Bahrain Special: Who Exactly is Ill-Informed? And How Did That Happen?

Morgan RoachWho exactly is ill-informed on Bahrain? 

Morgan Roach, writing for the Heritage Foundation, says, "The Obama Administration".

Really? A mirror, rather than a stare at the White House, might be in order here. This is an article almost beyond serious consideration, so willfully does it embrace the prevailing myths of propaganda that (1) the opposition are violent, Molotov cocktail-wielding thugs and (2) disorder is wholly orchestrated by the leading opposition society Al Wefaq and radical Shia elements from outside Bahrain. 

Roach is unwilling to concede anything to the opposition. She even repeats the old chestnut --- disproved by the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry --- that Iran is pulling the strings of dissent.

OK, it is one matter to note a very bad "analysis". For significance, what is needed is an examination of how this very bad "analysis" made it into print.

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A Political Thriller: Congress Passes the New START Treaty on Nuclear Weapons

The confirmation on Wednesday of the New START Treaty with Russia concluded a staggering turnaround in the fortunes of the Obama Administration. Even the tax cuts of the previous week, initially presented as a victory for the Republicans holding the President hostage to their demands, have now become part of the triumphal story of Barack Obama as the Comeback Kid.

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