# Is Robert Fisk all he's cracked up to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 26, 2011, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039 "2011-01-26T11:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/1 "2011-01-26T11:56:10Z")
I’ve read about the guy and I respect the fact he lived in the Middle East for 30 years (notably Lebanon) I respect the fact he was one of the first Western journalists in Afghanistan in 2001, and I respect the fact he has an almost encyclopeadic knowledge of the Middle East and the Islamic world in general. However, In light of this, I come to the conclusion that even the best people are not immune to the blight of bias. I read his articles in the Independent, and it comes across as a cynical anti-US at every opportunity, now I don’t deny he critizises the various tinpot dictatorships in the Middle East too, but one piece he’s gone as far as to say the Lebanese government was fairly put into place and no, not manipulated at all by Hezbollah. He goes as far as to assume that the US didn’t like the overthrow of Ben Ali, so was silent, rather than maybe taking the view that if the US did infact say something or intervene, it would upstart maybe the revolution against the dictator, the same kinda thing happened in 1989 with then President Bush remaining silent on the issue in Eastern Europe. > [@](#): > > **Robert Fisk** > It was the same old story. Just as we wanted Palestinians to enjoy democracy, providing they voted for the right people, we wanted the Egyptians to love our democratic life. **Now, in Lebanon, it appears that Lebanese “democracy” must take its place. And we don’t like it.** > > We want the Lebanese, of course, to support the people who we love, the Sunni Muslim supporters of Rafiq Hariri, whose assassination – we rightly believe – was orchestrated by the Syrians. And now we have, on the streets of Beirut, the burning of cars and the violence against government. > > And so where are we going? Could it be, perhaps, that the Arab world is going to choose its own leaders? Could it be that we are going to see a new Arab world which is not controlled by the West? When Tunisia announced that it was free, Mrs Hillary Clinton was silent. It was the crackpot President of Iran who said that he was happy to see a free country. Why was this? > **[Robert Fisk: A new truth dawns on the Arab world](https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-a-new-truth-dawns-on-the-arab-world-2194488.html)** > > Leaked Palestinian files have put a region in revolutionary mood ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/2 "2011-01-26T14:48:47Z")
[Fisking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisking): > [@](#): > > The term fisking is blogosphere slang describing a point-by-point criticism that highlights perceived errors, or disputes the analysis in a statement, article, or essay.[1] > > Eric S. Raymond, in the Jargon File, defined the term as: > > ``` > A point-by-point refutation of a blog entry or (especially) news story. A really stylish fisking is witty, logical, sarcastic and ruthlessly factual; flaming or handwaving is considered poor form.[2] > > ``` > > … > The term was named for Robert Fisk, a British journalist whom Raymond identifies as “a frequent (and deserving) early target of such treatment.” ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/3 "2011-01-26T14:58:59Z")
“Cracked up to be” by whom? Plenty of people think he’s a buffoon. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/4 "2011-01-26T15:23:13Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [Fisking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisking): The thing that I’m getting at is should I put him in the same boat as Chomsky (which I made a thread asking the very thing) Or should he be taken in a different angle. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/5 "2011-01-26T15:27:14Z")
> [@furt](#): > > “Cracked up to be” by whom? Plenty of people think he’s a buffoon. Alot of Arab intellectuals seem to respect his work. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/6 "2011-01-26T16:07:19Z")
I have met Robert Fisk and think he is one of the best journalists of our time. He writes as he sees things from Beirut in the heart of the region… not some desk in Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/7 "2011-01-26T18:49:58Z")
I think he’s extremely well connected in the Muslim world, and his journalism deserves to be respected. His opinion-writing tends to be too U.S.-focused and predictable for my taste. For instance, had Sec. Clinton come out with a statement supporting freedom in Tunisia, it would not then surprise me if he criticized the U.S. for trying to steer the Tunisians in the direction that it wants rather than letting Arab democracy take its course. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/8 "2011-01-26T19:00:15Z")
