Steven Emerson
Steve Emerson is a former freelance journalist turned antiterrorism “expert” who began making a name for himself in the mid-1990s as one of the key promoters of the idea that Islamic terrorists were actively operating on American soil. Although he has been repeatedly criticized for producing faulty analyses and having a distinctly anti-Islamic agenda, Emerson is a frequent guest commentator on FoxNews, MSNBC, and other national news programs, and has often been invited to give testimony to Congress about purported threats from terrorists operating domestically. The American Spectator commented in a profile of Emerson that "Steve Emerson is to the media what Richard Clarke was to the government"[1]
Contents
Blunders
Steve Emerson claimed that the Oklahoma bombing was carried out by Islamists:
Emerson became widely known in the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, when, appearing as an expert on CBS News, he theorized that the attack was the work of Islamic extremists. It turned out that Timothy McVeigh was responsible.[2]
In a lesser known incident, Emerson had promoted the case of Iftikhar Chaudhry Khan, who had claimed he was a top Pakistani nuclear scientist, but turned out to be a "former low-level accountant at a company that makes bathroom fixtures." According to Khan's lawyer "Emerson was helpful in corroborating information and making scientific clarifications."[3] Khan was the source behind an article which had appeared in The Observer which had claimed that "military commanders have discussed pre-emptive nuclear strikes against India."[4]
Affiliations
Organisations
- Investigative Project on Terrorism: Founder
- Counterterrorism Blog: Contributor
- International Analyst Network
- Obsession Interviewee in this Islamophobic film
Individuals
Government Service
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Former Aide (Early 1980s)
Education
Brown University: BA, MA
Resources
- Rightweb profile Steve Emerson
- John F. Sugg Steven Emerson's Crusade Why is a journalist pushing questionable stories from behind the scenes? Extra! January/February 1999
- Testimony before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, 31 July 2008
External Links
- Steven Emerson, Pentagon Islam Expert Fired for Telling the Truth, Fox News, January 11 2008 Transcript
Notes
- ↑ William Tucker, 'He Saw It Coming', American Spectator, 7 April 2004
- ↑ Benjamin Wallace-Wells, PRIVATE JIHAD How Rita Katz got into the spying business, New Yorker, 29 May 2006, Posted 2006-05-22
- ↑ John F. Sugg, 'Steven Emerson's Crusade', Extra!, January/February 1999
- ↑ Peter Beaumont, Paul Beaver, Anwar Iqbal, 'Pakistan's plan for a nuclear hit Scientist defects with list of Indian targets', The Observer, 28 June 1998
