The following paragraph appeared in this Reuters dispatch on statements made by Condoleeza Rice before her first trip to the Middle East as Secretary of State:
Rice suggested Washington could also help the Palestinians develop democratic institutions and, eventually, support reconstruction if Israel carries through with its plan to close all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank.
Did Rice put it that way? I sincerely doubt it, just as I doubt the shooting of the Palestinian girl in Gaza is any longer “disputed,” as is indicated in the article (the Palestinians did it themselves). The selective quoting in this piece by Arshad Mohammed is quite remarkable for its elegance of propagandistic selection. I commend Mr. Mohammed, but I also wonder if those paying for the Reuters New Service have any idea what they are actually buying. Choosing Reuters may be a goold old habit, but then so was smoking.
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