the truth than Americans? As much as the American people have had to stomach the past several years, I would argue: Au contraire.
We Americans lost our loved ones in a terrorist attack, only to have that tragedy used opportunistically against our better interests by our elected officials. Indeed, when we were most vulnerable, these same asked us to fight a war predicated on a false premise. Once drained of blood and treasure, we were hit with a severe economic recession. On top of that, we were swindled a little more with a few billion-dollar Ponzi schemes.
