A frame from an animated film produced by Iran’s intelligence ministry in 2008 imagined George Soros, who has supported democracy in autocratic countries, plotting coups against the Islamic regime from the White House.
While Mr. Beck has cited his strong support for the state of Israel to fend off that criticism, perhaps the oddest part of his critique of Mr. Soros is that the Fox host appeared to agree with the autocratic leaders of countries like Iran and Myanmar, who see something sinister in the philanthropist’s
promotion of democracy.
In his indictment of Mr. Soros this week, what Mr. Beck did not say about the list of governments he claimed the philanthropist had helped to topple was striking. Before naming America as Mr. Soros’s next “target,” Mr. Beck ominously intoned:
Soros has helped fund the ‘Velvet Revolution’ in the Czech Republic, the “Orange Revolution” in the Ukraine, the “Rose Revolution” in Georgia. He also helped to engineer coups in Slovakia, Croatia and Yugoslavia.
What Mr. Beck failed to mention is that in each of the countries he named, Mr. Soros in fact provided support to popular pro-democracy groups battling repressive regimes led by Communist or former Communist autocrats. The Fox host also seemed confused about some of the events he described in those nations.
...