Nothing makes me angrier than when some arm-chair pundit writing from his comfortable Washington, D.C., or fashionable New York office smears a hard-working, boots-on-the-ground journalist who wakes up every day determined to put his life on the line in the search for truth.
I’m angry right now.
I just read a column in the Jan. 24, 2008, issue of Congressional Quarterly by someone named David C. Morrison, who apparently makes his living writing little snippets about what other reporters are writing.
Here’s the part that got me mad: “The Democratic primaries have proved ‘the invasion of Iraq was judged by Allah to be a failure [and that] America needs to stop letting its foreign policy be dictated by the Zionists,’ WorldNetDaily’s questionably-sourced Aaron Klein quotes a supposed Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade deputy.”
“Questionably sourced”? “Quotes a supposed Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade deputy”?
What is David C. Morrison implying here?
Is he suggesting Aaron Klein, the only reporter in the Middle East brave enough to meet with terrorists, talk to them face to face, interview them, record much of what they say and who recently authored a book about his unique and fearless work in this regard is making it up?
Aaron Klein names names. He’s not resorting to the cowardice of unnamed sources in this courageous, groundbreaking work.
Yes, I’m angry about that.
I’ve written before about how I feel toward Aaron Klein, WND’s Jerusalem bureau chief. He is, without a doubt, the bravest and most courageous and determined reporter with whom I have ever been associated. And that’s saying something after 30 years in this business.
David C. Morrison, an undistinguished writer from all I can gather by Googling his name, has the audacity to question Aaron Klein’s sources without so much as the slightest evidence, without any research, without so much as placing a phone call. He brings nothing but disrepute on his publication by making such reckless and cavalier public indictments.
I don’t know who David C. Morrison is, but I can tell you what I’d like to do with him right now. If he wants to meet me on any street corner in Washington, D.C., I’d like to punch him right in the nose.
(My e-mail address is public on this website, Mr. Morrison. Just let me know the time and place, you gutless punk.)
Meanwhile, who is young Aaron Klein?
His scoops are legion. But his trademark is interviewing the most dangerous people on the planet – Middle East terrorists. They tell him what they really think, what their real goals are and why they do what they do.
Most remarkable of all is that Aaron Klein is an Orthodox Jew, who literally risks his life every time he steps out the doorway of his Jerusalem apartment or starts his car.
I sing this young man’s praises because he epitomizes what my profession was once all about – independent-minded, gutsy, determined, dynamic reporters who wore out a lot of shoe leather getting important stories. What it has become is a bunch of prima donnas rewriting press releases from government agencies and think tanks.
I also tell you all this because you need to read this journalistic superhero’s new book – chockfull of amazing stories about his experiences in the Middle East.
It’s called “Schmoozing With Terrorists,” and it is much more than a collection of anecdotes from his years of reporting for WND.
It’s a book that explains fundamentally what America and the civilized world are up against in this war with Islamic fanaticism.
If you want to get inside the heads of the enemy we face, this is the book you must read.
Sometimes sobering, sometimes comical, it is always riveting reading.
More than any previous work, it shows just how encouraged America’s enemies are by the antics of celebrities in the U.S. who tend to blame their own country first. It also illustrates the failure of American foreign policy and Israeli policy in dealing with Mideast terrorists.
I urge you to support good journalism – and one very great journalist – by buying “Schmoozing With Terrorists.”
As for David C. Morrison, I’ve probably mentioned his name more in this column than he deserves. He typifies the sad state of American journalism today – if, indeed, he even considers himself a journalist.
Shame on you. Shame on Congressional Quarterly for allowing you to spew this kind of ignorant venom.
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