By Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Did you notice in his Cairo speech to the Muslim world last week that President Obama did not use the word "terrorism?" Interesting, in light of reports that some in the Obama administration no longer refer to actions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban as the "war on terror," instead calling them "overseas contingency operations." But why? What is the reasoning behind this?

Apparently, the president believes that in order to forge a "new start" with the Muslim world, America must spotlight the common ground between the two cultures. Emphasizing atrocities committed by terrorists under the banner of Islam obviously does not aid that strategy. So out with the war on terror, in with the spirit of cooperation.

Now, some conservatives find this appalling. They say it shows weakness on the part of Mr. Obama. I disagree. As long as the United States stays strong on the battlefields and in the security area, diplomatic euphemisms don't really mean very much. President Obama wants more friends in the Arab world, and he's willing to give Muslims a rhetorical break to get them.

That, of course, pleases the American left, and herein lies a problem. The liberal media is now actively downplaying Muslim terrorism, and that was vividly demonstrated last week when two soldiers were shot by an American Muslim in Arkansas. One of them, 24-year-old Private William Long, was killed.

There is no doubt the cold-blooded murder of PVT Long by Carlos Bledsoe, a.k.a. Abdulhakim Muhammad, was a shocking story. But if you were watching Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News, you missed it, as Ms. Couric did not mention the murder. On ABC, Charles Gibson ignored the story as well. On NBC, Brian Williams spent less than two minutes on the situation.

But the murder of late-term abortion doctor George Tiller by a pro-life zealot was enthusiastically covered by the network news operations and most other national media as well. According to a new study by the Pew Research group, Tiller's murder received 90% more news coverage than the crime against PVT Long. Unbelievable.

It is flat-out wrong for the news media to under-report a story where a American Muslim guns down two American soldiers in a small Arkansas town. Just a few years ago, that kind of journalistic irresponsibility would have severely criticized. But not now. Today, news reporting is a whole different story.

As has been well documented, the American media is now in the ideology business, and President Obama has been a big beneficiary of that. Not only did most journalists vote for Obama, as the president recently pointed out, but the media actively aided his candidacy by providing him with favorable coverage.

And that continues to this day. However, by avoiding the constant violence of Muslim terrorism, the news media may believe it is helping Obama, but it's actually putting all of us in danger. How many more Carlos Bledsoes are there roaming around?

Good question. Unfortunately, you won't get answer on the nightly news.