Beware the Propaganda

Dodge this...

During a recent visit to Iraq, outgoing President George Bush took a break from dodging questions in order to dodge a pair of size 10 shoes that were hurled at his head by an Iraqi journalist. I am in no way attempting to imply that people should be throwing shoes at the President, and to be fair, the President’s spryness is impressive. While the President escaped the incident unscathed, his Press Secretary, Dana Perino, was not so lucky. After the first shoe was thrown, a secret service agent rose from his chair, and knocked a microphone into Ms. Perino, leaving her with a nasty shiner.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that the secret service personnel are charged with the duty of protecting the President from harm. It is expected that those individuals that guard the President must take a bullet for him, and they are highly trained to observe all situations, “read” the clues when something is amiss, and throw themselves in front of the President when danger is suspected. Since the incident occurred, I have been left wondering how not just one, but TWO shoes managed to come so close to striking the President. As the President was dodging shoe number two, the offending journalist was summarily knocked to the floor. As Iraqi Security was subduing him, the President could be seen waving off his security detail, we are told, informing them to let the Iraqi’s take care of it. It bears mentioning that in Muslim countries, the ultimate insult is to step on, or hit someone with a shoe. The closest thing we could compare this insult to is the extending of the middle finger, however, that is not a PERFECT comparison, as westerners tend to use that gesture rather easily, while a Muslim saves the throwing of a shoe for extreme cases of loathing.

Over the course of the last several days, reporter after reporter has shown the clip of the incident, while proudly pointing out that had this incident happened under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, the offending reporter would either be dead, or facing extreme torture with no hope of a fair trial where he could face charges in court. These “reporters” proudly suggest that the current treatment of this rogue journalist makes our war in Iraq worthwhile, as his “humane” treatment is indicative of our positive influence over there. What these reporters are NOT telling the public is that this journalist reportedly has broken ribs and a broken arm, as well as a black eye and cuts on his face. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article5352043.ece Footage of the take down of the journalist suggests that these injuries were not sustained prior to, or during the removal of the man from the press room. The evidence seems to support the notion that this man was badly beaten after being subdued and taken into custody.

I am not suggesting in any way that this journalist should have thrown shoes at our President; let me make that point very clear. However, when American journalists ignore the possible torture of any human being and instead choose to proudly proclaim that his treatment as a result of his actions is JUSTICE brought to the Iraqi’s as a direct result of our intervention there, it smacks of propaganda and a horrifying willingness to accept crimes against humanity, provided those crimes are carried out under a foreign government of our choosing. If the only result of our invading Iraq is a change in the leadership that doles out the torture, followed by a “trial”, these reporters have nothing to be proud of or brag about. We have some of America’s finest serving, bleeding, and dying in Iraq; it is a disservice to those heroes to overlook the fact that their sacrifice has led only to a change in leadership that doles out inhumane treatment. What an unmitigated tragedy that our brave soldiers’ sacrifice has led to… more of the same.