Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen Readers React to "Obsession"

Letter writers who were appalled by the DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" submitted letter to both the Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen. One writer, Ken Gayley said, "was appalled that my local newspaper, which I expect to supply balanced reporting, included a propaganda DVD, "Obsession," with the obvious intention of fanning the flames of hatred and fear, with zero effort to be balanced (not a single dissenting view was presented anywhere in the film, so the purpose was obviously not truth seeking -- which requires considering expert opinions from multiple sides of the question)."

James L. Fritz of Decorah wrote to the Des Moines Register "This DVD connects modern Jihadi to Nazi Germany ideologues. It attempts to scare us into a paranoiac approach to our place in the world.

While I do not deny that terrorism is a real threat, and feel strongly that we must all prepare to deal with it, this is a blatant attempt to frighten us into our own brand of Western militancy. The last eight years of the Bush doctrine have taught us the consequences of stirring the hornets' nest of militant Islam in the Middle East. Saber rattling, "shock and awe" and cowboy diplomacy have only fueled hatred of the United States in the Islamic world and threatened our long-term security here at home."

Mark Kane of Des Moines asks a great question in his letter to the Register, "What did the Register ask to know about the Clarion Fund Inc. before agreeing to insert the DVD?"