{"id":1592341,"date":"2022-08-06T15:01:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-06T19:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1592341"},"modified":"2022-08-06T15:04:45","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T19:04:45","slug":"kenneth-r-timmerman-the-day-i-knew-journalism-had-died-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kenneth-r-timmerman-the-day-i-knew-journalism-had-died-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenneth R. Timmerman: The Day I Knew Journalism Had Died in America"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkenneth-r-timmerman-the-day-i-knew-journalism-had-died-in-america%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1592341&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>I have covered war, espionage and intrigue for major news organizations in the United States and around the world, including the New York Times, Newsweek, Time magazine, Reader\u2019s Digest, CBS 60 Minutes, ABC News, Le Monde, L\u2019Express, Le Point, and many others. That was when these organizations still tried to be \u201cmainstream\u201d and did not pull punches, self-censor and lie to protect their political allies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Only when I was fired by Time in 1994 for investigating a story that threatened President Bill Clinton and many senior officials in his administration did I begin to understand that the mainstream media was dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The first war I went to cover was the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. As a Left-Bank expat living in Paris, I naturally sympathized with the Palestinians and planned to embed with a pro-Palestinian NGO in beseiged West Beirut. I wanted to write about the plight of innocent civilians whose lives had been shattered by war.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/timmerman-iraq.jpg\"><\/a><figcaption>Timmerman (left) during one of his numerous visits to Iraq with an unidentified acquaintance. The journalist came to know many of the top arms dealers in the Middle East.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Provided by Kenneth R. Timmerman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I wanted to write about the  \u201clittle\u201d people, not about politics and politicians. <\/p>\n<p>What I eventually learned went far beyond my wildest nightmares. The Palestinians rejected my credentials from their own diplomats in Europe, and threw me in an underground cell as a suspected Israeli spy. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/israeli-army.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/israeli-army.jpg\" alt=\"The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 was the first war Timmerman covered. As a progressive, he initially expected to sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians. Instead, the Palestinians threw him in jail and beat him.\" class=\"wp-image-23337122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/israeli-army.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/israeli-army.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/israeli-army.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 was the first war Timmerman covered. As a progressive, he initially expected to sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians. Instead, the Palestinians threw him in jail and beat him.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There were 15 of us packed in the cell, which couldn\u2019t have measured more than 16 by 10 feet. There were Lebanese Christians and Palestinians seeking to flee West Beirut, Kurds, Syrians and even a Somali. All of them smoked to hide the kerosene-fringed stench of the latrine bucket and their own clothes, and I smoked with them, but it just made the air thicker and more fetid. For 24 days and nights, we got pounded incessantly by Israeli fighter-jets, naval guns, tanks and artillery. The building had eight floors when I arrived, and was reduced to one and a half floors and pancakes by the time I was released.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One day two American reporters, guests of the PLO, took refuge in the underground shelter during an air raid. A cellmate, a French foreign legionnaire, started whistling the French national anthem and I joined him. Then we whistled the Star Spangled Banner and the two journalists, terrified, turned their backs on us and studiously ignored what they were hearing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-clinton-stephen-breyer.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/bill-clinton-stephen-breyer.jpg\" alt=\"Timmerman\u2019s reporting uncovered attempts by China to buy sensitive military equipment from US manufacturers with the benediction \u2014 or at least, a blind eye \u2014 from Clinton administration officials.\u00a0\" class=\"wp-image-23337138\" width=\"618\" height=\"411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-clinton-stephen-breyer.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1233 1236w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-clinton-stephen-breyer.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=925 927w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-clinton-stephen-breyer.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=618 618w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-clinton-stephen-breyer.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=308 309w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-clinton-stephen-breyer.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Timmerman\u2019s reporting uncovered attempts by China to buy sensitive military equipment from US manufacturers with the benediction \u2014 or at least, a blind eye \u2014 from Clinton administration officials.\u00a0<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Later, I was taken upstairs for a \u201cbastonnade,\u201d a beating on the soles of the feet using three lengths of metal-shielded electric cable, twisted together and bound with tape. The pain was beyond anything I could imagine, and eventually I passed out. <\/p>\n<p>I certainly learned more about the \u201clittle people\u201d as a hostage than I ever could at a press briefing or from some senior official. Speaking directly to the bit players of world history \u2014 not the stars \u2014 became a habit I have kept to this day. <\/p>\n<p>Before the first Gulf War I made many trips to Iraq, where I got to know virtually every Western arms dealer. (Hint: arms dealers love to talk). I also tracked down and interviewed the heads of Iraq\u2019s ballistic missile, nuclear and chemical weapons programs, before anyone even knew their names.