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03/18/2002
Last Monday morning, President Bush gave a somber speech on the South Lawn. He explained that the war on terrorism was far from over and warned of the serious consequences of nuclear weapons getting into the hands of terrorists and terrorist states. He told the nation that more sacrifice lay ahead. The networks reported the story just that way with one exception - ABC.

On World News Tonight, March 11, Claire Shipman focused her report on what didn't come up in the speech - Osama bin Laden:

"The President offered a progress report today on the war on terrorism. He says that with Afghanistan no longer a hospitable climate for terrorists, the hunt will now go global. But noticeably absent from that update, one name: Osama bin Laden." "But the most wanted terrorist in the world didn't figure into the speech at all, part of a strategy to downplay Osama bin Laden."

Aaahhh, a strategy!

Shipman's interview with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice:
Shipman: "How often do you and the President discuss Osama bin Laden these days?"
Rice: "The President and I discuss Osama bin Laden very rarely. We are very focused, the President, in particular, is very focused on the network [al-Qaeda]."
Shipman: "But it is hard to believe that the President of the United States and his National Security Adviser aren't discussing bin Laden with some regularity. This is the man who perpetrated September 11th."
Rice: "We are not fixated on Osama bin Laden."

Back to Shipman's report: "The silence on bin Laden, a marked contrast to what the President was saying last fall." According to her theory, Bush is actually "preoccupied" with bin Laden.

"Some in the administration worried that too much talk about bin Laden would be risky, would make him the only measure of success in a complicated operation. But whatever the President says or doesn't say in public, sources tell us he remains preoccupied with bin Laden. It's the first thing he wants to hear about in his daily intelligence briefings. And behind the scenes, the hunt is also a top priority. Sources, in fact, tell ABC News that there is what is called a special bin Laden and al-Qaeda leadership cell, or special unit, at the CIA staffed by hundreds with an unlimited budget, and most interestingly, Peter, the ability to act almost instantaneously if agents believe that they have bin Laden in their sights."

Undoubtedly, every American would like to know the fate of Osama bin Laden. Many of us would be delighted to see this evildoer treated to a dose of his own medicine. Yet this one aspect of the war on terrorism cannot be allowed to eclipse the totality of the mission. In the end, it will be far more important to disable the al-Qaeda terrorist network than to know what happened to bin Laden. History has shown that we can win a war without being sure of the outcome for the enemy leader - WWII/Hitler being an excellent example.

So what is ABC up to?

A good guess is that they are pushing Sen. Daschle's theory that failure to kill or capture bin Laden means failure in the war on terrorism, thus a failure for President Bush. [Translation: Daschle for President] As we have seen before, ABC stands out for their lack of support for our current president.

The Media Research Center's CyberAlert suggests an alternate reason: promotion of ABC's primetime special, The Hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Either way, Claire Shipman and ABC are pushing an agenda rather than news. Let's let them know we support President Bush's efforts in the war on terrorism. Below is the contact information.

ABC News
77 West 66th Street
New York, New York 10023

Phone 212-456-7777
FAX 212-456-4292

World News Tonight contact page

Read more here:

MRC CyberAlert, 03/12/2002
ABC News: Where is Osama bin Laden?
ABC News: Bin Laden Capture Still Top U.S. Goal