Letters to the Editor
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@ generalDisdain
-Finally, I found this example of how Canadian citizens support their fallen soldiers, and was struck by the contrast.-
It was not always that way. Prime Minister Harper initially attempted to ban reporters from filming caskets but the families of the fallen protested loudly on the grounds that their loved ones went overseas to serve their country and died in the process and they'd be damned if they were going to do so in anonymity, after which Harper backed down.
As for Bush, I seem to recall that they banned the broadcasting of pictures and video of US casualties and caskets at the outset of the war. I am correct?
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@ The Notorious W.E.S.
-...Is going to be the TV conversation when Obama or Hillary can't pull the troops out.-
They can. But in what time-frame? 16 months is an exaggeration that I do not buy. It will take 2-3 years at least, I figure, making this virtually a ten-year war which is what many expected at a minimum from the outset.
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@ Thelma Ritter
-But rarely voiced was the opinion that it is simply wrong to invade, destabilize, and occupy a country that has not aggressed against you or your allies (at least, not since the gulf war).-
I am not one of those that forgive the so-called Gulf War as though it were justified, nor do I consider the Afghanistan war an exception to the rule.
Whether Saddam or the Kuwaitis were the 'good guys' is subject to opinion. Remember the Bush crime family is/was involved and 41 is every bit the mobster his bastard son is and committed and was involved in many crimes such as the illegal invasion of Panama and kidnapping of a sovereign leader (Noriega) in his home country causing many civilian casualties in the process. Also, its said the VP Bush, the former spook, oversaw the secret and illegal Iran-Contra program for Saint Reagan. Not to mention all the dirty wars in the western hemisphere the Repugs had been financing and fighting by proxy in the 20th century and even today.
There have been no 'just and righteous' wars in recent memory, if ever.
The Afghanistan invasion was not for the ostensible noble reasons that were put forth and it was planned before 9/11. I believe that it can be found in the PNAC manifesto.
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Thank goddess for the BBC.
OK, I've jumped in here 500 letters in, and can't wade through them all, and there are enough letters already. But I had to respond to this one, because the assertion that America doesn't allow itself to hear the truth is just so outrageous, though it's quite believable. From a UK perspective, America seems like a right wing police state in terms of media cover-up. Who's behind this cover-up? Who's pulling the strings of the great democracy?
Here in the UK, all shades of opinion are usually allowed, (except extreme far-right) and we're all very well aware of the horrific mess of Iraq. It's been very openly reported. That's why there's so much anti-American feeling; we all know who's to blame for lighting the fire.
Personally, I think if you're all being lied to and manipulated by your media, you should all go and picket your radio and TV stations. It's just intolerable; how can foreign policy be based on such lies and misinformation. It's an insult to the US citizens, and such a fucking disservice to the rest of the world.
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-- broangelico
You made a lot of sense in that post.
Thank you.
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DCLaw1
That attitude is why we are still stuck in Iraq and likely to be. My ego has little to do with it. I am not the one who has been apologizing for our presence in Iraq and hindering efforts to get our troops out.
The most important issue is to end the war. My reason is that I have seen too many Soldiers die for no good cause, but the war is destroying this country on several different levels. Kos, and Jane H, are not my rivals. They are professional bloggers with a platform. I am just a working guy that tries to keep up. Still I have managed to be right on this issue from day one. That is a fact, while the "progressive" bloggers have been all over the place. It was Fire Dog Lake that talked about the blood on our hands and then when said their hands were specifically bloody got in a real snit.
It is hard to face that one can not really act on what one says they believe. There has not been a credible argument for this war or the continuance of it, yet the progressive bloggers keep making them.
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Unscripted comments
How prophetic those Iraqis were about the horrors to beset their country in the five years to come; in fact, it has turned out many times worse than they imagined...it was good to hear similarly unscripted voices blow Rose's hopes for an affirmation of the surge out of the water today.
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mass media, shmash shmedia
"From a UK perspective, America seems like a right wing police state in terms of media cover-up. Who's behind this cover-up? Who's pulling the strings of the great democracy?"
Like most stable situations, there's no one malevolent or benevolent actor; our media are more short-term-profit-driven than ever before, and the news divisions of the broadcasting networks are no longer immune from this constraint. Sponsors won't, in general, pay for shows that don't deliver ratings on a daily basis, out of the goodness of their hearts. And people don't want to watch a balanced nuanced deeply thoughtfull and well researched (and expensive) treatment of the war after they've spent the whole day at work and now have to deal with the kids.
The administration of course doesn't mind this state of affairs, and aren't the type to institute regulations requiring intelligent news broadcasts in the first place. The media themselves are parts of giant corporations now, and the CEO isn't terribly interested about having the low-profit news division of the broadcasting company publicize something that's going to put a big crimp in the giant profits of the defense industry side of the conglomerate.
and so it goes.