July of last year I wrote about the reporting of Anders Behring Breivik and the tragedy in Norway. I wrote at that time,

Depending who you ask or where you studied journalism, one of the first rules is to keep your bias out of the story. So what happened?

Somewhere during my lifetime it seems that all journalists or to be more specific, reporters, took sides. The way they state things or in many cases, don’t state them is a pure and blatant attempt to sway the reader.

Last October in an article I wrote about the media attacks on Dr. Walid Phares I wrote,

It is one thing to disagree with someone or their views; it’s something else when you blatantly lie, have no proof to back up what you are claiming and then you call it journalism.

What’s more, are those in the media that never bother to check something they have read and then regurgitate it over and over without any basis whatsoever, writing their own article using the original lies and still refer to it as “journalism”.

We have all heard the term ‘mainstream media’ and most of you reading this have probably used it more than once, and not in any complimentary sense.  The problem as I see it is that maybe we should stop calling it the ‘media’ all together.

According to the Business Dictionary the word ‘media’ is defined as,

Communication channels through which news, entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages are disseminated. Media includes every broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet.

Since 9/11, the way that media outlets have been reporting the news when it comes to Islam, Muslims and even terrorism, it could probably be considered “entertainment”, except for one problem, it’s not funny.

There have been over 45 thwarted terror attacks here in the U.S. since 9/11, which is of course only counting those that have even been reported. Chances are you did not hear or read about all of them.

I know of many incidents that were reported in the news, but in no way ever associated to terrorism. Little facts such as never reporting the name of the individual committing the act if it in anyway sounds Islamic. Leaving out the fact that suspect screamed “Allah Akbar” while committing the act, or attempting to sway the reader to believe that the motive was due to “mental instability”.

The latest ‘media’ screw up would have to be that of Yonathan Melaku. If the name doesn’t mean anything to you, I am not at all surprised.

Remember last June 17 when a man carrying ‘suspected’ bomb making materials and pro-al-Qaeda literature was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery? It just about shut down D.C. due to the bomb scare and consequential search that followed.

Inside his backpack he had ammonium nitrate, spent ammunition from an automatic weapon and a can of black spray paint. A notebook he was carrying had the words “al qaeda,” “Taliban rules,” “mujahidin” and “defeated coalition forces.”

At the time of his arrest most media outlets made this story the headline and speculated it was another thwarted terror attack. But in that case they really had no choice, he was arrested near the Pentagon. Both the Department of Homeland Security’s spokesman and lead Special Agent from the FBI counterterrorism unit were giving interviews at the scene.

But as time went on and other news became more important, this story like any other was eventually forgotten. But when the investigation in to Melaku revealed he was the same individual that shot at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the Pentagon, and two other military buildings in October and November 2010 it not only never became headlines, it barely made the news.

Melaku, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Ethiopia and was a former Marine reservist was sentenced last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He pleaded guilty to three counts, including shooting at the Pentagon on Oct. 19, 2010 and attempting to injure veterans’ memorials on U.S. property.

He admitted five shootings from Oct. 17, 2010, through Nov. 2, 2010, twice at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the Pentagon, a Marine Corps recruiting sub-station in Chantilly, Va., and a U.S. Coast Guard recruiting office in Woodbridge, Va.

It’s one thing that his sentencing and the connection between the Arlington case and the Pentagon shootings didn’t make the headlines, it’s all together another that the video investigators found hasn’t been seen on every major ‘media’ outlet since it was released.

The 10 minute video, which Melaku admitted he setup inside his vehicle to record himself shows him wearing a black mask and a red and white checkered ‘keffiyeh’ (scarf) around his neck. The red and white keffiyeh is worn by Hamas and the Somalian Islamic Al-Qaeda offshoot the Al-Shabaab as well as other terrorist groups.

It shows him shooting a 9mm handgun, outfitted with an extended magazine, from the passenger side window while naming his intended targets, but most telling is his singing along with the Jihadi music playing in the car and screaming “Allah Akbar” repeatedly after shooting.

During the video you hear Melaku over the music,

“That’s a military building and that’s the building I’m going to be targeting… Last time I hit them, they turned off the lights for like… Four or five days… Punks! Now, here we go again. This time, I’m gonna turn it off permanently. Alright. Alright, next time I turn on this video, I’m gonna be shooting them. That’s what they get… That’s the target. That’s the military building that’s going to, gonna get attacked.”

Later in the video he removes the mask revealing his face.

According to the FBI Press Release on their website, U.S. Attorney MacBride stated,

“Yonathan Melaku pled guilty to carrying out a calculated, destructive campaign to instill terror throughout our community. The video he filmed during one drive-by shooting is a chilling portrayal of his intent and the escalating danger he posed. Thanks to the FBI and their law enforcement partners, we were able to apprehend Mr. Melaku, develop the evidence that linked him to the shootings, and secure this conviction today.”

The FBI referred to this act as “terror”, but as I found other reports on the Melaku conviction, not only were they not headlines, they never mentioned the word “terror” or “terrorism” and conveniently leave out that the he screams “Allah Akbar” during the video.

