Fifth Column Alert: CNN 'Senior Editor for Middle Eastern Affairs' Out After Indiscreet Tweet Praising Ayatollah Fadlallah

Bet CNN’s Octavia Nasr, the network’s “senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs,” wishes she’d never sent this Tweet:

Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah… One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.

Yes, you read that right: an American “journalist” expressing admiration for a leader of a terrorist organization.

Even for CNN, that was too much. She’s just been fired. From Mediaite:

In the latest case of new media (or oversharing) gone wrong, CNN’s Senior Editor of Mideast Affairs Octavia Nasr is leaving the company following the controversy caused by her tweet in praise of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah

Mediaite has the internal memo, which says “we believe that her credibility in her position as senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs has been compromised.”

As if further proof were needed that a sizable segment of the Fourth Estate is now effectively the Fifth Column, this one is right up there. Apparently it’s no longer enough that reporters and correspondents pretend to be neutral, even about the good guys — now, they’re not only not neutral, they publicly express their admiration for sheer, malevolent evil — a man who, according to the obits, was “known for his staunch anti-American stance.”

Good Lord, is this what American journalism has come to?

In the aftermath of 9/11, the MSM engaged in an utterly predictable exercise of its time-honored pattern, and went right out and hired as many Arabs, Iranians and Muslims as it could find, in the interests of “diversity” and “understanding,” and elevated those already in their employ to new, more visible positions. The Beirut-born Nasr had been with the network for twenty years; according to her official CNN biography:

Since she joined CNN, Nasr covered every major Middle East story. During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, she traveled to the region and contributed to CNN’s award-winning coverage of the conflict. In 2005 she reported from Lebanon and Syria on The Cedar revolution and its regional repercussions. In 2003 she managed the 15-member Arab desk which coordinated coverage of the Iraq war, and provided CNN domestic and international audiences an inside look into Arab media and culture and how they viewed the conflict.

Nasr’s experience and deep knowledge of the Middle East put her in the spotlight during CNN’s coverage of September 11th and its aftermath. Shortly after the attacks, she spent months traveling in the Middle East region coordinating on-air appearances and forging exclusive newsgathering deals with media partners.

Kinda puts all that in a new light now, doesn’t it?

After the controversy broke, Nasr tried to Twitter her way out of trouble:

Regret tweet about Fadlallah death bc I didn’t explain specific respect for standing up for Muslim women. http://bit.ly/adrp95

[youtube -HlaVpqUXF0 nolink]

But it was too little, too late. Here’s CNN’s don’t-let-the-door ave atque vale:

From Parisa Khosravi – SVP CNN International Newsgathering

I had a conversation with Octavia this morning and I want to share with you that we have decided that she will be leaving the company. As you know, her tweet over the weekend created a wide reaction. As she has stated in her blog on CNN.com, she fully accepts that she should not have made such a simplistic comment without any context whatsoever. However, at this point, we believe that her credibility in her position as senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs has been compromised going forward.

As a colleague and friend we’re going to miss seeing Octavia everyday. She has been an extremely dedicated and committed part of our team. We thank Octavia for all of her hard work and we certainly wish her all the best.

Parisa.

Who’s next?