You heard me. If you followed the news media’s passionate coverage of “the biggest air assault” of the Iraq war, you now know what happens when someone dangles a big shiny in front of the American news media.
Time has a web exclusive on it:Â On Scene: How Operation Swarmer Fizzled
A quote from the article, with my bold lettering:
“But contrary to what many many television networks erroneously reported, the operation was by no means the largest use of airpower since the start of the war. (“Air Assault” is a military term that refers specifically to transporting troops into an area.) In fact, there were no airstrikes and no leading insurgents were nabbed in an operation that some skeptical military analysts described as little more than a photo op. What’s more, there were no shots fired at all and the units had met no resistance, said the U.S. and Iraqi commanders.”
Some are suggesting it was all a big publicity stunt to show off the new and approved Iraqi army. The troops secured some documents and war materiel. That much is true, and it’s a good thing. No one gets to use those weapons on them. Everything else is psychic lip gloss. Don’t be fooled by the shiny.
I suppose some under-informed yahoo is going to complain that I shouldn’t challenge the official story coming from the White House, that it’s arrogant, that it’s undermining the war effort.
What freakin’ war effort? Go back and read it again. Our own government is lying to us. Lying. Bad thing. And instead of doing their homework, mainstream news is going by faxed press releases. They phoned it in. Lazy.
Besides, how is a soldier going to feel when pseudo-patriotic idiots pat them on the back for something that never happened? That soldier is going to feel like a fraud. That kind of patriotism isn’t for the troops. It’s for the poor sucker at home, the one that’s too scared, too overwhelmed, or sometimes too damn lazy to use her brain.
Listen, little neocon. The information is out there, but it doesn’t always come to you. If you can’t get enough news about your favorite movie or TV show, you’ll hit the ‘net faster than you can say “fanfic.” But if it’s about the real world, about us, suddenly you can’t be bothered.
The war protesters and angry lefties ain’t holding us back. They’re not the ones who take turns cheering and then ignoring the Abu Grieb pictures. They’re not the ones blowing off high crimes and misdemeanors. They’re not the ones who feel safer under a dictator who sends people out to be tortured, who uses a secret police force to quelch free speech, who hides behind Allah and squirms when told that he might like “Brokeback Mountain.”
Think about it. Did I just describe America…or Iraq?
No, it’s not them. It’s you.