Operation PR continues apace
Not that I'm cynical, but wall to wall coverage of an anti-insurgent operation in Iraq? See? The Iraqis can fight. It's working.
Never mind the fact that we're talking about, at most 1,000 Iraqi troops being involved.
Perhaps my cynicism was spawned Nic Robertson on CNN, referring to the ratio of US to Iraqi personnel of the 1,500 troops involved, said "we are being guided to the statement that more than half are Iraqi." "Guided tothe statement?"
Polls are down, folks, and the consensus is that they're down because nobody believes in Bush's Iraqi success story. I'm not to argue over the merits of the operation overall, but no reporters, all video and information coming through DoD, and an emphasis on Iraqi participation smells to me like a PR stunt.
A PR stunt where people die.
Never mind the fact that we're talking about, at most 1,000 Iraqi troops being involved.
Perhaps my cynicism was spawned Nic Robertson on CNN, referring to the ratio of US to Iraqi personnel of the 1,500 troops involved, said "we are being guided to the statement that more than half are Iraqi." "Guided tothe statement?"
Polls are down, folks, and the consensus is that they're down because nobody believes in Bush's Iraqi success story. I'm not to argue over the merits of the operation overall, but no reporters, all video and information coming through DoD, and an emphasis on Iraqi participation smells to me like a PR stunt.
A PR stunt where people die.
posted by mikevotes at
1:09 PM
5 Comments:
Yup - literally some killer p.r.
And notice no journalists have been embedded for the assault.
So we will have take the Pentagon's word for how well Iraqi troops performed during the assault.
And I guarantee you, they will perform A-OK.
At least according to the report the Pentagon will release to the press this weekend, just in time for Bush's next Iraq speech on Monday.
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 4:01 PM
And I'm thinking there will be alot of photos to prove how well the Iraqis did.
They're trying to turn the debate from if the Iraqis will be ready to when.
My one fear though is that the Iraqi insurgents have proven politically savvy, so I wouldn't doubt that they might react to this.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 4:06 PM
Not to mention that the insurgents may be besides the point now anyway - the battle for the administration is to keep Iraqi national institutions, like the police and military, from turning into ethnic and religious fiefdoms, and all three sections of the country from splitting into separate nations.
I don't think either battle can be won anymore. Don't you sense that Iraq is coming apart no matter what - either partitioned by us now (as a few observers think should happen) or partitioned later by total civil war as the Kurds declare independence up north, the Shia take all the oil down south and the Sunnis are left to rot in the impoverished midlands.
I really do wish we had adults running this thing instead of Rummy, Bushie, Condi, and Cheney, but I suppose had we had adults running things in the first place, this war never would've happened. Nonetheless, if an adult or two could be brought upon the scene, I almost feel like the damage from an unstable or partitioned Iraq could at least be minimized. But instead we have these idiots who never finished the Afghan war, completely fucked up the Iraq war and now want to start a new battle with Iran.
Jesus, can you imagine if you were a Tom Clancy-type novelist trying to sell that plot to a publisher? They'd laugh at you. And yet, this is the current American foreign policy!!!
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 6:51 PM
Actually, partition would be bad, but I find it hard top believe that the Shias would let all the oil production in the north go. They might be willing to let the Sunni desert west break out, but I doubt they would let those northern oil fields go.
In that case, you'd have Shias violently doninating the Kurds who were getting cross border, and probably US assistance and a completely resourceless western Sunni area, impoverished loaded with refugees.
Other than some miraculous deal, I can't find any best solution.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 9:07 PM
You're right, Mike - theonly solutions are bad, worse, and worst. And I'm not even sure there a bad solution anymore - only worse and worst.
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 6:05 AM
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