Retaliatory Action Quotes
Russert was so angry at the Sept. 11 attack that he felt he could not maintain objectivity in reporting regarding what America’s response ought to be. Like Pearl Harbor, almost all Americans were outraged. There were probably few American journalists who did not feel anger, but with Russert’s high standards of journalistic integrity he worried about it more and expressed his concern. Ironically, in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the American press & media tended not to examine administration responses with their normal cynicism and suspicion. At the time, George W, Bush, one of America’s poorest Presidents was in office, and before the media and the public looked into all the administration’s actions, the United States had gotten into what turned out to be a series of foreign policy and military quagmires, and had given $ billions worth of contracts to companies associated with the Vice President, the President’s family and others. Much of the money was never found or justified.
The right of vengeance was written into the first book of law for the Muslims. It was a very strong part of the culture long before Muhammad, amongst all the tribes. Before there were organized law enforcement agencies, family and tribal vengeance was the basic mechanism of law enforcement. Unfortunately for many cultures and people, it still is a legitimate method of law enforcement—even in many of the modern industrial democracies.
The nation was in the midst of a major steel strike and the President felt that the steel companies had reneged on their promises:
