My column on Easongate is up. It’s a very basic primer for a non-blog audience.

One of the points I tried to hammer home is the need to understand the context in which Jordan’s remarks were made. The point is that Jordan’s remarks in Davos weren’t just an innocent slip of the tongue, but reflect a longstanding hostility toward the U.S. military:

Jordan’s defenders say he was “misunderstood” and deserves the “benefit of the doubt.” But the man’s record is one of incurable anti-American pandering.

Jordan’s the man who admitted last spring that CNN withheld news out of Baghdad to maintain access to Saddam Hussein’s regime. He was quoted last fall telling a Portuguese forum that he believed journalists had been arrested and tortured by American forces (a charge he maintains today). In the fall of 2002, he reportedly accused the Israeli military of deliberately targeting CNN personnel “on numerous occasions.” He was in the middle of the infamous Tailwind scandal, in which CNN was forced to retract a Peter Arnett report that the American military used sarin gas against its own troops in Laos. And in 1999, Jordan declared: “We are a global network, and we take global interest[s] first, not U.S. interests first.”

Meanwhile, Captains Quarters has discovered a second top CNN executive, Chris Cramer, who has a track record of making similar anti-military comments. Little Green Footballs called Mr. Cramer to our attention several months ago.

It seems clear that there is an ethos at CNN of presuming the worst about the American military. This goes back to Tailwind. And if anyone needs a refresher course on that topic, they should take a look at the complete text of attorney Floyd Abrams’ report.

The MSM is finally beginning to pay attention to the Eason Jordan story, but it’s only a start. As Jim Geraghty says, Davos authorities can settle this dispute by releasing the videotape:

Help us learn who’s telling the truth. And everybody else in the media – blogs, mainstream, left, right, big, small – can help add to the pressure by politely but firmly calling on the World Economic Forum to release the tape.

I believe the most effective requests will be those that come from soldiers themselves and their families. Bloggers–military bloggers in particular–need to spread the word. Courtesy of Geraghty, here’s the contact information:

Mark Adams
World Economic Forum
Head of Media
Mark.Adams@WEForum.org
+41 22 869 1212

While you’re at it, why not copy your request to Eason Jordan? His e-mail address is eason.jordan@turner.com. CNN’s main phone number is (404) 827-1500. Ask for Eason Jordan and the operator will put you through to his voicemail. Be polite.

Update: 2/11 Jordan resigns! See here for updates and analysis.

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