2.10

I think one of the best things I learned in this course is to not trust only one news source. Current events are portrayed in multiple perspectives so it is always good to check another news source. Prior to this course, I would usually only read on or two different news sources; now I find myself checking several news sources and even blogs like The Huffington Post (which I never did before).

The most interesting part of this class was studying how news stories take shape and how the focus is highly susceptible to shift as it wanders through the news ecology. I never really thought that a story could go through as many phases as it does and I found it very interesting to follow one in particular.

I think both of these things will help be a more informed citizen in the future. With this knowledge, I feel as though I can find more reliable stories and understand how they got to that point in their history. It allows me as a reader to be more neutral when researching a subject and not let one story itself dictate the way I think about that subject.  

Chyea.

Afghan Troubles

            To those who are not familiar with the Koran, they might think of it as the holy book that is studied by the Islamic faith. More specifically, the Koran is the record of God’s words to the Prophet Muhammad as revealed through the Angel Gabriel. Muslims believe this to be the holiest book and are instructed from day one to think of it this way, as it is the only proof that Muhammad was the messenger of God words. Essentially, pious Muslims are willing to do anything to protect this sacred text.

            On Monday February 20^th, 2012, two NATO soldiers, possibly Americans, pulled up in a military dump truck to the landfill at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and started to unload bags of books into the incinerator. According to Afghani witnesses, a few workers approached the pit to see what they were exactly burning and a boy exclaimed, “It is Holy Koran.”(Rubin, 2012) Immediately, all who heard this attempted to attack the supposed NATO officers with their helmets while some tried to put out the flame. In all 4 Korans were burned in the fire as reported by the New York Times.

            Hours later, workers who witnessed the event smuggled the burnt Korans out of the base and shortly thereafter protests began. As word of this atrocious episode spread on Tuesday, thousands of people gathered outside the base armed with stones and gasoline bombs with the intent of making it quite obvious how disgruntled they were. The large crowd soon set the external checkpoint to the base on fire.  A protestor named Mohammed Asif said, “They have burned our Holy Korans… We are Muslims and we are created by God and the Koran is our Gods book; we have to defend it. This means they burned our faith, our honor and our lives. The person who did this must stand trial.”(Rubin, 2012). That same day, John Allen, the NATO commanding general, issued an apology to the people, president, government, and religion of Afghanistan on local television and radio saying the burnings were unintentional (Rubin, 2012). However, it did not silence the people of this nation. From here, the story quickly turned into international knowledge, but no one was concerned how dangerous this may be at the time.

At this point it was not headline news. Brief articles explaining the episode were sprinkled about the media, addressing it like it was a protest that often occurred in countries in the Middle East. This was a story concerning Afghani people and their disgust from the incident.

            The following day, fierce demonstrations continued within six of the country’s provinces leaving several dead and many more wounded. Abdul Khawasi, a member of Afghanistan’s Parliament, urged that jihad should be waged against America calling it an obligation (Rubin, 2012). The Afghani government attempted to crack down on the protests on Thursday, resulting in further death and injury as concern grew amongst the government and Western officials for what was to come on the Friday day of prayer. This crackdown did not prevent the killing of two American soldiers by a man dressed in an Afghan Army uniform. This is where this story begins to shift focus. As anti-American protests continued across the country, it was now becoming clear that this was not any old protest in the Middle East. Titles like “Troops burn Qurans in Afghanistan” (CNN.com) started to shift to titles like “5 killed as protests over Quran burning rage in Afghanistan” (CNN.com) and “Two U.S. troops die in Quran Protests” (CNN.com).

The story began to make its way into many more media outlets in the United States as the focus was turned to away from Afghanistan. At this point it prompted Republican candidates to take a stance on the issue that I will touch upon later. President Obama issued an apology over a phone call and in a letter to President Hamid Karzai on the 24^th; however, members in parliament continue to openly encourage the public to attack NATO forces. Karazi again to try to convince his country and members of the parliament to resist in a public address made that day (Rubin, 2012).

            The story complicates even further with growing fear as to who is influencing all these people. The lawmaker Fatima Aziz from the Kunduz province feared that Iran and Pakistan are exploiting this unrest through, “behind-the –scenes manipulation.” (Rubin, 2012) These countries have used this incident to put the American military under greater pressure. Furthermore, the Taliban issued two statements essentially encouraging citizens to attack anyone who was attempting to calm the protestors or anyone from or affiliated with NATO (Rubin, 2012).

            As violence continued in Afghanistan through its fifth day of protests, the civilian death toll continued to rise. 10 died on Friday, majority of which were from gunshot wounds. In the Heart Province, stray gunfire hit a police truck full of ammunition causing it to explode injuring 65 people. Again, Iran was accused of being a culprit in this protest with many locals suggesting that Radio Mashad, an Iranian news station, was advocating against Western interests (Rubin, 2012).

