On the night of March 11, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales walked out of the Kandahar Army base in which he was stationed and (allegedly) murdered 16 civilians – nine children, four men and three women. Mostly children. While I’d like to say that the Western media’s approach to covering this gruesome saga is surprising, it’s sadly merely enlightening in serving as a crude litmus test of journalism. Which organisations approached the issue with a view to making sense of what happened and why; and which ones approached it with a view to making excuses for Bales’ behaviour so as to engender sympathy for him and avoid losing support for our occupation? Let’s find out.
I searched for “Kandahar shooting” (without quotes) on several different major media outlets, and the top five results for each are below. Results relating to other shootings in Kandahar have been excluded. I think it gives an interesting flavour of the types of stories and the depth of journalism you’re likely to find at each portal. I’m not trying to claim this is unbiased or scientific, but I think it’s interesting.
Al Jazeera (English)
- Mass murder in Kandahar
- Afghan civilian killings spark public fury
- US bids to contain Afghan shooting damage
- The horror, the horror (Opinion piece)
- Decisions, not excuses in Afghanistan (Opinion piece)
BBC News
CNN
- U.S. military to conduct administrative probe into Bales, Afghan massacre
- Afghan villagers describe slaying’s horror, differ on number involved
- Retired general: Afghan killings fallout could see troop return within weeks
- Suspect in Afghan massacre has memory loss, lawyer says
- Taliban demand Afghan trial for alleged shooter
Fox News
- Officials: Mission in Afghanistan is unchanged — US military out by year end 2014
- Shooting spree further sours campaign to win over Afghans
- Suspect in Afghanistan shooting was decorated veteran
- Neighbors say soldier accused of Afghan killings was a family man
- Sources ID soldier suspected in Afghan massacre
The Guardian
- Afghanistan shootings suspect set to face charges in US, says expert
- Robert Bales and the Afghan village shootings – in pictures
- Robert Bales, Afghanistan shooting suspect, arrives in Kansas
- Afghan shooting soldier named as Robert Bales
- President Karzai casts doubts on US version of Afghan village massacre
MSNBC
NPR
- Shootings In Kandahar Further Alienate Afghans
- US Failed To Protect
- Grieving Afghan Father: ‘All My Dreams Are Buried’
- US Soldier Shoots Afghan Civilians
- Afghan Villagers Recount Weekend Shooting Rampage
…and so on. This is the face of rolling, 24-hour, always-on news-noise. It’s far too easy for many Western organisations to take the path of least resistance, both in challenging the still-dominant idea that America is Doing Good overseas, and in venturing abroad to get the other side of the story. Nobody wants to hear about which Afghan shooters had traumatic brain injuries, or were ‘family men’. Only Al Jazeera even did the deceased the simplest courtesy of finding out the names of those who had been killed.
