[CLUE-Talk] Media's Iraq casualties put into perspective

[Matt Gushee]

On Wed, Jul 02, 2003 at 08:39:28PM -0600, Kevin Cullis wrote:
> Thought you all would like to hear an anti-media perspective of the
> goings on in Iraq:

In what way is this anti-media? Do you mean anti the media that, to
paraphrase Dan Rather, line up wherever Dubya tells them to? The media
that, up until quite recently, were happy to report BushAdmin statements
as if they were the Word of God, without even a pretense of critical
analysis? With the result that, what is it, 40% of Americans believe
Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks, despite the total lack
of evidence--and despite the fact that George Bush himself, when asked
directly, refused to assert that that was the case?[1]

Oh, I get it. You must mean that old bogeyman, the Liberal Media. Uh-oh,
now look what I did, I'm scaring myself. Look out look out, Librul
Meedya gonna GETchooo!

> As a former soldier, I don't discount any American casualties as
> unimportant. But the fact is that, despite real errors and
> miscues, reconstruction efforts in Iraq are going surprisingly
> well.

Yes, indeed. I hear the oil is almost ready to flow. Perhaps Mr. Peter
would care to let us know when the people of Iraq will have electricity,
or be allowed to hold local elections.

I would be more inclined to take this stuff seriously if the author were
willing or able to support his contentions with a detail or two.
Allright, perhaps his main purpose is to refute the contention that US
casualties are out of hand, and he makes a reasonable case as far as
that goes. But saying we're on solid ground militarily is a very
different matter from saying that the reconstruction is going well, and
all he's got to say on the latter point (which he didn't *have* to bring
up at all, you know) is "Yup, going great, going fine, yessirree Bob!"

<GAG>


[1] From an official transcript of a Bush-Blair joint press conference,
    1/31/2003:

     Q One question for you both. Do you believe that there is a link
     between Saddam Hussein, a direct link, and the men who attacked on
     September the 11th?

     THE PRESIDENT: I can't make that claim.

     THE PRIME MINISTER: That answers your question.

  <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030131-23.html>

-- 
Matt Gushee                 When a nation follows the Way,
Englewood, Colorado, USA    Horses bear manure through
mgushee at havenrock.com           its fields;
http://www.havenrock.com/   When a nation ignores the Way,
                            Horses bear soldiers through
                                its streets.
                                
                            --Lao Tzu (Peter Merel, trans.)