Column One

February 2004

Hardly a month passes without Alternative finding itself on the defensive trying to justify its editorial policies and the leftism of its team.

Letters to the editor coming mostly from leftists constantly discredit this publication, describing its team of being a group of collaborators and American propagandists. On the other side of the political spectrum, rightists question our credibility accusing us of publishing too many leftism in a publication designed to serve as an outlet for youth freedom of expression.

A third faction, presumably leftist but taken by the ever rising nationalist and fundamental zeal in the region, has also came down heavily on what it described as American propaganda.

This is a sign of good democracy. Alternative has an additional piece of advice though to those narcissi leftists who call themselves activists and who during their stay in the different political groups or university student councils, all what they did is talk. The advice is: Things are easier said than done. Stand in our shoes and see for yourself. Would you want to censor a volunteer correspondent writing from Baghdad on claims that his article was American propaganda. It was not, but many of our readers were not reading what is printed, but what is rather preconceived in their own minds.