War Deaths, Rhetoric Increase
Military deaths in Iraq have just surpassed 1,000 , The New York Times reports, citing Pentagon figure of 998 military service deaths and 3 civilian deaths. The Associated Press , meanwhile, estimates the deaths at 1,003. Whatever the actual total, the fact remains that far more U.S. lives have been lost since Bush declared the end of fighting on May 1st than were lost during the supposed "war."
The propaganda war is also picking up. In an excellent editorial, Paul Krugman discusses the psychology of war and debunks the myth of Bush as an effective war president:
Krugman is right on the money, as usual. Justifying some of the article's arguments, Cheney said that the nation will be vulnerable to a terror attack if Kerry is elected. This is the administration at its worst: it is playing on people's fears in order to maintain its tight grip on power. I wonder if Cheney realizes the irony of his statement? The administration has been warning that terrorists are trying to influence U.S. elections, and I would argue that if terrorists actually had such an intention, they would want Bush to win. After all, what is a better recruiting tool than a cowboy president who invades Middle Eastern countries at a whim and regularly talks of "smoking terrorists out of their caves?" Noam Chomsky likes to refer to this as people's "tendency to huddle under the umbrella of power." The idea is that people resist change when they are afraid, no matter how irrational this may be.
In another item of interest related to the war, West Virginia’s top Army Reserve spokesman denounced the war:
The propaganda war is also picking up. In an excellent editorial, Paul Krugman discusses the psychology of war and debunks the myth of Bush as an effective war president:
When war psychology takes hold, the public believes, temporarily, in a "mythic reality" in which our nation is purely good, our enemies are purely evil, and anyone who isn't our ally is our enemy.
This state of mind works greatly to the benefit of those in power.
Krugman is right on the money, as usual. Justifying some of the article's arguments, Cheney said that the nation will be vulnerable to a terror attack if Kerry is elected. This is the administration at its worst: it is playing on people's fears in order to maintain its tight grip on power. I wonder if Cheney realizes the irony of his statement? The administration has been warning that terrorists are trying to influence U.S. elections, and I would argue that if terrorists actually had such an intention, they would want Bush to win. After all, what is a better recruiting tool than a cowboy president who invades Middle Eastern countries at a whim and regularly talks of "smoking terrorists out of their caves?" Noam Chomsky likes to refer to this as people's "tendency to huddle under the umbrella of power." The idea is that people resist change when they are afraid, no matter how irrational this may be.
In another item of interest related to the war, West Virginia’s top Army Reserve spokesman denounced the war:
“I believe in this country, and I’m concerned about where this country is heading,” he said. “I want to be part of the change, vs. the part that will allow us to continue on the path of destruction.”
He added that he’s doing the same as John Kerry, who fought in the Vietnam War then returned to oppose it.
posted by Ben at 9:13 AM
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