I watched the NBC story and in my opinion it was pure propaganda, nothing more. You can watch it
here for yourself (may open Media Player).
I'll do my best to sum up how I saw it.
Video starts with host previewing the scariest aspects of the story. What's with those backgrounds they use now? All fire and brimstone. The
author of the story (Lisa Myers) kicks it off by telling the viewer how much of a threat the terrorists are, now and in the future - accompanied by
more terrorist training footage - at least it's new footage, lol....
Clearly it's a priority to address how this interview could occur without the military knowing - she does that next, telling us that "the Taliban
made sure we could not provide their location to the U.S. military." Indeed. I suppose we can allow this IF the military didn't know about these
interviews, and we forget that this is a military that embeds their journalists. Well I believe they did know (and admit it later in the story) and
clearly US forces control every step US journalists take in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even 7 hour journeys.
Next we get to the meat of the story - the interview and the trap to kill US soldiers. The US soldiers are coming to rescue a fallen Navy Seal, and
the terrorists shoot it down, after failing to get the Seal to surrender. The video accompaniment is odd - 'video obtained by NBC news' shows what
is supposed to be the terrorists baiting the Navy Seal (watch it and tell me if that's what you see), then they cut to file footage of an Apache.
Why not use the 'obtained' terrorist video showing the helicopter?
Did I forget to mention even the terrorist compliments the American's valor? Quote: "We certainly know that when the American army comes under
pressure and they get hit, they will try to help their friends. It is the law of the battlefield."
More doom and gloom: "Ismail also predicts more bloodshed to come."
I should point out that the web print version at MSNBC has edited the video version of the story. One telling section was when the terrorist
explained his actions, saying that (I paraphrase without a transcript) 'this is war and that's what we do. They shoot us, we shoot them'. I'm
surprised they left this in the video - it humanizes the terrorists by equating them with the US soldiers. Still it's one of the trues lines in the
video.
Finally - the subtle truth. "NBC News provided details of the interview to U.S. intelligence." Yes, yes they did. The inference is they did this
AFTER the interview. Not addressed is how they handled the military after the first interview. Nor do they mention exactly when they provided the
details to US intel.
Cue the expert - there always has to be an expert. And he's telling us that this is the 'face of the enemy', although we didn't see a face, but
they are 'utterly ruthless in their execution'.
Finally, end as ye began. Overtop video of dusty boots and helmets of(dead US?) soldiers: "U.S. officials confirm the enemy in Afghanistan has
grown more bold and more vicious."
This story's message is the enemy is a facelss one, they are strong, they are evil, and they will be around for a long time. Exactly what the
government has been saying ever since 911. The imagery could not be less subtle.
This thread was started in the vein that the press shouldn't air or shouldn't pursue this type of story, without having informed the military. I
think it's absurd to think that the military would allow these interviews to happen in the first place - remember these are embedded journalists.
Either we've been lied to about what that means or the military let this happen.
Let's assume somehow they did get this footage without the military knowing (again there were TWO interviews, so I'm asking you to really suspend
your common sense) - do you really think that the military would allow it to air without seeing it first? Again I believe it's naive to think that
the military would let a story go to air where the press gets to the enemy where they couldn't. I suppose military censorship wouldn't be
neccessary at all if this were truly the case - NBC would be the first to self-censor this if they couldn't get the Pentagon's approval first.
That's my cynical take. I hope you enjoyed it.
Originally posted by vuoto
Some people would rather not know the truth. For many, knowing what's really happening the world is not as important as having his own opinions
reinforced. Since there's agreement among everyone who knows anything about Iraq that the war has been a colossal failure, was started based on a
pack of lies, and is bankrupting America, but some folks want so badly to believe the President when he tells us that we're winning, it's a
righteous cause, and the people of Iraq are showering American soldiers with flowers, and candy, and thanks.
If anything, the media in America is so afriad of backlash from their corporate masters that they dare not tell the real truth about Iraq and the
disaster that the president has created. Remember, reporters in Iraq are limited to going to places and seeing things that the military allows.
Unlike Viet Nam, where members of the media could seek out the truth themselves, the media in Iraq is shown only what the administration wants them to
see. If the best they have to show is a horrible failure, can you imagine how much worse the truth must be?
Well said.
Originally posted by Agent47
..... There are more AL Qaeda in Iraq, but there are also more bridges, schools, working water systems, and oh yeah ELECTIONS. The rise in Al
Qaeda can be accredited to dedicated terrorists using places like the Syrian border (Syria doesn't give a rats ass who is using their border to run
into Iraq).
I'm half serious, half sarcastic here, but, could you provide a link proving that there's more bridges, schools and water works now then there was
before the US blew up the ones that were there? Could I suggest the Haliburton/ Kellogg Brown Root website as a starting point?