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From Colin Powell’s U.N. address in 2003 to the faked rescue of Private Jessica Lynch to the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Firdos Square, the past five years of war have seen many attempts at stagecraft. Bob looks back at a few of those moments and weighs in on the symbiosis of government deception and media credulousness.
Why do commentators always proclaim "Bush declared 'mission accomplished'" when he really said "major combat ops are completed and the US has prevailed".
Sure, there was that sign but if you think Bush made that banner I'll sell you the ship it was on.
Now, after hearing this clip, I blame Brooke for saying the war is over ;)
But seriously, unless you have a clip with the president saying mission accomplished you should stop saying he did. It almost seems like you think the audience is too stupid to understand implication, suggestion and declaration.
OK, then ""major combat ops are completed and the US has prevailed"
Wow, NPR! You're only five years too late in reporting the media betrayal of the people of the U.S. Dahr Jamail, an unembedded reporter in Iraq, calls you "New Pentagon Radio" for good reason. For five years you've been the spokespiece for the Pentagon, but suddenly you've found the courage to report the truth. Is it because you sense a regime change in the White House that might be more supportive of real reporting of the Iraq occupation?
So do you really think that Bush didn't know anything about the banner behind him that said "Mission Accomplished"? Or perhaps he can't read english any better than he can speak it...
Timely Torchlight loves him some catapulted propaganda!
"On the Media," is ostensibly an in depth look at how Media covers events and purports to be more analytical and critical than dramatic or partisan.
Therefore, I find your whole perspective on the 5 year anniversary of the Iraq War disturbing in its bombastic partisan rhetoric which consists largely of lies and rhetorical half truths which bear no relationship to reality.
"...a connection... for six and a half years..."
-Evidence for this accusation? One simple quote from President Bush would have done.
"...the next gambit, ... Saddam's nuclear weaponry ambitions..."
-Unsupported biased accusation.
"...Here's Vice-President Dick Cheney ... specific intelligence sources...."
-This is connecting a statement to your unsupported accusation in order to make it appear false.
"...And finally, the war drumbeat ...media lapped it up..."
-Notorious; Innocuous; Lapped it up - Biased adjectives stating your opinion without any correlation.
"...The tight shot, ... than first understood..."
-This whole screed implied that there was a sinister manipulation which did not, in fact, exist.
"...Yes, the Pentagon's .... much outrage...."
-A lie? No corroborating evidence other than your Iraqi hospital employee...
Your whole review is, ironically, a massive "media" fabricated slant on how you believe that story ought to have been told.
I find it so odd that you all have the hubris to actually believe that if you believe something... it must be true...
It is sad and rather disturbing.
It's very well known that Bush's speech originally had the words "Mission Accomplished" (see Wikipedia as one obvious place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Accomplished )
The Cheney snippet has been shown to have been a "leak" from the White House to the news papers, which he then used as "evidence" on the Sunday circuit.
Yes, I believe On The Media should have provided more detailed information backing their story up, but it's all there. Too bad OTM could only come up with superficial investigations of the media's role in the run up to the Iraq War. The hardest hitting one appeared to be http://www.onthemedia.org/yore/transcripts/transcripts_031403_press.html which could be boiled down to, "reporters aren't very insistent about getting their questions answered." Gee... really?
"It's very well known that Bush's speech originally had the words "Mission Accomplished" (see Wikipedia as one obvious place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Accomplished )"
How absolutely bizarre.
You are apparently one NPR follower who believes that one obscure reference in an obscure interview noted in Wikipedia means "it's very well known" and that it also means that President Bush actually said "Mission Accomplished" as opposed to:
"We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We are bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous."
"Our mission continues...The War on Terror continues, yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide."
A point worth repeating - You all believe that if you "feel it" to be true, then it must be...
Looks like the Mainstream American Media is desperate to cover their asses and restore their undeserved credibility after SEVERAL YEARS (actually over a decade) of lies about Iraq and its mythical WMDs.
There's only one little problem.
The alternative media and the antiwar movement were exposing these US Government/military lies and their Mainstream Media promoters a long, long time ago.
Too Little To Late, National Propaganda Radio.
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