Andrew McCarthy, The Corner:
The NYT doesn’t want to. If you labored through its page one analysis yesterday of the siege in Russia in which nearly 340 people were slaughtered, you’d have to have gone deep into the newspaper and waded down to the 24th paragraph of the story to learn that: “While the extent of international support may be debated, the attacks bear some trappings of Islamic militancy. Officials here in Beslan said they had found notebooks with Arabic writing, and witnesses reported hearing Arabic exhortations, though the attackers mostly spoke Russian.” (Emphasis added.) Elsewhere toward the bottom of the report, the reader also finds indications that the Beslan operation was “financed by a man believed to be an Arab associated with Al Qaeda and identified as Abu Omar as-Seyf.” What is the good reason to be hesitant about noting that this latest barbarity, like its numerous predecessors, is the work of militant Islam? An enemy that doesn’t get identified, doesn’t get wiped out—and lives to fight another day, resulting in more Beslans, more Madrids, more 9/11s, etc.
Well said, Andy. You’re forgiven for Mannequin. But there’s nothing I can do about the mess you made of St. Elmo’s Fire, I’m afraid.
update: a reader emails, “Different Andrew McCarthy, Jeff.”
Oh. Then protein wisdom stands corrected.
Anybody else thinking “Weekend at Beslan?” where he and Jonathan Silverman are ordered by Vladimir Putin to make it look like that the 300+ victims of Islamic terrorists are still alive?
Islamic terrorists were involved in that? Says who? I thought it was “armed captors” or “Chechen secessionists.”
Well said, Laurence. Judging by the reviews, our pacifist friends in Europe and in the liberal media are already looking forward to the sequel.
I’m sure it’s in development…
During the U.S. Open this weekend, Dick Enberg referred to the Beslan massacre as a “rebel uprising”. In his defense, I suppose, this was during the Maria Sharapova match, so Dick may have been a bit distracted.
You know, that reader did mean well; would it kill you to be nice?
(Standing up for the literal-minded people of the world, because I have to.)
On the Andrew McCarthy thing: I figured it was just like your convention coverage, i.e. having a little fun with reality.
Surprisingly Andrew McCarthy never did manage to break out, though he wasn’t a bad actor. I loved him in Heaven Help Us. Well, not so much him as the movie, but still….
”On the Andrew McCarthy thing: I figured it was just like your convention coverage, i.e. having a little fun with reality.”
It was. But I didn’t want to hurt that emailer’s feelings.
Er, until now, that is.
I believe it was actually the work of Chechen activists.
Sheesh, I can’t wait for the day when the Times bears some trappings of journalism.
Oh, fine. So now it’s my fault; I’ll just slink away until my psychic boo-boo is healed and the ice cream truck goes by my house and I can have a popsicle. And I’m not sharing with anybody.
I just got back from a few weeks in Europe, and our European friends are making much out of the fact that many of the gunmen – maybe 1/2 – were Arabs.
Funny – this could be the event that gets Olde Europe on our side in the War on Terror and the NY Times pretty much misses the one really salient fact that seems to have most of Yurp freaked out.
And I think the proper NY Times style book name for the people who, um, weren’t Russians at Beslan is “Chechnyan progressives.â€Â