Cursor's Media Patrol - 08/25/06

"Riddled with errors" says Juan Cole of the Republican Congressional report on Iran, and Gary Sick detects in it suspicious signs of a hurry, while some on the right get tired of being coy about the "pre-emptive nuclear annihilation of entire countries." Plus: 'When could Iran get the bomb?'

Reviewing the history of U.S. nuclear threats, an article in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists observes that "Bush's statements regarding Iran are particularly reminiscent of a diplomatic strategy ... known as the 'madman theory,'" but Needlenose proposes a "common sense" reply to proponents of war.

With 180 professors killed since February, and 3,250 having already fled Iraq, Reuters reports that students are now attacking teachers, but top U.S. generals reassure that "there's been great progress in the security front here recently in Baghdad."

An AP-Ispos poll finds that "60 percent of Americans believe that in the long run there will be more terrorism in the United States because of the war in Iraq," and a CNN poll found similar results, but USA Today is accused of cherry picking its own poll to show GOP gains.

The conclusion that democracy in the Middle East is impossible, Matthew Yglesias writes, "only makes sense if you assume a perfect congruence between the idea of democracy and support for U.S.-Israeli regional security priorities."

Marc Cooper finds Anderson Cooper's inability to focus on real news "simply indefensible," Eugene Robinson can't resist the temptation to "wallow in tabloid news," instead of worrying about "the ritual beating of the tom-toms for another war," and Pat Robertson inquires about "a shadowy group called Media Matters."

"All I have to say is: pop!" writes Paul Krugman, finding that "the speculative demand for houses has gone into reverse" with the real possibility of "both a deep and a prolonged bust."