            On the February 25^th, two U.S. Officers were assassinated in the heavily guarded Interior Ministry building in Kabul. This incident triggered NATO to pull out all of its advisers in Kabul. Demonstrations against America continued, clearly showing that the encouragement by members of Parliament and Iran is even having an effect on the security forces within the nation (Bowley, 2012).

            It is quite obvious that this story within Afghanistan is allowing anti-American groups and nations to take advantage of the raging emotions of the people of Afghanistan. What started out as simple protests that often occur in the Middle East has turned into national turmoil created by Americans. The media in the area have used this opportunity to exploit the emotions of Afghani people and create anti-American sentiment in greater interest for those against Western involvement. Now, this is becoming a topic of political interest in the U.S. too.

            Greater concern of the issue grew in America prompting many to blog and report on the matter. In a Fox News Article written on the 23^rd, Nina Shea, a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, agreed with the U.S. decision to immediately apologize for the burning of the Korans. “It just feeds the sense of grievance,” says Shea, explaining that the multiple apologies from the White house, Pentagon, and State Department are not having an effect. Ahmad Majidyar, a senior research associate with the American Enterprise Institute, counters that argument by saying many Afghani residents accept the apologies made by the Americans and that the demonstrations are not as prevalent within the country as they seem to be. As aforementioned, we now know that is not the case (Berger, 2012).

            Despite these opinions, political candidates are using this issue as a way to gain political leverage.  On the 24^th, many well respected news organizations across the nation reported that Newt Gingrich found the President’s apologies outrageous because the U.S. did not receive any apology from the Afghani president for killing two of our soldiers for little reason. He also said if this continues he believes that the U.S. should say, “goodbye and good luck,” to Afghanistan because they do not care about U.S. personnel risking their lives nor do they care about the money we are spending over there (Lin, 2012). Rick Santorum made an appearance on ABC News on the 26^th and said Obama should not have apologized because the burning of the Korans was a clear mistake and that it was hurting America’s image abroad and in Afghanistan. The Huffington Post reported on this, quoting him saying that it was not a mistake that two Americans were killed in uniform, rather it was something deliberate and that an apology on the behalf of the U.S. was unnecessary (Carter, 2012). Both Gingrich and Santorum used this dispute to gain leverage against the Obama administration. It will grab the attention of voters who are on the fence to which party they will vote for in the upcoming presidential election. By scrutinizing their decisions, these Republicans are attempting to take votes away from the opposing party.

            What initially started as a story of Afghani’s outraged by a simple incident has morphed into a political issue involving several political figures. It transformed slowly through the media, shifting focus from Anit-American sentiment to different international interest to an issue that could be addressed at a political debate in the future.

            There are numerous implications that can come from this incident. In theory, if the U.S. continues to stay in Afghanistan, riots can get even worse than they already are. I think American advisers as well as soldiers will continue to be killed. It seems as though every day more and more Muslims are taking to the streets to show their outrage. Also, in many of the articles that I have read on the subject almost all have a comment from a Muslim from Afghanistan that declares that they should wage jihad in honor of what the Koran represents. It is also apparent that people within the Afghani forces are starting to turn on Americans that are already involved in their country. If we were to pull out, I think many lives can be saved and a great deal of money will no longer go to training Afghani forces. But if the U.S. left, Iran and Pakistan may feel like they have won the small battle in a large fight, which would not be good for the Middle East in my opinion. One problem that I see with this entire saga is that the Taliban is showing that it has the power to take control of a country that it once had a great power over. It would almost be like taking a step in the wrong direction if we left that country, however, things at this moment are volatile and it is difficult to say what I believe is going to happen. I find it unfortunate that the Taliban is having the influence it has at the moment over something that seems so simple. The other day I happened upon the Fox News station on XM Satellite Radio and I remember hearing that it is believed to be just as unsacred to write in the Koran as it is to burn the Koran, but a large number of Muslims write in the Koran anyway. Like I said before, it is hard to say what is going to come of this entire situation, nonetheless it is a very interesting one at that.  This may not affect my personal life in the immediate future or maybe not even affect me at all, but it definitely will play a role in the large scheme of things.

Works Cited

Berger, Judson. "U.S. Response to Koran Burning Could Fan Flames, Analysts Warn." Fox News. FOX News Network, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/23/us-response-to-koran-burning-could-fan-flames-analysts-warn/?test=latestnews>.

Bowley, Graham. "2 U.S. Officers Slain; Advisers to Exit Kabul Ministries." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 26 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/world/asia/afghanistan-koran-burning-protests-enter-fifth-day.html?ref=koran>.

