Jeffrey Goldberg: or how the Middle East should not be covered. If I were to nominate somebody for being the most ill-informed and most fanatic "reporter" to cover the Middle East since Sep. 11, it has to be Jeffrey Goldberg. Notice this review of his recent book in the New York Times. Notice that his military service in the Israeli occupation army is mentioned matter-of-factly. Imagine how calm the New York Times would be if it is reviewing a book by an AMERICAN reporter who served in the Iranian or Syrian armies. Would they find that "service" to not be a disqualification? Would the New Yorker permit somebody who served in either of the two armies--but not the Israeli army--to even bring beverages and snacks to the editor of the magazine, let alone writing articles on the Middle East for them? Goldberg did, however, do a good job in peddling Bush's propaganda prior to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A colleague of his at the New Yorker told me that he has been, as of late, disappointed with the neo-conservative agenda. How thoughtful. Read Goldberg's articles just after Sep. 11. They should be required readings in a class on How Not to Cover the Middle East. He went around the region to try to prove the theory of Israeli terrorism experts that all what suicide bombings is about is seeking sex in heaven. He reached the Egyptian Islamist Muntasir Az-Zayyat during his journey, and the latter had to remind him that Muslims also have sex here on earth. Goldberg was quite shocked. When female suicide bombers appeared on the scene, Goldberg had to claim that they were lesbians who also were seeking sex with virgins in paradise.