Today I've witnessed one of the grossest and vilest examples of the BBC's anti-Americanism (or rather, anti-Americanism-when-there's-a-Republican-in-the-White-House). Indeed, it is so bad it warrants an official complaint.
On Radio Four's "Any Questions" last night and this afternoon, the very first question put to the panel was this:
"What action should the British government take to bring about an end to the use of torture at Guantanamo Bay?". Hear the actual tranmission here.
The premise of the question assumes as fact that the U.S. authorities are indeed administering torture at Guantanamo Bay. But only two months ago the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a particularly full account of the U.S's total rejection of torture, not only by the U.S. itself, but also the U.S.'s allies in the war against terror. As if that's not bad enough, the BBC itself had actually reproduced Condi's statement in full in a dedicated news report.
There have been all sorts of Guardian articles implying all sorts of maltreatment by the US authorities, but I'm not aware of any specific allegations that can be verified, or which, in any event, actually constitute torture.
Of course, when it came to Any Answers following transmission, all but one of the contributors on this topic were rabidly anti-American and anti-Bush administration. The one who wasn't was a grandmother, no doubt chosen for that very reason (nevertheless she gave a good defence of the reasoning behind Camp X-Ray's existence).
Is it any wonder, with the BBC being the planet's most influential broadcaster, that America is becoming reviled in some parts of the world, and universally disparaged even among its allies?
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