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The equivalent of the "when asked he denied having beat his wife" type pre-emptive accusation. Selling the sizzle not the steak. Sophmoric journalism and reasoning worthing of Ringling Bros not a national news medium.
Posted by Jack Lillywhite at July 12, 2006 07:19 PM
The Wapo has developed quite the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Perhaps it comes from hanging around guys like Khalid Meshal - leader of Hamas - who just had an op-ed yesterday printed in WaPo.
I hope they didn't pay him for it, because they could be sued for supporting a terrorist organization.
Posted by Scott Kirwin at July 12, 2006 07:51 PM
Reporters take it as a point of pride not to lede with what government officials are actually trying to tell you. Sometimes this is reasonable, depending on what's going on at the time--say a public official just indicted for a crime who's making some bland announcement about something else entirely. But in this case, it's another example showing how the Post's cynicism means we can't rely on it tell us what the heck is going on over there.
Posted by Christopher Fotos at July 12, 2006 08:36 PM
Following up on Mr. Fotos' comment above: I think it's more than that. I recently read a book by Michael Crichton ("Airframe") and, while it is admittedly a work of fiction, it made an insightful comment about the press that I will attempt to paraphrase here. To wit, the press is not interested in finding out what actually happened, instead they are convinced that villainy has occurred and seek any evidence to confirm that erroneous conclusion. In addition, they are so focused on the "Now" that they have no interest or even understanding of context, whether historical of otherwise. This is what leads to the drek presented as news we see in the papers and on the TV.
Posted by Christopher Whitaker at July 12, 2006 11:15 PM
Your Belmont Club link takes me to The WaPo.
Ecch.
Posted by Parabellum at July 12, 2006 11:54 PM
Regarding the media's coverage of Iraq...it's funny how they keep missing stories like this...
Polish Intelligence picked up an al Qaeda terrorist in Iraq who turned out to be a member of Saddam Hussein's Baath party as well. I have some more details here http://regimeofterror.com/archives/2006/07/salas_khabbas/
Posted by Mark at July 13, 2006 03:57 AM
Here is my response to Robin Wright:
=======================================
I read the transcript
http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2006/07/khalilzad-on-iraq.html
And I read your coverage:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071101276.html
This is why I stopped trusting WP for any significant world news long ago. The excessive (and improper) use of quotations, and the inability to convey most of Ambassador Khalilzad's points is indicative of
the writer's minimal skills and comprehension of a complex situation. At least WP has good entertainment and style columns so they can remain competitive with TV Guide and Seventeen Magazine.
Posted by Jan H at July 13, 2006 05:34 AM
I'm not any fan of the Washington Post, whose usual pattern is to rubber stamp the White House's propaganda whenever it can. But from time to time a glimpse of truth gets through their filter, and this was one of those times.
The unreported content was obligatory boilerplate crapola of the sort that anyone who has ever spent any time in Washington can recognize in their sleep. The newspaper reported what was new. Pity that the idiots of the so-called milblogosphere can't see that.
But then there's a lot you can't see, starting with the fact of American defeat staring us in the face.
p.s.: I'm back.
Posted by WW at July 14, 2006 04:27 AM
PS,
You're still stupid, though.
Subsunk
Posted by Subsunk at July 15, 2006 05:15 AM
"But then there's a lot you can't see, starting with the fact of American defeat staring us in the face."
Posted by WW at July 14, 2006 04:27 AM
Yup, every time I look in the mirror, I'm saying the same thing. "Man I got to get de feet looked at soon. My dogs is killin' me."
To paraphrase Sir Winston, "Willy announced to all his liberal friends that in three years America would have its neck wrung like a chicken. Some chicken. Some neck."
If that is what defeat looks like, I'll take it every day of the year. Because Total Victory is gonna leave some kind of nasty mark on 100% of the Muslim world. And I'll take that too.
Subsunk
Posted by Subsunk at July 15, 2006 05:19 AM
Is this what victory looks like to you? Or this? Let me tell you something, you retired nutscratchin' brain-dead drunk, when you can't even control the capital of a country after occupying it for three years, you've lost.
Posted by WW at July 16, 2006 12:43 AM
Oh, and by the way, it would seem that the Army Chief of Staff hasn't quite swallowed the same Kool-Aid as you. He says we're "not losing." Methinks that's what we call, "damning with faint praise."
Posted by WW at July 16, 2006 02:40 AM
Somehow, it's more fun when you can't actually link to anything Willy tries to post. It is like watching a mime being attacked by bees and thinking he's acting out his play. I love it when dementia takes over and stupidity shows its true face.
Look at me. I'm Willy! Tell me how smart I am! Validate my existence!
Snicker.
Subsunk
Posted by Subsunk at July 16, 2006 03:31 AM
In all de journalism schools, they taught dem students how not to be so simplistic minded, on pain of death, you know.
It's like 1 v 1 deathmatch for WW. I mean it in this sense. If one guy has a broken arm and a broken leg, he can still win. America has 50 arms and 30 legs. Some kind of mutant vat freak, I'd say. You can't beat America by quoting "normal" considerations. America has never been normal. There's always another level of power under America's genkai, or over it for that matter.
There's always some new trick America pulls when America is facing defeat. Because Americans and their military do not become weaker as death approaches, we become stronger, we live more to its fullest, and our determination is empowered by facing death and defeat to an extent that staring into the abyss will make the abyss look away.
Al Qaeda's deathmatch with the US and Iraqis, will be ended eventually. The only question is, what will the journalists at WapO do then?