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/time-inc-building.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/time-inc-building.jpg\" alt=\"During his time at Time magazine (former headquarters above), Timmerman said it became apparent that editors sought to serve the interests of the Democratic party, rather than uncover the truth.\" class=\"wp-image-23337156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/time-inc-building.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/time-inc-building.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/time-inc-building.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>During his time at Time magazine (former headquarters above), Timmerman said it became apparent that editors sought to serve the interests of the Democratic party, rather than uncover the truth. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I returned to the States after 18 years overseas to work for Congressional Democrat Tom Lantos as a specialist on weapons of mass destruction, and subsequently joined a new investigative team at Time magazine. Sources in the AFL-CIO Machinists Union tipped me off to strange doings at the B-1 bomber plant in Columbus, Ohio, midnight visits by Chinese intelligence officers, and frustrated US Customs agents. As I investigated, encouraged by Time<em> <\/em>editors, I uncovered and documented a massive effort by China to buy sensitive military production gear from US weapons plants, seemingly with the benediction \u2014 or at least, a blind eye \u2014 from Clinton administration officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-hillary-clinton.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/bill-hillary-clinton.jpg\" alt=\"Timmerman said he was shown a complaint from an assistant secretary under Clinton, which was faxed to the editor-in-chief of Time. The story was spiked and Timmerman got fired.\" class=\"wp-image-23337165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-hillary-clinton.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-hillary-clinton.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/bill-hillary-clinton.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Timmerman said he was shown a complaint from an assistant secretary under Clinton, which was faxed to the editor-in-chief of Time. The story was spiked and Timmerman got fired.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Eventually, along with other reporters, I put together a four-page story on the scheme that was scheduled to run in mid-July 1994. After a Friday lunchtime staff meeting, the Washington, DC, editor, came into my cubicle. \u201cYou\u2019ve pissed off people in the administration with your questions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p> \u201cI thought it was my job to ask difficult questions of the administration,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>He fired me on the spot and pulled the story, which ran a year later under the title \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.unz.com\/print\/AmSpectator-1995mar-00032\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China Shops<\/a>\u201d in the conservative American Spectator magazine. Three years after I was fired, the exporter, McDonnell Douglas, was indicted for export violations, and Sen. Fred Thomson and Rep. Christopher Cox launched massive investigations into the Clinton sell-off of sensitive US technology to Communist China that led to the creation of the US-China Security Commission, which continues to investigate Chinese misdeeds today.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/and-the-rest-is-history.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/and-the-rest-is-history.jpg\" alt=\"And the Rest is History: Tales of Hostages, Arms Dealers, Dirty Tricks and Spies by Kenneth R. Timmerman\" class=\"wp-image-23337178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/and-the-rest-is-history.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1017 1017w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/and-the-rest-is-history.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=678 678w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/and-the-rest-is-history.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=339 339w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/and-the-rest-is-history.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>A\u00a0source at the Commerce Department later showed me the complaint that his predecessor, an assistant secretary, had faxed to the editor-in-chief of Time magazine the day before I was fired. It was explicit, and called for them to pull the story.<\/p>\n<p>Time\u2019s editors showed in July 1994 that they believed their job was not to uncover the truth but to provide political cover to Democrats in Washington. It\u2019s only gotten worse since then, but I believe this incident formally marks the end of the \u201cmainstream media\u201d as we once knew it. Like many other countries in Europe and elsewhere, we now have a politicized media in the United States. But unlike other countries, in all but a few cases our media refuses to acknowledge its ideological affiliation. So added to bias, you have hypocrisy.<\/p>\n<p><em>Kenneth Timmerman is the author of 12 books of non-fiction and four novels, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize in 2006. The piece is adapted from his new memoir, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Rest-History-Hostages-Dealers-Tricks\/dp\/1637584768\/?tag=nypost-20&#038;asc_refurl=https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/08\/06\/kenneth-r-timmerman-reflects-on-the-day-journalism-died-in-us\/&#038;asc_source=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">And the Rest is History: Tales of Hostages, Arms Dealers, Dirty Tricks, and Spies<\/a>,\u201d (Post Hill Press), which will be <em>released on August 30<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have covered war, espionage and intrigue for major news organizations in the United States and around the world, including the New York Times, Newsweek, Time magazine, Reader\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1592388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1592341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1592341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1592341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1592341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1592388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1592341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1592341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1592341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}