It was one of the great media moments of the year. Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, dubbed "John Wayne dude" by the mayor of New Orleans for his take-charge approach to Hurricane Katrina recovery, was talking to the press about preparations for Hurricane Rita. The storm looming in the Gulf of Mexico was the third most powerful hurricane ever recorded and it threatened the coast of Louisiana and Texas just weeks after the catastrophe of Katrina. Honore wanted to inform the public about Rita evacuation arrangements but reporters hectored him over Katrina preparations. "You're asking last storm questions for people who are concerned about the future storm," he boomed. "Don't confuse the people, please - you are part of the public message. So help us get the message straight. If you don't understand, maybe you'll confuse it to the people." A reporter, not satisfied with the direction of the general's request asked another "last storm" question drawing a memorable quip from Honore, "You are stuck on stupid."

That sound bite came to mind when I saw Parade magazine's January 22, 2006 cover trumpeting its annual "Who is the World's Worst Dictator?" by David Wallechinsky. For at least the third year in a row the Sunday newspaper insert, which claims to reach over 75 million Americans, included King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia among the "top ten" dictators of the world, the "heads of state who terrorize and abuse the rights of their own people."

As one who has closely observed Middle East developments for over 30 years that simplistic charge would be laughable to me if it wasn't such a serious contribution to the flood of disinformation Americans must endure about the Arab world. My first thoughts were about the reforms in the Kingdom championed by Abdullah, especially the progress made in 2005 - the National Dialogue program, the expansion of the Consultative Council, the advent of national elections for municipal councils, the election of women to influential boards and committees and the expansion of their roles in society. And what of the reforms beyond social and political issues -- the robust changes reshaping business, finance, trade and labor practices in Saudi Arabia? Weren't there any of Abdullah's initiatives worth mentioning by Parade?

Perhaps Parade's contributing editor Wallechinsky missed the Barbara Walters interview in October where the King talked about modernizing Saudi Arabia and implied he could move the very conservative society forward only as fast as it was willing to go, but that he was convinced progress would come. He would also have missed the post interview commentary from Ambassador Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations who told Walters, "We couldn't do better right now than Abdullah.." Is this King Abdullah the same leader Parade said is terrorizing his own people?

The leader skewered by Parade is certainly not the same person I met in Riyadh in February 2001 when Abdullah was Crown Prince. In addition to expressing a sincere desire to improve US-Saudi relations, Abdullah impressed his guests -- a delegation of scholars and analysts -- with his vision and optimism for the future for Saudi Arabians and other people in the region. In the years since that meeting we have been witnesses to the steady progress Abdullah has made in moving Saudi Arabia forward.

I am also reminded of a conversation I had with journalist Thomas Lippman, a former Washington Post bureau chief in the Middle East, adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington and author of an insightful book on Saudi Arabia, "Inside the Mirage." In an interview for SUSRIS.org last February I asked what he thought about Parade's 2005 edition of the dictator list, which also included Abdullah. "That's just ridiculous," he said. "What planet do these people dwell on? You know, if Crown Prince Abdullah is the world's worst dictator then the world is in better shape than it has been at any other point in my lifetime."

Lippman continued, "You don't want to get into invidious comparisons but the fact is Crown Prince Abdullah doesn't even fit the category of dictator. He's not a dictator. He's a negotiator. That is what he is. That's the only way he can run Saudi Arabia. I'd ask any American who has been to Saudi Arabia, do you see armies of regimented slaves starving and chained in the factories? I don't think so.. ..the references that we always see of Saudi Arabia as a quote absolute monarchy unquote, are just not correct. That's just not the way Saudi Arabia operates. The metabolism there is one in which individual Saudis take on other individual Saudis in argumentation and discussion and questioning. And it's one in which maybe what happens in the public arena is constrained, but that doesn't mean it's an absolute dictatorship like North Korea, for heaven's sake."

If Thomas Lippman, an objective specialist on Saudi Arabia, has it right, then what is going on at Parade magazine? Is such shallow reporting the product of dumbing down news for Americans, who the media seems to believe can only absorb a flashy photo or video clip accompanied by a simplistic factoid box?

It's up to Parade to say what their purpose is in smearing King Abdullah. But we are left to wonder how damaging such articles can be for Americans who rely on the mainstream media for their understanding of the world outside their neighborhoods, left to wonder how many other pieces of misinformation and manipulation are floating around in peoples' consciousness when they make important judgments about the world. All we can do is ask America's writers, reporters, and commentators to heed General Honore's admonition about getting the message right: "If you don't understand.. ..you'll confuse it to the people."

Parade, please don't confuse the people.

>>Patrick W. Ryan is Editor of SUSRIS.org.