The media seems fixated upon the notion that the public just can’t handle more than one story at a time, so if it isn’t runaway brides it is hurricanes. What? Hundreds of thousands marched against the war in Washington? Sorry, bad timing. Try again after hurricane season.
So what about Iraq and Afghanistan?
In case you missed it like the media did, we’ve lost 20 U.S. soldiers in Iraq over the past 8 days.
And what is wrong with this picture?:
US Military Fatalities In Afghanistan:
- 2001: 12
- 2002: 43
- 2003: 47
- 2004: 52
- 2005: 84
what’s wrong is the jump this year after 3 years of stable numbers. But it could be explained by a single incident like a helicopter crash. Or not.
How do you think the Afghan elections went?
The helicopter crash took 19 lives. Even if you could rationalize a reason to factor that out you’d be looking at record casualties with three months to go in 2005. I won’t comment on the elections because we only see it through the narrow prism the media and the govern ment shows us, so there is really no way to know. I know turnout was lower that the last election. That seems to suggest something.
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July 5, 2005 — Members gather at McP’s to recall those killed in Afghanistan plane crash — the worst one-day toll in the elite Navy group’s history. McP’s, a block from the landmark Hotel del Coronado, is a short drive from the SEALs’ base, one of two in the United States.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer (Reg req’rd)
CORONADO — The music was loud and the beer was flowing, but there was an undercurrent of sadness this weekend at McP’s, a legendary hangout for Navy SEALs.
One of the U.S. military smallest and most secretive combat units, the SEALs had just suffered the worst one-day death toll in the group’s history. Eight SEALs were killed last week in the crash of a Chinook helicopter in the mountains of Afghanistan while on a rescue mission. But the news may get worse.
[…]
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20 more lives. It’s so depressing.
And the British have such a mess on their hands now in southern Iraq that they can’t pull out troops so that they can send more to Afghanistan.
… didn’t finish my thought. We need those extra British troops in Afghanistan.
They’re not fixated–they’re fixed.
As in, “I had my dog fixed.”
The media only deliver one story at a time because they can only cover one story at a time.
Remember, they’re not a press. That’s something an efficient economy no longer supports.
All 3 of their field reporters are presently embedded with troops in the south. Their Washington reporters are embedded with FEMA and the White House in Washington.
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YES!
Safe Area Tal Afar :: Female Suicide Bomber Kills 6
Wed Sep 28th, 2005 at 02:53:24 AM PST
Iraq Arrest Warrant for 2 UK SAS Soldiers :: J’Accuse Iran of IED Bomb Terror
Sat Sep 24th, 2005 at 01:55:16 PM PST
TIMELINE :: Basra Police Station – Jail Break – MoD Lies ¶ IRAN Crusade
Wed Sep 21st, 2005 at 02:25:47 PM PST
Stand-off Basra :: Iraqi vs UK Forces – Riots After UK Soldiers Arrested ¶ Updated!
Mon Sep 19th, 2005 at 06:56:10 AM PST
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YES!
UK Faces Terror Risk Because of US Alliance ¶ Chatham House Report
Mon Jul 18th, 2005 at 05:09:11 AM PST
Osama’s Road to Riches and Terror
Tue Jul 5th, 2005 at 02:33:42 PM PDT
Asadabad in NE province Kunar
Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 01:50:42 PM PST
Lost Between Two Cultures – My Way ¶ Int’l Women Issues
Wed Jun 8th, 2005 at 02:54:38 AM PST
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Pat Tillman A Leader – Sacrificed In DoD Errors
Mon Sep 26th, 2005 at 12:32:41 AM PST
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All of us are beginning to think that our minds are too small to handle more than one thing at a time.
So, thanks for the reminder.
During Katrina’s immediate aftermath, every time I would bring up Iraq, someone would say that we don’t have time for that now.
Huh? Most of us weren’t actively involved anyway… but we could only think about that.
As I write, I’m reminding myself of David Byrne’s “Life During Wartime” and the lines:
That’s followed (a few lines later) by this (and here’s the scary part):
Well, we’d better make time.
Surreal. I saw this script during the Florida 2000 recount.
Character is ultimately the determining factor in fate.
I am just having a hard time accepting the reality of my country’s character these last 5 years.
What has the Pentagon ever done to earn $400 billion worth of trust by the people of the United States?
Isn’t it obvious that they’re going to blow the money on weapons and war, whether or not there’s any good reason?
And, in the final analysis, war is never reasonable.
Totally unfair — our media is right on top of the situation.
Look at the CNN site: they are covering the major issues of our time . . .
A sad update: Since I posted this last night the U.S. death count in Iraq has risen to 24 in the past 9 days.
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By Sayed Salahuddin – 30 minutes ago –
KABUL (Reuters) — At least 12 people were killed and 29 wounded when a suicide bomber dressed in an army uniform rammed a motorcycle into a convoy of buses carrying Afghan army officers in the capital Kabul.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the Kabul Military Training Center, set up by U.S.-led forces to train a new national army, and said more could be expected.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers and Afghan police secure an area after a bomb blast in Kabul today. REUTERS/Omar SobhaniIt was the bloodiest of several suicide attacks in Kabul since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 and came just 10 days after landmark parliamentary elections, which passed off relatively peacefully despite militant threats.
An Afghan intelligence official said at least 12 people died, most of them army officers, but he did not know if this figure included the bomber. The officer, who did not want to be identified, said some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said earlier 10 people had been killed, including the bomber. Another ministry official said eight of the dead were soldiers and another a civilian.
Afghan.com News
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