I am always amazed at those polls that come out showing a majority of Americans cannot identify country X on a map. I understand that most people do not know exactly where Turkmenistan or Cameroon but important nations that are in the news everyday shouldn't be hard to locate. Is it the fault of the schools, parents that aren't map savvy or perhaps its the media?
From Bob Harris:
... in Syria.
Afghanistan would be three countries to the east, about where the right column is on this page probably is for you. Just past Iraq and Iran.
I guess there's a point where U.S. foreign policy is a near-total failure in so many countries, aggravating extremism in the name of fighting it, that even the media starts to lose track.
This is probably some graphics person's error. But it certainly doesn't make Anderson or the network look all that great -- especially when they're repeating the segment with neither a correction nor disclaimer.
Of course this has to be a minor infraction of the graphics department. I would assume that the CNN staff that deal with international news know a thing or two about geography. Yet this goof seems to mirror the national level of ignorance about places outside the United States or even one's hometown. It is great to see so many people that are against the war in Iraq now, but it would be nice if they knew where it was.
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