03
Sep
BUSH IN IRAQ: SHOW HIM WHAT HE WANTS TO SEE
BUSH FLIES TO IRAQ FOR PHOTO OP
CREDIT SQUEEZE STILL WITH US
“CELEBRATING” LABOR DAY
PLUS
MONDAY’S REPORT ON REPORTS OF AN ATTACK ON IRAN
How brave. How macho. How Supermanish. Our Commander in Chief breavely jet-setted to Iraq on a surprise Labor Day visit no doubt to collect some upbeat anecdotes to illustrate the “progress” we are making, and to cheer the troops on. It was also an expensive photo op with Bush hinting at troop withdrawals if “progress” contines:
President Bush raised the possibility that some U.S. troops could be withdrawn from Iraq if security there continues to improve.
Just as British troops pulled out of Basra, it appears that some gesture at the highest level was needed to undermine any perception of failure.
AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - President Bush and his national security team made a first-hand assessment of the war in Iraq and prospects for political reconciliation Monday as a showdown nears with Congress over the U.S. troop buildup.
The president secretly flew 11 hours to this air base in a remote part of Anbar province, bypassing Baghdad in a symbolic expression of impatience with political paralysis in the nation’s capital. The gesture underscored the U.S. belief that the spark for progress may come at the local level.
Note how the commander in chief confined his visit to a military base. He was not out mingling with the people or kissing babies. The Associated Press underscored “The setting is the message.” It also illustrates the long term strategy of keeping bases, no matter what, as in we ain’t going anywhere.
Will the U.S. ever leave Iraq? Official policy promises an eventual departure, while warning of the dire consequences of a “premature” withdrawal. Independent journalist Dahr Jamail, and author Chalmers Johnson, are discovering that military bases in Iraq are being consolidated from over a hundred to a handful of “megabases” with lavish amenities.
The Presidennt also wants to show how we are now working with Sunnis after saying nothing about the ethnic cleansing of the capital that destroyed their neighborhoods on our “watch.” Truth Out reported: Shiites now dominate the once mixed capital, and there is little chance of reversing the process.”
This is part of the propaganda war, a war designed for the war on the home front—to get American politicians and the public to believe that this war can be won. This is the war being fought out in the press and, believe it or, not despite all the lies that have been exposed, and all the media critiques that have been published, the Administration is SUCCESSFULLY selling the perceptions that it wants the public to have. Read how in this report
First Kevin Drum Explains it and then there is this comment:
Yesterday, Kevin Drum explained that independent of Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus has run a masterful, methodical p.r. campaign that effectively “outplayed” Democrats and other opponents of the president’s war policy. Atrios held lawmakers at least partially responsible, because they “have chosen to play along.”
But in order to really change the conventional wisdom, Petraeus needed a hand from a pliant press corps. Greg Sargent makes the case today that the media made Petraeus’ media blitz a success by buying into faulty assumptions.
…I think it’s necessary to add another explanation for the apparent success of Petraeus’ PR push: The media, in some cases out of incompetence and in others by design, helped him get away with it, and indeed actively enabled it.
If you step back and survey the totality of media’s performance this summer on the Iraq debate, it becomes a good deal clearer just how awful it’s all been — and just how complicit these failings were in helping to shift the debate.
It’s persuasive stuff.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE MUCH ANTICIPATED PETRAEUS REPORT?
Former Senator Gary Hart says don’t hold your breath on the Huffington Post
Those seeking definitive authority either for staying in Iraq or for leaving will be disappointed in the forthcoming Petraeus report. It would be a very great surprise if General Petraeus concludes that we have failed and should withdraw forthwith on the one hand, or finds that the vaunted “surge” is working so well that we can foresee victory in the foreseeable future on the other hand. Instead, like the war itself, this report will claim some success and, reluctantly, point to areas where progress has been limited.
This leaves open the question of what the fence-sitters, those suspending judgment until this report comes in, will do now. Assuming the report does not offer a solid conclusion of victory or failure, the votes still needed to end U.S. combat operations are right where they’ve been for months-blowing in the wind…
AND WHAT ABOUT IRAQI OIL: READ ABOUT THE OIL SUMMIT
Report By Sarah Meyer in the UK
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT “THE LIST”
The freedom to travel of more than 100,000 Americans placed on “watch” and “no fly” list.
Poll: 71% of Israelis want U.S. to strike Iran if talks fail
By Aluf Benn Haaretz Mon., September 03, 2007
Fully 71 percent of Israelis believe that the United States should launch a military attack on Iran if diplomatic efforts fail to halt Tehran’s nuclear program, according to a new poll.
The survey, commissioned by Bar-Ilan University’s BESA Center and the Anti-Defamation League, found that 59 percent of Israelis still believe the war in Iraq was justified, while 36 percent take the opposite view.
Some 65 percent believe that the United States is a loyal ally of Israel, with only 11 percent saying the opposite. A slightly higher proportion, 73 percent, described U.S. President George W. Bush as friendly. Forty-eight percent attributed U.S. support for Israel to strategic considerations, while 30 percent credited American Jewry and 17 percent cited shared values and a shared democratic tradition.
Regarding America’s importance to Israel, there was near consensus: 91 percent said that close relations with the U.S. are vital to Israel’s security. Some 51 percent of respondents predicted that the U.S. will ultimately impose an agreement on Israel and the Palestinians, while 43 percent disagreed.
In addition, 52 percent of respondents described American Jewish support of Israel as “sufficient,” while 33 percent did not. About half of all Israelis believe that American Jewry is in danger of disappearing due to assimilation, the poll found.
Deborah Emin on my earlier blog on possible war With Iran:
Hey Danny, Did you see Chris Hedges’ piece on what will happen if the war with Iran proceeds as it looks like it might? It is a very frightening foreshadowing of what the consequences of such an action would be. Whatever happened to all those American general who had sworn that they would never participate in another war and certainly not in one aimed at Iran? Do you remember that list of generals who had sworn not to follow orders? I wonder where they are now and what they have to say about all this war talk now.
