Media Ignore Syrian Minister’s Claim That CIA Was Behind 2005 London Bombings

Is it the media’s job to keep American citizens aware of statements made by foreign officials that could shed light on what we’re up against in winning the wars in Iraq and on terrorism? Or, should the press keep the caustic comments of such political officials from the public in order to maximize the impression that all the problems in the world are caused by the Bush administration?

While you formulate an answer, consider the following statements made by the Syrian Minister of Culture during a speech aired on Iranian television (video available here courtesy of Memri TV):  

The so-called Al-Qaeda is in my opinion, an illusion. It is a bunch of organizations which used to be supervised by the CIA, and used to commit crimes in some Arab and Islamic countries.

Nice, huh? Alas, he was just getting warmed up blaming terrorism on America:

Who can vouch that the prisoners in Guantanamo are really the so-called terrorists? We don't know, because none of these crimes were investigated. Take, for example, the London bombings, of which Muslims have been accused. Who are they? Has anyone announced their names? Has anyone said who they were? They were forgotten, just like in all the bombings that took place in Europe. The truth is that the people who do this are the agents of the U.S., with its new anti-Islamic policy, and the agents of Zionism and the Mossad. Unfortunately, our media in some Islamic countries follows the Zionist media machine and repeats what it is says.

Now, wouldn’t it be nice if Americans would be made aware when officials from such nations that are assisting our enemies in Iraq made these kinds of statements? Or, would that be too much like actually reporting the news?

What follows is a full transcript of this video.

RIYADH NA'SAN AGHA, SYRIAN MINISTER OF CULTURE: The so-called Al-Qaeda is in my opinion, an illusion. It is a bunch of organizations which used to be supervised by the CIA, and used to commit crimes in some Arab and Islamic countries. They committed crimes in Luxor, Tunisia, and Jordan. Who knows who committed these crimes? Who can vouch that the prisoners in Guantanamo are really the so-called terrorists? We don't know, because none of these crimes were investigated. Take, for example, the London bombings, of which Muslims have been accused. Who are they? Has anyone announced their names? Has anyone said who they were? They were forgotten, just like in all the bombings that took place in Europe. The truth is that the people who do this are the agents of the U.S., with its new anti-Islamic policy, and the agents of Zionism and the Mossad. Unfortunately, our media in some Islamic countries follows the Zionist media machine and repeats what it is says.