By Ari Berman
NEW YORK -- Updated at 11:10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time
At his primetime press conference, President Bush declared that after weeks of equivocation, it was time for the nations of the world to stand up and be counted on the question of going to war with Iraq. One week later, many of those nations still seem undecided, but most American newspapers, knowing that the time for prevarication has passed, finally took a clear stand on the issue -- and the latest E&P survey of the top 50 newspapers' editorial positions continues to show a slight shift in the dovish direction.
Looking at the papers' most recent editorials from the past week, we found that 18 newspapers support war now while 24 want to give diplomacy more time. Seven did not editorialize on the war this week. The Boston Globe still has not made up its mind.
Of that cautious group of 24, 11 support extending the deadline for war for a short period, while 13 believe that inspections deserve much more time.
The press, like the American public, may be divided -- but even so, it is doubtful that America has ever been poised on the brink of a major military action with a majority of top newspapers urging caution and delay.
Perhaps most notable in this regard, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, previously on the hawkish side, seem to have shifted course, arguing that diplomacy deserves a few more shots. "Bush and his advisors bear much responsibility for the impasse that threatens to wreck the system of collective security that emerged out of World War II," the L.A. Times said on March 7.
The Post wrote on March 9: "If a few more weeks of diplomacy will serve to assuage the legitimate concerns of undecided council members, the effort -- even at this late date -- would be worth making."
The Boston Globe's editorial stance, meanwhile, remains the only one that can not be discerned. It is summed up in the title of its March 11 editorial: "Warring impulses." The Globe seemed to place itself along with "a lot of Americans" in what it called "the muddled middle" swinging between positions "daily, sometimes hourly... " before arriving at this conclusion: "There are no right answers yet."
Strongly Dovish
Among the other notable changes, The New York Times, after much criticism for sending mixed signals, finally took a clear antiwar stance. "We believe there is a better option involving long-running, stepped-up weapons inspections," the Times wrote on March 9. "If it comes down to a question or yes or no to invasion without broad international support, our answer is no."
In a sharply worded editorial on March 11, The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., agreed with the Times. "This rush to pre-emptive war is not in keeping with our best traditions," they opined. "Without significant international support, we will be seen as an arrogant colonial power in the Muslim world, and we will have a hard time putting together what we break apart."
The San Francisco Chronicle also emphasized the importance of global cooperation before war. "Bush's threat to make the United Nations irrelevant is a reckless and arrogant diplomatic act," they wrote on March 11. "In the midst of rapid globalization, we need the world just as much as it needs us."
"Bush says he will respect innocent Iraqi lives, even as his Pentagon appointees cheerily advertise a strategy of 'shock and awe' intended to leave Iraq's vital infrastructure blasted and its population bloody and dazed," the Houston Chronicle said on March 7. "Even Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has wiped the cocky grin off his face in recognition that there can be no joy in sending U.S. troops into battle."
The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, in a lengthy and passionate March 9 editorial, said the March 17 war deadline "sounds less like a deadline than a launch date." The Times claimed that Bush's war would set a dangerous precedent and risk undermining the broader war against terrorism.
Other papers espousing similarly skeptical views included The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Sun of Baltimore, and the Orange County Register in Santa Ana, Calif....
--- See E&P's complete coverage of Iraq and the Press. Source: Editor & Publisher Online Ari Berman (aberman at editorandpublisher.com) is a reporter for E&P.
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