Making Zarqawi a Clown
I don't know why this is so odd to me. The US military came across the raw footage that was edited down to Zarqawi's last video release, and then made a big presentation of displaying it to show how incompetent he is.
Leaving aside the specifics, this doesn't really seem to characterize the level of incompetence that Gen. Lynch is trying to portray. But how weird is this as a US PR move? (video clip - 2 minutes)
It's an obvious tactic with the intention of undermining support, but doesn't this also smack of some desperation? Is this little presentation likely to stop the inflow of foreign fighters?(maybe) Wouldn't capturing the guy after three years be more effective than lampooning him?
Another article this morning from the same briefing had Gen. Lynch saying that the US was hot on Zarqawi's trail, because of the finding of this tape, as he brought his terror operations into Baghdad.
There's just this odd quality about it that I find strange. I don't know exactly what it is.
Leaving aside the specifics, this doesn't really seem to characterize the level of incompetence that Gen. Lynch is trying to portray. But how weird is this as a US PR move? (video clip - 2 minutes)
It's an obvious tactic with the intention of undermining support, but doesn't this also smack of some desperation? Is this little presentation likely to stop the inflow of foreign fighters?(maybe) Wouldn't capturing the guy after three years be more effective than lampooning him?
Another article this morning from the same briefing had Gen. Lynch saying that the US was hot on Zarqawi's trail, because of the finding of this tape, as he brought his terror operations into Baghdad.
There's just this odd quality about it that I find strange. I don't know exactly what it is.
posted by mikevotes at
2:23 PM
5 Comments:
This is sorta' an old story, at least it's not "breaking news". Arkin discussed it yesterday, and it was published in the Army Times the day before, if I recall. "Hot on the trail" may be an overstatement. The real scoop is they were 1000 meters away, at one point.
I think someone in the Pentagon saw this as an opportunity to taunt Zarqawi and add something affirmative to the news cycle. Lynch's remarks may be best understood as a military man taunting someone without extensive weapons training: he burned his hand on the hot barrel of the machine fun (dur!). He can only hit 4/8 targets...
It is surreal, I'll give you that.
By
Bravo 2-1, at 4:06 PM
Wouldn't capturing the guy after three years be more effective than lampooning him? An obvious point that is lost in the laugh-track.
What also occurs to me is that when/if Zarqawi is caught will the spin then return to how he was an evil mastermind that plotted terrorist attacks responsible for killing hundreds? Couldn't the point then be thrown back in their face, "Big deal, you said he was a joke."
Surreal indeed.
By
zen, at 4:51 PM
Copy editor,
I think you're right. I would guess it's intended to taunt. I'm thinking it's a ploy to get Zarqawi to surface again in another video. If they keep him talking, especially if the vid background is in Baghdad, they have a much better chance of finding him.
And, Zen,
Maybe that's the thing that seemed so odd to me about this. The massive reversal from evil genius to bumbling.
And, the other thought is, if an incompetent can do this kind of damage and stay uncaught for three years, what does it say about US efforts?
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 5:28 PM
GREAT point Mike. Hadnt thought about the baiting aspect.
By
Bravo 2-1, at 6:59 PM
I thought that's what you were implying with your use of "taunt."
Oh well.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 10:35 PM
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