It may turn out that the secret to the solution of the Afghan crisis is to be found next door to ‘the house I live in’. ( I am humming Paul Roebson’s famous song by that name this morning) There is a multiplex next door, most of its cinema screens given over to the smash “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” The “Studio Bigs,” as Variety calls them, at Warner brothers are beside themselves thanks to their record $93.5 million dollar weekend., But what has this to do with Afghanistan?

Magic. Sorcery, and the belief in miracles, that’s what. ( I wish they had asked that Donald Rumsfeld look alike about this on Saturday Night Lives opening segment which mocked his refusal to give straight answers to questioins by the press. He would no douby roll out a no comment or two on this suggestion.)

Never mind that in England the original Harry Potter book is actually about a Philosopher’s stone. Since philosophy doesn’t fly in the You Es Ay, we turn to magic instead. And, I fear, it is a form of magic that policymakers are counting on to transform the extremely politicized realities on the battlefields so far away. The branch of magic they are placing bets on is alchemy.

Alchemy, as in turning straw to gold.

TURNING WARLORDS INTO DEMOCRATS

They want to turn warlords and fanatics into democrats and liberators over night. Poof: the Northern Alliance became our Allies. Poof: The Pakistani Intelligence ISI that funded the Taliban, our friend. And, Poof, we will take out Ali Baba’s lantern, rub it three times, and Osama Bil Laden will go up in smoke.

This what the situation feels like to me this morning as “America at War,” America Fights Back,” and United We Stand lurches into another week that may be as filled with surprises as last week proved to be. CNN his morning was trying to explain the wheeling and dealing among local commanders underway in Khanahar and Konduz and other places which have probably never experienced a mention on American TV in their long histories. The political skirmishing has begun in earnest, as fierce factions, many as fanatical as the Taliban, struggle for power and positioning like actors fight for placement in movie credits. Now there are reports, first in the London papers yesterday, and then in the New York Times today, that foreign soldiers fighting with Al Qaeda opened up on potential Taliban defectors in Konduz, slaughtering hundreds.

GULLIVER AND THE LILLIPUTANS

As the Hunt for the Green November marches on, (remember that cold war epid, The Hunt or the Red December) we have Eric Schmitt writing from the safety of the NY Times Week in Review that “war works, after all, ” and that the US military is entering a new phase. Publicly they call it “asymmetric warfare,” which the Times tells us is the pentagon’s label for “war between Gulliver and the Lilliputians.” (Didn’t think they did any reading over there, did ya?) Unfortunately, others in the Moslem world see it as “David v Goliath.” And their David goes by the name of Osama, who may or may not be up against the wall, depending on who you read and/or trust.

What happens now? So far we have very little about the role of money in all this, specifically, all the bribing that is going on within the factions and between the Taliban and its adversaries. My friend David Phillips, an international analyst explains some of the problems in a new paper of his that have yet to work their way into the media. The US is for now blocking any attempts by what used to be called the Northern Alliance and now that even CBS News calls the United Front. (Last night while the reporter said UNITED Front, the chyron or titles identifying one of their leaders said “Northern Alliance.”) Remember the United Front has been backed by India and hated by Pakistan. Here’s Phillips on this issue:

“International mediation efforts have focused on establishing a broad based coalition government with representation by Afghanistan’s minorities and moderate Pashtun factions. To this end, Mohammed Zahir Shah is seen as someone who can convene a High Council and Loya Jurga. Military strategies must be linked with this political process. But it is unlikely that an effective post-Taliban coalition can be established in the near term. With the Taliban shifting tactics to undertake a protracted guerilla war, local commanders are not likely to defect or forego steady payments from the Taliban prior to a clear military outcome. The formation of an interim administration or transitional authority will be influenced first and foremost by events on the battlefield. Once established, the coalition is likely to be characterized by a weak central government, with authority largely decentralized and localized. Efforts to establish a transitional authority must take into account the critical role of tribal leaders and local commanders in Afghanistan.” Yesterday, in this column I noted that Zahir Shah’s last outing in Afghanistan was nothing to write home about or have confidence in.

DOCUMENARIES NEEDED AND LESSONS LEARNED

We need more in-depth coverage and explanatory analysis that goes deeper than the rapid fire news cycle we are being exposed to. There have been a few good documentaries on the background to this situation, especially on PBS Frontline, although one film, shown repeatedly on CNN was used in the run-up to war to help mobilize public opinion. You may have seen it: “Beneath the Veil” by Afghan-British film maker Saira Shah who went undercover inside the world of the Taliban. She has since returned for a follow up called “Unholy War.” The Online Journalism Review reports that she has spoken with Salon.com about how tough she thinks it will be to rebuild what is now devastated land. “: A failed attempt to help send three girls to school ‘’was a realrevelation for me,'’ she said. ‘’I rather arrogantly, in a very Westernway, assumed that I could solve their problems because I had good willand money. It taught me that their problems are more complex.'’ ‘’UnholyWar'’ will air this Sunday on CNN.

WAR AND OIL: IS THERE A CONNECTION?

