I'd like to cite some statistics collected by Martin Indyk, a researcher in Washington who tracked the number of anti-American, pro-Laden demonstrations in Arab countries following the October 7 onset of U.S. hostilities in Afghanistan. A former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Indyk is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He looked at the level of protesting in 21 Arab countries from North Africa to Yemen in the Persian Gulf. In the first week after the United States began military actions, Indyk found that there were nine pro-Laden, anti-American demonstrations in the region. In week two there were three demonstrations; week three, one demonstration; week four, two demonstrations. In the fifth week, the Taliban leader Mullah Omar called for mass protests, American bombs hit a hospital, and Israeli tanks rolled into the West Bank. During the same week there was not a single demonstration in the surveyed Arab countries. In the following week there was one demonstration.

I think these numbers provide an instructive example of why we must to be careful when we watch television. Television magnifies whatever is being reported. We see part of the truth and part of the reality, but we do not see the whole reality. I think this problem exists with all media reporting, not just with terrorism coverage or post-terrorism coverage. However, it is particularly instructive in these cases.