Monday, December 15, 2003
The Baklava Gambit
I suggested this morning that American opinions regarding Saddam Hussein's capture won't really start to gel until the administration's propaganda machine starts rolling. In Online Journal, Matthew Mavaak wonders how helpful the capture will be to Bush, propagandawise: "Now what? The propaganda value of a shadowy Saddam, capable of wreaking havoc, was inestimable. Much of that locus standi has now vanished." And also: "Like General MacArthur's macho posturing during his first meeting with a humbled Emperor Hirohito, the sight of a medic clinically examining a beaten, disheveled Saddam, instead of a defiant maniac, was really a bad propaganda shot…So, this was the one who struck fear into the hearts of 'freedom-loving' people until 24 hours back?"
The pictures are striking. Perhaps it's a good lesson for us to see that even the most monstrous of our fellow humans are neither 10 feet tall nor endowed with horns, cloven hooves, and pointed tails. Although it's a bit hard to believe that someone so demonstrably evil would, in the end, look a little like Santa Claus after a six-month bender. (It's hard to imagine that the shots of him being examined weren't intended to demean him in the eyes of his former subjects, although Michael Moore noted yesterday that at least he got a free dental examination, which is something most Americans can't get.)
Recommended reading: Rarely in journalism does one man dare to fly so completely in the face of the conventional wisdom. Greg Palast does just that, however, with the real story of Saddam Hussein's career and capture.
The Toronto Star had a story yesterday featuring tales of Canadians of mostly, but not exclusively, Middle Eastern extraction, and their somewhat humorous encounters with American immigration officials at the border.
While incidents like these have no doubt increased in frequency since 9/11, the fact that U.S. immigration officials can sometimes be a bit dim or obtuse isn't new. Flash back to 1985--my wife and I have just visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (where we were welcomed profusely at the Canadian checkpoint with minimal questions), and have just crossed the bridge to return to the American side. (We've been out of the country maybe an hour.) I stop and roll down the window. A grim-faced official asks us what our citzenship is (the Illinois license plates apparently being unpersuasive) and then says sternly, "How did you find this bridge?"
I pause. There is a sign on the main road away from the Canadian falls that says "Bridge to USA," and you would have to be blind to miss it. I know this is what I should tell him (all except for the part about being blind), and I do, but not before I think of saying, "I found it to be a very nice bridge, thank you." Sometimes it doesn't pay to be a smartass.
I suggested this morning that American opinions regarding Saddam Hussein's capture won't really start to gel until the administration's propaganda machine starts rolling. In Online Journal, Matthew Mavaak wonders how helpful the capture will be to Bush, propagandawise: "Now what? The propaganda value of a shadowy Saddam, capable of wreaking havoc, was inestimable. Much of that locus standi has now vanished." And also: "Like General MacArthur's macho posturing during his first meeting with a humbled Emperor Hirohito, the sight of a medic clinically examining a beaten, disheveled Saddam, instead of a defiant maniac, was really a bad propaganda shot…So, this was the one who struck fear into the hearts of 'freedom-loving' people until 24 hours back?"
The pictures are striking. Perhaps it's a good lesson for us to see that even the most monstrous of our fellow humans are neither 10 feet tall nor endowed with horns, cloven hooves, and pointed tails. Although it's a bit hard to believe that someone so demonstrably evil would, in the end, look a little like Santa Claus after a six-month bender. (It's hard to imagine that the shots of him being examined weren't intended to demean him in the eyes of his former subjects, although Michael Moore noted yesterday that at least he got a free dental examination, which is something most Americans can't get.)
Recommended reading: Rarely in journalism does one man dare to fly so completely in the face of the conventional wisdom. Greg Palast does just that, however, with the real story of Saddam Hussein's career and capture.
The Toronto Star had a story yesterday featuring tales of Canadians of mostly, but not exclusively, Middle Eastern extraction, and their somewhat humorous encounters with American immigration officials at the border.
While incidents like these have no doubt increased in frequency since 9/11, the fact that U.S. immigration officials can sometimes be a bit dim or obtuse isn't new. Flash back to 1985--my wife and I have just visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (where we were welcomed profusely at the Canadian checkpoint with minimal questions), and have just crossed the bridge to return to the American side. (We've been out of the country maybe an hour.) I stop and roll down the window. A grim-faced official asks us what our citzenship is (the Illinois license plates apparently being unpersuasive) and then says sternly, "How did you find this bridge?"
I pause. There is a sign on the main road away from the Canadian falls that says "Bridge to USA," and you would have to be blind to miss it. I know this is what I should tell him (all except for the part about being blind), and I do, but not before I think of saying, "I found it to be a very nice bridge, thank you." Sometimes it doesn't pay to be a smartass.