A major media outlet has editorially linked the war and oil calling for a new energy policy. Sunday’s Seattle Post Intelligencer (PI or PU, depending on your point of view is one of the first to treat a conection that keeps many a conspiracy theorist up at night. Here is an excerpt:

“There is a direct, inescapable connection between our war on terrorism and our nation’s dependence on the internal combustion engine.

“If the United States did not need oil, it’s a safe bet we would not be so heavily, and dangerously, engaged in the Middle East. Yet the U.S. Congress seems at great pains to ignore that costly connection.

“If ever there were a moment to connect the dots and lay the foundation for a rational long-term energy policy that lessens our dependence on oil, it is now, when bombs are falling in Afghanistan and Americans are bracing for the arrival of body bags from a foreign killing field.

“But a timid Congress once again is backing away from this challenge. It has abandoned its effort to enact a promised broad new energy policy this session. That is a dangerous dereliction of duty….”

MEDIA SERVES THE PUBLIC (l801)

An editorial that caught my attention appeared in the New York Post’s first edition which was reprinted last week to mark that newspapers’ 200th anniversary. Dated November 16, 1801, the editor explained that the paper — at least back then — would be committed to offering the kind of diversity of opinion that the Mediachannel.org and others still call for. Why isn’t this on the History Channel?

“While we shall be duly studious of Originality,” he writes, “we shall avail ourselves of the contents of various newspapers, Pamphlets, Magazines and Reviews printed in our country and elsewhere; since it cannot be of any moment, as it respects the public, whether an interesting piece of information or a well written essay, which they have probably never seen, has appeared in any other paper or not.” These words could be recycled as a mission statement for the new Globalvision News Network.

MEDIA SERVES THE PUBLIC (2001)

Variety reports today that MTV is being asked and has agreed to help the war effort by producing hip segments aimed at Muslim youth to encourage them not to hate America. Meanwhile, I hate to share some shocking information gleaned from the New York Post: Singer Whitney Houston was digitally altered for her appearance on Michael Jackson’s $4million dollar supershow comeback on CBS last week. (How many more comebacks can we take?) Whitney, who has been sick, was apparently sickly and do thin that the digitizers were called in to clean her up. This is the technology that CBS News used during the Millenium celebration in Times Square to replace a NBC logo with their own. ON June llth, Newsweek reported a lab in Princeton New Jersey, once known only for a famous university in the days before Anthrax has developed techniques to place products like a sponsors name on the walls of ball parks we watch on TV or on the sets of sitcoms. It is called “Virtual Product Placements.”

LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS

This one is from Megan Garrity “I’m glad to see you’re still not only in the news business, but writing alternative, intelligent pieces. Your effort is appreciated; keep up the good work before all independent voices are completely squashed.” Thanks Megan. An Anonymous writer asks: Why is CNN lying about the Florida election recount results??? Why don’t they tell America the real truth? If all votes in the state were manually recounted, Gore would have won. In a true democracy, the most precious right one has is the right to vote. It is heart breaking to see how the corporate media is protecting Mr. Bush-the slave of corporate America. I thought the fourth estate’s main responsibility was to protect the rights of the people instead.” Check out my regular weekly column on Wednesday for my take on the recent media recount and the election issues that have been so distorted.

BACK IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF THE BRONX

Yesterday, I was back in my old neighborhood in the Bronx for a discussion of the war and what citizens can do about it. I was pleasantly surprised to find a packed room and lots of interest in all the issues including the media coverage. Thanks to Jordan Moss of the Norwood News for inviting me. Two talks stood out. The first by Palestinian author Nadia Hijab flipped the idea of why people in other countries hate us and instead spoke about why that they respect in America, freedom and respect for law. She then noted that thos same core values are not expressed in many US policies, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dr, Hillel Cohen contrasted the current National Health Scarw with the need for National health care. In commenting on the panic over producing small pox vaccines for a possible threat, he noted that there is a shortage of Flu Vaccines which took 4000 lives last year. He also noted that industrial accidents in America are a much bigger health threat than Anthrax but don’t rate barely as much media attention, except when they happen on a prominent location as was the case with the collapse of a scafold claiming five lives in the builiding that used to house Globalvision’s offices here in New York City.

Good News. The Wall Street Journal reports on its front page this morning on that an Afghan Band on the Run, The Afghanistan Folk Orchestra, hopes to be back in action now that the music hating Taliban is going, going, gone. Perhaps we will soonn be seeing them on Afghan TV which is now back on the air, a sign of that country’s priorties. Memo To David Letterman: Book em.

And Speaking of musicians, Comedian Ben Bailey quips. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a little concerned about Anthrax. Not the disease, the heavy metal band. That band id never going to work again. The best thing they can hope for is a gig opening for The Cure.” (I know it is a bad joke, but I couldn’t resist)

Back Tomorrow. Until then, we are still open for your input on whether you find this daily dissection of value, and whether or not I should persevere. We have had some wonderful feedback and welcome yours at dissector@mediachannel.org.

This is your News Dissector Danny Schechter from somewhere in Cyberspace looking for that Sorcerer’s stone.