In a rather bold, yet entirely predictable, rhetorical move; the AP, as posted in USAToday, made the ironic statement that Bush's visit to Iraq was an attempt to capitalize on the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with the hope of casting a positive light on the Republican party. The reason for the irony is that the article itself begins by noting the most recent American death in the Iraqi war, which incidentally speaks negatively about the Bush administration and the nature of this war.
If the irony is not clear by this point, let me state it in clear terms: the very thing USAToday criticizes Pres. Bush for alledgeldy doing is the very thing they themselves do -- unalledgedly. For Pres. Bush to conduct a trip to the Middle East shortly after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is not to be understood as a move to capitalize on his death. It must be remembered, and I have doubts that USAToday does, that his itinerary is set months in advance; thus, the timing of this particular trip and the timing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death could simply be coincidental. Yet, for USAToday to print such an article after the death of the 2500th soldier in Iraq with the intent of casting a negative light on the Republican party (and, to attack the credibility of the Pres); that is the very definition of capitalization.
One final comment before closing out this post: USAToday (i.e., the AP) needs a good lesson in modern history. This current war in Iraq has certainly been subjected to many false comparison -- e.g., the Vietnam War -- and it has also been presented in such a way that (please forgive the crassness) makes a mountain out of a mole-hill. It is true that this war is like Vietnam; but only in the sense that it is a completely different style of fighting than conventional warfare. It is also true that 2500 soldiers have lost their lives in this fight against terrorism. It is here that history must be remembered. In one day, more than 2500 lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy; the Civil War claimed more lives in its short period than all of the wars from the Revolution to Vietnam combined (on multiple days, 10,000+ soliders died in various battles during the CW).
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2 comments:
Carl,
Interesting post, and I've been meaning to give my reaction for quite a while. I won't argue that USAToday is guilty of doing the very thing they're accusing Bush of, but I think it is important to point out that this fact does not diminish their argument regarding Bush. Let's not exempt him from doing what all too many politicians on all points of the political spectrum are guilty of doing - capitalizing on what happens to further their own political careers. Your point about the President's agenda is well-taken, but I find it hard to believe that the timing of the trip in question is merely coincidence. I doubt that trip is not planned so far in advance.
And while I agree that the numbers do not match up when comparing Iraq and Vietnam, there are other similarities. It is a war fought against an entrenched enemy which uses guerilla warfare tactics, and shows no signs of giving up. It also appears to be a war that we will not "win" - at least not in the sense that Bush wants us to believe we already have won. There are other points of comparison which may be important within this analogy.
With that said, it is also important to remember (as you no doubt do) that the only lives in question here are not American (or shouldn't be) - far too many Iraqi civilians have lost their lives in this war that most likely did not need to happen. Some figures say as many as 100,000 - that is a figure that should make anyone shudder.
Carl,
Interesting post, and I've been meaning to give my reaction for quite a while. I won't argue that USAToday is guilty of doing the very thing they're accusing Bush of, but I think it is important to point out that this fact does not diminish their argument regarding Bush. Let's not exempt him from doing what all too many politicians on all points of the political spectrum are guilty of doing - capitalizing on what happens to further their own political careers. Your point about the President's agenda is well-taken, but I find it hard to believe that the timing of the trip in question is merely coincidence. I doubt that trip is not planned so far in advance.
And while I agree that the numbers do not match up when comparing Iraq and Vietnam, there are other similarities. It is a war fought against an entrenched enemy which uses guerilla warfare tactics, and shows no signs of giving up. It also appears to be a war that we will not "win" - at least not in the sense that Bush wants us to believe we already have won. There are other points of comparison which may be important within this analogy.
With that said, it is also important to remember (as you no doubt do) that the only lives in question here are not American (or shouldn't be) - far too many Iraqi civilians have lost their lives in this war that most likely did not need to happen. Some figures say as many as 100,000 - that is a figure that should make anyone shudder.
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