Read It Here First
So, Israel is calling off the aerial assault for 48 hours . . . or, that was the big story this evening. Is it any coincidence, gentle readers, that Condi left Jerusalem this evening, East Coast time? The Qana bombing didn't make the Sunday papers, and it will be pushed off the Monday front pages in the United States by the "cessation." By Tuesday, the story will have moved on. If you were skeptical, like me, you might imagine this conversation . . . .
CONDI: Look, Olmert, we need something good in the Monday morning papers. This Qana bombing, that's just too horrible. We need a good story for the front page. Public opinion and whatnot.
OLMERT: How about if we call Hizbollah a "terrorist organzation"?
CONDI: Shit. Shit. Who the f**k am I talking to? Get serious, man. What are you smoking? That is so-o-o-o last week.
OLMERT: How about if we claim that the civilians killed were "Hizbollah civilians"?
CONDI: Fox News already got that.
OLMERT: How about if we say we'll stop the air attacks?
CONDI: Wait a second. You're going to stop the air attacks?
OLMERT: Um, no. But what if we say that we will, long enough to get the story on the front pages?
CONDI: Olmert, my man. Now you're talking.
Now, of course, that is how it would sound in Jackie Brown. But I'm guessing that this "cessation" is a media ploy and no more. Think about it.
posted by Number Three @ 9:07 PM
5 Comments:
I have little doubt that such a conversation took place, but I can’t help but wonder whether such a strategy of manipulating the morning headlines is losing its punch in a world of internet news. Of course the larger issue is how deceptive and meaningless political discourse by Bush and his surrogates, proxies and poodles has become -- it would be nice if news organizations would hammer him or guys like Tony Snow-Job on it more. Two other areas of news this week (overcome by the attacks on Hezbollah and the Lebanese) where honest rhetoric and reality parted ways include troop reductions in Iraq and the announcement of a new maximum security prison at Guantanamo Bay. The latter is particularly jarring, when you consider just about a month ago Bush told the British Poodle and the world that "I'd like to close Guantanamo Bay." So are we now to believe that the US military is contravening the wishes of the Decider? Or, was Bush just talking out of his arse? Of course he wasn’t really lying -- he just meant that he’d like to close the bay next to the prison for all future fishing and the press jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Emery, you're a genius. Once the headlines were printed, Israel started bombing again just a few hours after the call for a cessation. Perfectly predicted.
OK, so I've been in a news-free bubble for the last several days while the TMcDs hopscotched along the coast of Maine. What do I see this morning at the airport on the cover of the ubiquitous USA Today? Ceasefire! 48-hours! Hoorah! I didn't have time to read it, of course, since we were cutting it close for a 6:15 AM flight. But as far as I knew, until I got to class a few hours ago, everything was hunky dory. Good goin' Condi, you're really not the most incompetent American diplomat in a generation. Oops. Spoke too soon.
(Whew. Got through that whole thing without having to defend my usually unwavering advocacy of Israel and its military interests.)
Paul, I agree that this strategy works less well in the age of the internets, but I don't doubt that the Bushies play this game, both positively (manipulate the headlines) and negatively (release the worst news on Friday afternoon), all the time.
Pretty soon the Bushies will be stuffing th-, th-, th-, those TUBES will a dummpppp trrruck of propaganda!
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