Friday, April 28, 2006

 

Fisk Fisks Fisk

Instapundit points to this short blurb on The Corner at NRO:

Follow this link (hat tip Tim Blair) to read how Robert Fisk digs a deeper and deeper hole for himself over whether or not Zarquawi exists, is a threat, should be covered by the media, and much else.

I know Robert Fisk as the namesake of the blogging practice of critiquing columns or opinion pieces, by presenting those pieces interspersed with running commentary. Fisk earned that dubious honor by the great prevalence of his critics’ use of the technique. Apparently Fisk’s writing reveals a preference for gross inaccuracy and flights of illogic.

You couldn’t find any better example of these tendencies than his interview in this Australian Broadcasting Corporation television appearance.

Critics might be tempted to fisk Fisk, but Fisk so thoroughly fisks Fisk, no further fisking is required.

Read the whole thing, it’s very humorous.

Here’s my logical reduction of his interview:

  1. The recent tapes purported to be from Zarqawi appear to really be from Zarqawi.
  2. Contrary to Fisk’s assertion that Zarqawi is a “creature created, in a sense, by American propaganda,” Zarqawi clearly exists.
  3. Contrary to what Fisk has also maintained, Zarqawi is alive.
  4. We “bestialize” Zarqawi and Bin Laden. These individuals don’t matter anymore, their creation, Al Qaeda, does.
  5. Fisk questions whether Zarqawi “is seriously an enemy of the ‘West’,” or just some lunatic. He likens our distortion of Zarqawi and his role to the way in which the West “bestialized” (demonized) Khomeini, Gaddafi, Nasser.
  6. Fisk maintains that, if Zarqawi was in fact the individual who appeared in the Nick Berg snuff video, he’s “obviously the monstrous figure we make him out to be.”
  7. Fisk suggests that we create creatures (like Zarqawi) as evil caricatures, as figures for us to hate.
  8. Contrary to what Fisk has just said, according to Fisk, Bin Laden is a real “problem for all of us.”
  9. Contrary to what Fisk has just said, Bin Laden and Zarqawi quite intentionally act and fashion themselves as kindred, malignant creatures. Only we help them do that, claims Fisk, by acknowledging their acts, and recognizing their evil character.
  10. Fisk maintains that, “absolutely,” we must not ignore the existence of these monsters.
  11. Contrary to prior statements, Fisk acknowledges that “There's no doubt about it. They are bad guys.” But they’re popular in the Muslim world.

Man, my head hurts. Anyway, that’s the Cliff’s Notes version of Robert Fisk.



Links: Tim Blair picked up this piece. Check him out for many more links and background on Robert Fisk. He's been tracking his silliness far longer than I.





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