posted
Did this make anyone else sick today? I know the rationale of our government in releasing these photos was to strike fear in the hearts of Iraqis (who couldn't see it ANYWAY, since they're without electricity...)
But to me, it was like looking at a couple of bloody scalps on America's belt, being waved in front of the world to show what a bad bunch of kick-yo-ass folks we Americans are. Watch out, world, or your head could be next!!!
What kind of people are we becoming?
-------------------- White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite. So... many... possibilities.
From: Birmingham, AL | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I can see having to prove it to the Iraqis but why do we need to see it? Aren't we supposed to believe our government anyway? I'm glad I didn't watch any CNN today.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
While I'm sure there was an element of "scalp toting" going on, I think it was mainly used to show proof so the Iraqi people would believe it -- to either strike fear in those still loyal to Sadam and belief in the U.S. for those who were afraid of him.
And of course the U.S. would show it -- blood always draws ratings. CNN didn't wanna get scooped by FoxNews...
From: New York, NY | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
A friend pointed out yesterday that, according to the rules of international engagement (or something like that), you're not supposed to show photos of war prisoners or war dead -- which is why the U.S. was so up in arms just a few months ago when Iraq was showing photos of U.S. soldiers that Iraqi troops had purportedly killed.
Granted, the U.S. is saying that it *needs* these photos to prove that Saddam's sons are dead, but still... it doesn't seem like *that* much of a distinction to me.
I thought the photos themselves were bloody, but not stomach-turningly gory... I guess watching too many R-rated movies has desensitized me -- either that, or I didn't see the same photos some of you did (I only saw one of each, and they appeared to have been cropped/edited on the site I was at).
Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I don't really follow the rationale for releasing the photos. While I realize that the supposed justification for showing them is to "prove" to the Iraqi people that they are dead, I think just about any high school kid with photoshop could dummy up something pretty convincing. I don't think it's goint to help matters much, and I agree that it's no different than when slain US soldiers were shown.
Of course, the list of decisions that I question in the entire affair is pretty long.
From: Douglasville, GA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, yeah - remember the incubators? I got suckered in on that one (how awful! how barbaric!). And was I ever disgusted when the truth came out - with Them, for doing that hoax and with myself for falling for it.
posted
Yeah, the incubator hoax in Gulf War Part One suckered me, as well, and I was already a cynic about "our leaders" and after years of reading heavily about war propaganda.
When the first reports (I didn't hear it until late afternoon) came to my ears, my Ultra Cynic -- he should join the Legion {g} -- kicked in, and I thought along these lines:
"Does this mean it took Madame Tussaud's nearly three months to get the fake bodies ready, casting all of their bullet holes properly in red wax? What kind of incompetent British 'ally' have we got here, anyway?"
And yes, we're being hypocrites about broadcasting these photos. Rules are for al-Jazeera, don'tcha know, not for the Victors Valiant.
No, I don't like this war. Empire-building, with the death and destruction involved, is just as much an abomination when the U.S. does it as when a dozen other powers did it before us. And it's not redeemed even by using our blood and treasure to topple a genocidal madman, or his now bullet-pocked sons. That ought to be the Iraqis' business. Homeland security starts by putting our troops IN the homeland, dammit.
From: Starhaven Consulate, City of Angels | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Lightning Lad: Aren't we supposed to believe our government anyway?
Nope.
Perhaps their deaths could have been proven in some other way. (A Fox correspondent tonight mentioned something about releasing DNA testing.) But nothing is more immediate than those photos. I suppose news channels can justify airing them because it's history in the making -- as graphic and inescapable as photos from Auschwitz (though the subjects of those photos and the reasons for showing them were entirely different).
One possible reason for showing the photos of Uday and Qusay is it distracts us, momentarily, from the questions raised over why we went to war in the first place. "See what we've accomplished -- we got two of the main bad guys! Who cares WHY we got them?"
Right or wrong, Rumsfeld made the call. Now, we have to live with it, just like everything else this gun-totin' Administration does.
[ July 25, 2003, 11:01 PM: Message edited by: He Who Wanders ]
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Now they're showing video tape of the bodies. They really should have found a better undertaker; it wouldn't take much for people to convice themselves that the faces were faked.
-------------------- arachne3003.deviantart.com Current Obsession: Birds of Prey/Secret Six
From: Canada | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
200 Coalition troops sent in against a handful fo resistance, with heavy artillery support-- no matter what the Bush spin doctors say, capture was not the intent here.
-------------------- "Anytime a good book like this is cancelled, I hope another Teen Titan is murdered." --Cobalt
"Anytime an awesome book like S6 is cancelled, I hope EVERY Titan is murdered." --Me
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic | Subscribe To Topic
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