Carter, Zach. "Rick Santorum: Obama's Apology For Quran Burning 'Shows Weakness'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 26 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/26/rick-santorum-quran-burning_n_1302219.html>.

Lin, Joy. "Gingrich Outraged Obama Apologized for Koran Burning the Same Day U.S. Soldiers Were Killed." Fox Nation. Fox News, 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://nation.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/24/gingrich-outraged-obama-apologized-koran-burning-same-day-us-soldiers-were>.

Rahimi, Sangar. "Koran Burning in NATO Error Incites Afghans." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/world/asia/nato-commander-apologizes-for-koran-disposal-in-afghanistan.html?_r=1&ref=koran>.

Rubin, Alissa J. "Afghan Protests Over the Burning of Korans at a U.S. Base Escalate." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/world/asia/koran-burning-in-afghanistan-prompts-second-day-of-protests.html?ref=koran>.

Rubin, Alissa J. "Koran Protests Resume in Afghanistan Despite U.S. Apology." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/world/asia/afghan-protests-over-koran-burning-break-out-in-kabul.html?ref=koran>.

Rubin, Alissa J. "Obama Sends Apology as Afghan Koran Protests Rage." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/world/asia/koran-burning-afghanistan-demonstrations.html?ref=koran>.

essay two

Afghan Troubles

            To those who are not familiar with the Koran, they might think of it as the holy book that is studied by the Islamic faith. More specifically, the Koran is the record of God’s words to the Prophet Muhammad as revealed through the Angel Gabriel. Muslims believe this to be the holiest book and are instructed from day one to think of it this way, as it is the only proof that Muhammad was the messenger of God words. Essentially, pious Muslims are willing to do anything to protect this sacred text.

            On Monday February 20^th, 2012, two NATO soldiers, possibly Americans, pulled up in a military dump truck to the landfill at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and started to unload bags of books into the incinerator. According to Afghani witnesses, a few workers approached the pit to see what they were exactly burning and a boy exclaimed, “It is Holy Koran.”(NYT) Immediately, all who heard this attempted to attack the supposed NATO officers with their helmets while some tried to put out the flame. In all 4 Korans were burned in the fire as reported by the New York Times.

            Hours later, workers who witnessed the event smuggled the burnt Korans out of the base and shortly thereafter protests began. As word of this atrocious episode spread on Tuesday, thousands of people gathered outside the base armed with stones and gasoline bombs with the intent of making it quite obvious how disgusted they were. The large crowd soon set the external checkpoint to the base on fire.  A protestor named Mohammed Asif said, “They have burned our Holy Korans… We are Muslims and we are created by God and the Koran is our Gods book; we have to defend it. This means they burned our faith, our honor and our lives. The person who did this must stand trial.”(NYT). That same day, John Allen, the NATO commanding general, issued an apology to the people, president, government, and religion of Afghanistan on local television and radio saying the burnings were unintentional. However, it did not silence the people of this nation. From here, the story quickly turned into international knowledge, however no one was concerned how dangerous this may be at the time.

            The following day, fierce protests continued within six of the country’s provinces leaving several dead and many more wounded. Abdul Khawasi, a member of Afghanistan’s Parliament, urged that jihad should be waged against America calling it an obligation (NYT). The Afghani government attempted to crack down on the protests on Thursday, resulting in further death and injury as concern grew amongst the government and Western officials for what was to come on the Friday day of prayer. This crackdown did not prevent the killing of two American soldiers by a man dressed in an Afghan Army uniform. This is when the story began to make its way into many more media outlets in the United States, prompting Republican candidates to take a stance on the issue that I will touch upon later. President Obama issued an apology over a phone call and in a letter to President Hamid Karzai that same day; however, members in parliament continue to openly encourage the public to attack NATO forces. Karazi continued to try to convince his country and members of the parliament to resist in a public address made that day.

            The story complicates even further with growing fear as to who is influencing all these people. The lawmaker Fatima Aziz from the Kunduz province feared that Iran and Pakistan are exploiting this unrest through, “behind-the –scenes manipulation.” (NYT) These countries have used this incident to put the American military under greater pressure. Furthermore, the Taliban issued two statements essentially encouraging citizens to attack anyone who was attempting to calm the protestors or anyone from or affiliated with NATO.

            As violence continued in Afghanistan through its fifth day of protests, the civilian death toll continued to rise. 10 died on Friday, majority of which were from gunshot wounds. In the Heart Province, stray gunfire hit a police truck full of ammunition causing it to explode injuring 65 people. Again, Iran was accused of being a culprit in this protest with many locals suggesting that Radio Mashad, an Iranian news station, was advocating against Western interests (NYT).

