BUT THIS TIME , SURPRISINGLY, THE PRESS ARE NOT BUYING IT
What is really interesting about The Washinton Post’s articles released a week ago about the Scandalous way in which returning wounded Vets of the Iraq War are treated ( which has been written about before but not noticed by a major Media outlet ) firstly that a major mainstream establishment media outlet actually published such a story after years of Kow Towing to the Bush administration - this in itself is remarkable & at the same time a bit too late-
What was even more remarkable as a Media Event was the way the Press were unrelenting of their treatment of White House Press Secretary at the Press conference last Tuesday - Its about time the Press started to do their job which is not just to repeat as " FACT or Gospel Truth" whatever the White House tells them. For far too long the Press has failed to do their job.
Whatever happened to such notions as " JOURNALISTIC ETHICS " ? How did we come to this point when the public is shocked when journalists ask the Hard Questions & not just take things at Face Value. When it comes to some celebrity getting into trouble the Journalist don’t seem at all reluctant to dig around but such stories are just bits of sensationalism & have no real benefit to the public at large - but GOSSIP does sell -
TONY SNOW - White House Press Secretary Press Conference
February 21, 2007,
One reporter states the case in his question plainly:
"
Q The administration's mantra for a long time has been "support the troops." What is the reaction, then, when you read this series of stories in The Washington Post about troops coming home from Iraq, Afghanistan and being treated so poorly, apparently, based on this long investigation? What's the President's reaction? "
MR. SNOW: " There are a couple of things. First, it's not a mantra. I would really choose words carefully. It's a commitment to support the troops. And the President, as you know, has visited the wounded many times at Walter Reed and we are concerned about it.
I can tell you that the President feels passionately about them, and you should have no doubt about it -- you've been at enough events where when he looks these people in the eye there is a commitment, a strong, profound emotional commitment to the people who serve this country. And it is one where the President is committed to doing right by the men and women who serve. There should be no doubt about that."
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So what was Tony Snow saying ?
In the Press Conference he says Bush & others are aware of the problem or that they only became aware of these issues after the articles appeared in the Washington Post ( Tony is not really sure about this or just about anything else )or that it is not really a problem with the President but with The Department of Defense ( passing the buck ) or some other department -
Tony Snow reminds the Press that they have no right to question President Bush’s sincerity in his support of the Troops " if you see how he looks into the eyes of wounded soldiers" How in the world could this be construed as straight forward answer to a straight forward question ( Appearance is everything Photo Ops & a sentimental appeal to tug at the peoples heart strings ).
But surprisingly this time the Press doesn’t buy into all this " Non-Answering" & appeals to Bush’s character as someone who is sincere or that these are " actionable items which in due time will be acted upon or not if the Press lets up on this issue then its back to business as usual.
The problem is that Bush is not just some ordinary citizen but The President & as he says " The Decider "- yes he is " The Decider" til something goes wrong then Bush shifts the blame to someone else whether the Issue is inadequate medical treatment for Iraq War Vets or the Iraq War itself or the inaction during & after " Hurricane Katrina " & the millions which have gone unaccounted for or the " Valerie Plame affair " surely no one in the administration had anything to do with this or with the falsified Intel on Iraq prior to the war or the fact that the Taliban & Al Qeda were not severely damaged by the American invasion of Afghanistan or that Pakistan has been all along been supporting these groups through arms & money or , at least, benign neglect or the scandals surrounding the treatment of POWs at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay or the Billions of dollars unaccounted for which were supposed to be spent in rebuilding Iraq’s infrastructure roads, hospitals, police stations , schools & power stations –
So the concern at the moment of the Bush administration, as usual , is that the story about The Walter Reed Hospital or any other allegations about Vets not receiving adequate medical care is a Public Relations problem ( even if all the allegations are true)which is to be dealt with through " Equivocation" " PREVARICATION " " Beating about the Bush" as it were & creating new improved " Spin " & " Talking Points" & a lot of "Bureaucratize" like " actionable items" , "Known KNOWNS "Known Unknowns " & other bits of blather & Jargon, Legalize & our favorite " Memory Loss " " I don’t recall seeing a memo saying Al Qeda about to attack USA" etc. "(also known as lying but used by lawyers i.e. Condi Rice who don’t want to answer a straightforward question) & of course the old stand-by " Passing the Buck" &" the Blame Game " or questioning the "Motives" of those who ask difficult questions or who criticize the Bush Regime or who dare criticize a Great & Godly Man like President Bush .
Such critics are then portrayed by the Bush Regime & the Neocons & much of the Media as not being supportive of the troops or as traitors etc. Perception is more important to the Bush administration than truth or reality like the disappearing WMDs & the false allegations of Saddam Hussein being involved with Al Qeda & 9/11 .
The other method this Regime uses to distract people is to come up with a " NEW CRISIS" ie "The need to destroy Iran which has or is about to have or may sometime in the future build Nuclear Weapons to attack Israel & continental United States. Once the War with Iran begins the media will be distracted & will again become co-conspirators in this New War no matter how unjustified as they are bombarded by Propaganda about the spread of Islamo-Fascists & that Iran is part of some " Powerful Axis of Evil " & that this is all part of the Great Clash of Civilizations . And the public meanwhile will be mesmerized by the coverage on CNN of the war which again will be presented as if it were a " Video Game " & will stir up more fanatical mindless "Patriotic Zeal" .
That's it for now,
GORD.
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