Amongst other things Robert Fisk is a truther and I think that should be enough to convince most people to question the reliability of his work. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/9 "2011-01-26T19:47:00Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > A lot of Arab intellectuals seem to respect his work. Yes, and a lot of “Arab intellectuals” (depending on how one defines that term) also buy into ridiculous theories about Jews controlling the world, etc. So, yes, I’d put him in the same boat as Chomsky: political writers that can blow your mind if you’ve never read anything like them, but that nobody over 23 and capable of thinking for themselves should take seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/10 "2011-01-26T20:45:27Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Yes, and a lot of “Arab intellectuals” (depending on how one defines that term) also buy into ridiculous theories about Jews controlling the world, etc. > > So, yes, I’d put him in the same boat as Chomsky: political writers that can blow your mind if you’ve never read anything like them, but that nobody over 23 and capable of thinking for themselves should take seriously. All well and good saying this, however I want examples as to why, rather than just accepting your opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/11 "2011-01-26T22:29:47Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > All well and good saying this, however I want examples as to why, rather than just accepting your opinion. He’s a truther. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/12 "2011-01-26T23:01:38Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > He’s a truther. Link please ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/13 "2011-01-26T23:14:06Z")
.[ > [@](#): > > But – here we go. I am increasingly troubled at the inconsistencies in the official narrative of 9/11. It’s not just the obvious non sequiturs: where are the aircraft parts (engines, etc) from the attack on the Pentagon? Why have the officials involved in the United 93 flight (which crashed in Pennsylvania) been muzzled? Why did flight 93’s debris spread over miles when it was supposed to have crashed in one piece in a field? Again, I’m not talking about the crazed “research” of David Icke’s Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster – which should send any sane man back to reading the telephone directory. > > I am talking about scientific issues. If it is true, for example, that kerosene burns at 820C under optimum conditions, how come the steel beams of the twin towers – whose melting point is supposed to be about 1,480C – would snap through at the same time? (They collapsed in 8.1 and 10 seconds.) What about the third tower – the so-called World Trade Centre Building 7 (or the Salmon Brothers Building) – which collapsed in 6.6 seconds in its own footprint at 5.20pm on 11 September? Why did it so neatly fall to the ground when no aircraft had hit it? The American National Institute of Standards and Technology was instructed to analyse the cause of the destruction of all three buildings. They have not yet reported on WTC 7. Two prominent American professors of mechanical engineering – very definitely not in the “raver” bracket – are now legally challenging the terms of reference of this final report on the grounds that it could be “fraudulent or deceptive”. ]([http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-even-i-question-the-truth-about-911-462904.html](http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-even-i-question-the-truth-about-911-462904.html)) . ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/14 "2011-01-26T23:29:44Z")
Umm, Finn, about your link… ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/15 "2011-01-26T23:59:13Z")
Hah! That’s the second fucking time that’s happened in the last few days. This is the correct link. [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-even-i-question-the-truth-about-911-462904.html](http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-even-i-question-the-truth-about-911-462904.html) That was… odd. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/16 "2011-01-27T00:06:27Z")
At least it wasn’t a link to midget porn or something. 😉 I was going to point out that the guy seems to be a Truther, but looks like that’s already been taken care of. To me, that’s plenty enough to dismiss the guy right there, but MMV. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/17 "2011-01-27T00:14:37Z")
Does anybody else ever think the idea of adopting a hands-off policy with regard to other countries so they can “choose their own leaders/form of government” is many times bogus? The people of Iraq didn’t choose Saddam Hussein. Very often, if not always, people become saddled with dictatorial governments and leaders because those dictatorial leaders were more ruthless and deadly and powerful than their opponents. By and large, the will of the people in these countries has nothing to do with who winds up running them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Amazing_Hanna)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/18 "2011-01-27T01:29:51Z")
Fisk is a pretty good reporter, he writes well and knows the Middle East like the back of his hand. But his analyses come down to “The Americans did it” a bit too often, especially when he writes about Afghanistan or Iraq. Why not read [a few of his articles](http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/) and decide for yourself? They’re pretty entertaining even if you find a lot to disagree with. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/19 "2011-01-27T02:41:14Z")
> [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](#): > > But his analyses come down to “The Americans did it” a bit too often, especially when he writes about Afghanistan or Iraq. You should come up with better examples if you’re to ridicule “The Americans did it”. The way cited quote stands I’m having trouble getting the point. In fact, I’ll up the challenge - find one ME country that is clean of US interference. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039/20 "2011-01-27T02:46:04Z")
What, the worl’s only remaining superpower and an economic powerhouse has _influence_ in the Middle East? The devil you say! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-robert-fisk-all-hes-cracked-up-to-be/569039.md?page=2)