            On the February 25^th, two U.S. Officers were assassinated in the heavily guarded Interior Ministry building in Kabul. This incident triggered NATO to pull out all of its advisers in Kabul. Demonstrations against America continued, clearly showing that the encouragement by members of Parliament and Iran is even having an effect on the security forces within the nation (NYT).

            It is quite obvious that this story within Afghanistan is allowing anti-American groups and nations to take advantage of the raging emotions of the people of Afghanistan. What started out as simple protests that often occur in the Middle East has turned into national turmoil created by Americans. The media in the area have used this opportunity to exploit the emotions of Afghani people and create anti-American sentiment in greater interest for those against Western involvement. Now, this is becoming a topic of political interest in the U.S. too.

            In a Fox News Article written on the 23^rd, Nina Shea, a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, agreed with the U.S. decision to immediately apologize for the burning of the Korans. “It just feeds the sense of grievance,” says Shea, explaining that the multiple apologies from the White house, Pentagon, and State Department are not having an effect. Ahmad Majidyar, a senior research associate with the American Enterprise Institute, counters that argument by saying many Afghani residents accept the apologies made by the Americans and that the demonstrations are not as prevalent within the country as they seem to be. As aforementioned, we now know that is not the case (Fox News).

            Despite these opinions, political candidates are using this issue as a way to gain political leverage.  On the 24^th, Fox News reported that Newt Gingrich found the President’s apologies outrageous because the U.S. did not receive any apology from the Afghani president for killing two of our soldiers for little reason. He also said if this continues he believes that the U.S. should say, “goodbye and good luck,” to Afghanistan because they do not care about the U.S. personnel risking their lives and spending our money over there (Fox News). Rick Santorum made an appearance on ABC News on the 26^th and said Obama should not have apologized because the burning of the Korans was a clear mistake and that it was hurting America’s image abroad and in Afghanistan. He also said that there was not a mistake that two Americans were killed in uniform, rather it was something deliberate and that an apology on the behalf of the U.S. was unnecessary (Huffington Post).

            There are numerous implications that can come from this incident. In theory, if the U.S. continues to stay in Afghanistan, riots can get even worse than they already are. I think American advisers as well as soldiers will continue to be killed. It seems as though every day more and more Muslims are taking to the streets to show their outrage. Also, in many of the articles that I have read on the subject almost all have a comment from a Muslim from Afghanistan that declares that they should wage jihad in honor of what the Koran represents. It is also apparent that people within the Afghani forces are starting to turn on Americans that are already involved in their country. If we were to pull out, I think many lives can be saved and a great deal of money will no longer go to training Afghani forces. But if the U.S. left, Iran and Pakistan may feel like they have won the small battle in a large fight, which would not be good for the Middle East in my opinion. One problem that I see with this entire saga is that the Taliban is showing that it has the power to take control of a country that it once had a great power over. It would almost be like taking a step in the wrong direction if we left that country, however, things at this moment are volatile and it is difficult to say what I believe is going to happen. I find it unfortunate that the Taliban is having the influence it has at the moment over something that seems so simple. The other day I happened upon the Fox News station on XM Satellite Radio and I remember hearing that it is believed to be just as unsacred to write in the Koran as it is to burn the Koran, but a large number of Muslims write in the Koran anyway. Like I said before, it is hard to say what is going to come of this entire situation, nonetheless it is a very interesting one at that.  This may not affect my personal life in the immediate future or maybe not even affect me at all, but it definitely will play a role in the large scheme of things.  

Taking an Approach

After I first read, “taking an approach,” I saw that I had some similarities to “forwarding” a text. If you were to forward a text, you essentially take an authors ideas and examples and use them to enhance your writing. “Taking an approach” is similar to “forwarding” in that you use an author’s idea to help prove the point you are making in a text. However, “taking an approach” specifically means to take an author’s writing style or “mode” and use that to build your own ideas. (at least that is what I understood from this confusing chapter).

According to Harris, there are three methods of using an author’s writing style to enhance your text. The first is “acknowledging influences” which essentially acknowledges the writers ideas that you use to enhance your writing. The second is turning an approach on itself, which is taking the questions that the author asks their audience, and asking those questions back to that author. The final method is reflexivity in which you the writer recognize the mode that he or she wrote in.

I initially found it hard to find examples of this in the Huffington Post of the New York Times, but I then realized is isn’t something that you can physically identify in their writing. The researchers, editors, writers and publishers are all applying their previous knowledge of different types of writing to the piece they are currently working on. A general example of this would a writer would try to draw on the emotions of the reader by using certain techniques that they learned over their years of reading.