Posted by Ymarsakar at July 16, 2006 03:09 PM
There's always some new trick America pulls when America is facing defeat. Because Americans and their military do not become weaker as death approaches, we become stronger, we live more to its fullest, and our determination is empowered by facing death and defeat to an extent that staring into the abyss will make the abyss look away.
Good God, I haven't encountered anything so ridiculous since reading what the Japanese told a kamikaze pilots before sending them off on their missions. Please tell me that you meant this as satire.
Posted by WW at July 17, 2006 05:32 AM
Donya jez love it?
More complaining and name-calling OTHER commentors than about what is really happening.
The Education of reality doesn't reside in one domain.
Let's not forget HOW we got into War, WHO lied to get us there, THE FAMILY histories of those involved, that RELIGION is the basis for ALL these deaths in the past and now (Look up Sect and Sectarian), the MEDIA ALWAYS lies now...
Of COURSE an Iraq-US spokeperson will paint a rosy picture. Can you believe him? Do you believe the government that put him there? Nuff said.
(Didn't anyone ever wonder why the US was the ONLY country NOT to PUBLICLY air the Bush 9/11 schoolhouse video to it's citizens? EVER? "How could 50 million Americans be so stupid?" That's how!)
Who is making MORE money off the wars than Saudi Arabia? If the Arabs are at fault for the high prices- Why aren't they making the BIG money?
Why aren't the borders of the US, Afghanistan, and Iraq secured?
Why was Afghanistan allowed to start growing and become the LEADING supplyer of opium in the world UNDER US PROTECTION? In only 3 years!
The real scary stuff is-
Why Americans don't get investigations into voter fraud by EITHER party OR the media!
Why Al Gore took over the REPUBLICAN Senate as VP to turn down ALL 24 of the requests for investigations into the 2000 Florida vote!
Why the Skull and Bones, a European Secret Society, chaired BOTH presidential nominees when BOTH were clearly inadequate!
Why Diebold, maker of millions of ATM machines can't make a secure voting machine that spits out a receipt! Why our Government gave them the contract anyway!
Why the FBI Anthrax investigation was pulled when they were closing in on the culprit STILL WORKING at a 'secret' US Bio-Lab that the anthrax came from.
Why Bin Laden was said (by Bush SR.) to have had nothing to do with the stockmarket options when I have a friend that told me 3 days after 911 that HE PERSONALLY SAW THEM in the hands of another runner and breifly discussed them on the floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange.
Why Bush pulled both subs waiting to take Bin Laden out, pulled CIA tracking of known terrorists, went on vacation when the CIA was warning of an impending attack, re-assigned Bin Laden trackers over a year ago, quit looking for him less than a year after 9/11, refused to start an investigation into 911, refused to be sworn in or testify alone.
Why did every anti-hijacking plan, operation and back-up plans with at least 5 different government agencies ALL fail at exactly the same time? Which had never happened before but had been tested and used regularly without fail?
Why did the "liberal" media BURN Dan Rather when the 'information' in the FAKED memos was TOTALLY true according to the secretary that they used to prove the ACTUAL papers were NOT the same ONES she typed?
Why didn't they interview an Air National Guardsman and ask him how you get out of active duty early? Ask him WHY a Shi_-Hot Senator's Son Pilot never made Captain in 5 1/2 years. Only ONE reason.
All coincidences? Not in American politics. Nothing is "Just a coincidence." Look at the BIG PICTURE.
Why can you NOT buy electric cars in the US? Why were Electric Rav 4's, that were only leased to cities and corporations, shredded at the end of their leases?
Why is America's government and oil companies MORE determined to keep using the oil that is funding the terrorists than to change to cleaner and "Big-Picture" cheaper technology? CBNC re-broadcast of their news inteview of 3 OIL CEO's.
Why can we leave 3 perfectly working solar charged dune buggies on the moon, run with vacume tube technology, and not figure out how to do it on Earth 30 years later?
Why my mid-sized '90 Bonneville got 24 miles per gallon and my 2005 Kia only gets 20?
Funny stuff? Why did "Independence Day" decide to Nuke Houston of all cities?
Could it be because it's the HQ's for ALL the multi-billion dollar frauds, thieves, and bankruptcies in the last decade? Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, Arthur Anderson, K-Mart, ..... .... ........ Halliburton ....
A friend of mine from Texas called Houston the Empire of Evil. So I looked it up.
Now- The real important stuff- Since you are reading this, I hope you can see why the Republicans fought Gore and Clinton tooth and nail to keep the internet OUT of the public's hands! Yep- Gore found the extra funding that Clinton said he'd need to pull off "public-izing" the internet. Look it up. (My word- Hey W can do it.) Gore didn't "invent it" (media hype) but was sure involved in it's funding and evolution to the pblic domain.
Funny how our "Liberal Media" castrates Liberals ... eh?
A mind is a terrible thing to waste-
So why do some churches frown on eduation?
Treat women as servants and maids?
Refuse to condemn the Catholics for pedophiles?
Or is that just in the US?
Posted by Han G Thesobs at July 17, 2006 07:58 PM
Wow,
Someone crazier and stupider than Willy. Whoda' thunk?
Careful Han! The Millenium Falcon is calling. The Emperor is using The Force to mind control Bush again! Save us.
See Willy, there's hope for you yet. You could join Han's conspiracy club and get loads of new material.
Subsunk
Posted by Subsunk at July 18, 2006 11:54 PM
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