WUSA 9, the CBS Channel in Washington D.C. is one such perfect example. It reported it as follows,

Melaku also admitted on Thursday that he video taped the second shooting at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. He said he set up a video camera inside his car and the video showed Melaku firing a gun out the passenger-side window. He also narrates and at one point says “That’s my target. That’s the military building. It’s going to be attacked.”

This CBS station is in D.C., this is where all the attacks occurred, where Melaku was captured and they never mention the FBI statement, “terror” or that he screamed “Allah Akbar”.

The WJLA, ABC Channel 7 out of Arlington, VA report could have been written by the same person as the CBS story as it too seems to forget all about the fact that Melaku screamed “Allah Akbar”. Their story only mentions the portion of the video where Melaku “narrated the incident” talking about attacking a military building.

The Washington Post had the audacity to title their article “Motive of shooter who targeted military sites is unclear”.

Unclear? Really? Within the article at least they mention the FBI statement and that he screamed “Allah Akbar”, but the way they slant the story beyond the laughable title is inexcusable.

Although the Washington Post quotes first assistant U.S. Attorney, Dana Boente,

Melaku wanted “to create fear and terror, which is what terrorists do.”

The rest of the article overshadows it and leaves the reader with these ending thoughts,

Although Melaku acknowledged shooting at the buildings — attacks that did not injure anyone but caused an estimated $111,000 in damage — it still remains unclear why he did it.

Gregory English, Melaku’s defense lawyer, said after the hearing that Melaku’s family is of the Coptic Christian faith and that they were stunned to learn of his involvement in the crimes and the references to Islamic jihad. English said the shootings were out of character for Melaku, and he wonders whether his client suffers from a psychological problem, which he has asked the court to evaluate.

English said Melaku thought that by shooting at the buildings he did, late at night, no one would get hurt. English said the video was intended for YouTube.

“As bad as it is, this is someone who essentially broke windows,” English said. “It’s vandalism. He has no link to terrorism. .?.?. He had a message, but I don’t understand what that message was supposed to be.”

The Washington Examiner had a whopping 5 paragraph, 174 word story in their ‘local news’ section that like others, somehow lost their vocabulary and managed to report it without ever mentioning Muslim, Islam, terror, terrorism or Ethiopian. They did manage however to squeeze in,

No one was injured in the shootings.

His car was located near the Pentagon, and the FBI said authorities found suspicious materials in the vehicle.

What were those “suspicious materials” again, oh yes, ammonium nitrate, spent ammunition from an automatic weapon, a can of black spray paint and a notebook with the words “al qaeda,” “Taliban rules,” “mujahidin” and “defeated coalition forces.”

This is not by any means an isolated incident. This agenda of bending of backwards to not portray Muslims, be them terrorists or not, in a bad light goes on day in and day out with our so called ‘media’.

Google the name “Sami Osmakac”. He is the 25-year-old Muslim from Kosovo that planned to bomb and attack crowded locations in Tampa with a car bomb, machine guns and other explosives. His arrest just happened this month but the top three stories on Google come from the Daily Mail of the United Kingdom.

I wonder if these names ring a bell to you, Shkumbin Sherifi and Nevine Aly Elsheikh. Again, no surprise that you have not heard of them.

Remember Dylan “Mohammed” Boyd, the ring leader of the North Carolina terrorist cell? 7 men were arrested in July 2009 on charges that they plotted terrorist attacks at U.S. Marine Corps base Quantico in Virginia and targets overseas, they stockpiled weapons and trained in preparation for their jihadist attacks.

One of those seven was Hysen Sherifi, now his brother, Shkumbin Sherifi along with friend Nevine Aly Elsheikh were arrested last week for trying to hire someone to kill and behead at least three witnesses in the case, and he wanted pictures of the corpses to prove that they were dead.

Another story not important enough for mainstream media, but according to channel 5 WRAL in Raleigh, NC,

The FBI faked the death of a man in order to make a suspect accused of paying a hit man to behead three witnesses in a North Carolina terrorism case believe that the gruesome crime had been carried out.

Officials say the plot to execute the witnesses was masterminded by Sherifi’s imprisoned older brother Hysen Sherifi. He was sentenced to 45 years earlier this month for his role in what prosecutors described as a conspiracy to attack the Marine base at Quantico, Va., and targets abroad.

I guess the fact that he wanted the witnesses beheaded wasn’t anything news worthy, or for that matter that his female friend Nevine Aly Elsheikh is a “special education” teacher at a Montessori school in Morrisville, NC.

Yeah, that’s special alright. I have to wonder how many parents of children she teaches are even aware of her arrest.

This media/journalism agenda of slanting stories, conveniently leaving facts out and losing their vocabulary to appease Muslims had better stop while we still have freedom of the press in this country.

But then again it doesn’t matter; Once Islam wins this battle we can all start getting our news from Al-Jazeera, it’s about the same as we have now.

Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.

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About the author

Gadi Adelman
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Gadi Adelman is a freelance writer and lecturer on the history of terrorism and counterterrorism. He grew up in Israel, studying terrorism and Islam for 35 years after surviving a terrorist bomb in Jerusalem in which 7 children were killed. Since returning to the U. S., Gadi teaches and lectures to law enforcement agencies as well as high schools and colleges. He can be heard every Thursday night at 8PM est. on his own radio show “AmericaAkbar” on Blog Talk Radio. He can be reached through his website gadiadelman.com.