June 11, 2006
Why Not Just Put al-Zarqawi's Head on a Pike?
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
All of us have used the zoom feature on a camcorder, allowing us to
enlarge a feature in the camera's field of vision. Sometimes this moves
a person in a crowd from one of maybe 50 people into a tight head shot
of that person. As director of our own filmmaking, we control who becomes
the star.
So it was with the Bush Administration and the man who was killed or
maimed by them at least 9 times, al-Zarqawi. No doubt, as far as we can
read between the lines of psy-ops propaganda, he was sort of a barbaric "gang
leader," but the Bush Administration clearly, for political purposes,
used the close-up focus feature on the camera to make him appear to take
up the whole frame at times, when he was one leader among a broad group
of insurgents.
BuzzFlash believes that al-Zarqawi is, indeed, dead now (as in dead,
dead, not Bushevik "reported" dead) -- although whether he was killed
in the alleged bombing (his body miraculously surviving intact, when
everybody else and everything else was blown to smithereens) or was killed
earlier (and his body kept on ice until the right moment for helping
Bush in the polls), we will probably -- as with all Soviet-style secrecy
in the reign of the Busheviks -- never know.
But we do know that the barbaric golden framed photos of al-Zarqawi's
bloated, blood-splotched face -- displayed almost instantly at Pentagon
news briefings -- was akin to Bush's "Bring 'em on" statement that put
our troops at such great risk. Indeed, Bush's sophomoric bravado a couple
of years back resulted in egging on the insurgents and more deaths for
our military men and women. And this latest "displaying the enemy's ear" PR
initiative is going to backfire in the same way.
Now, we have the Busheviks carrying out the 2006 version of putting a
head on a pike, not so much to send a message to Iraq, but rather to
improve Bush's poll ratings in the U.S. Rove knows that "the money" shot,
which a more civilized and less barbaric administration would not have
blown up and framed (the only thing missing was an "R.I.P wreath"), was
going to dominate the news for at least 4 news cycles (24 hours).
On the other hand, it was going to inflame the insurgents into counter
actions to "honor" their "martyr" -- and also energize the other insurgent
leaders, of which al-Zarqawi was one in a crowd, to ramp up activity.
It's already happening, if you read this morning's news.
Bush has never really been fighting a serious war on terror. He has been
waging a Rovian campaign to help himself and the Republicans
win elections (along with efforts to steal them when they lose them).
He has been occupying a nation for its oil -- and increasing the number
of terrorists, not reducing them.
The modern equivalent of al-Zarqawi's head on a pike may satisfy a thirst
for vengeance, but it's not going to change the onslaught of death and
destruction in Iraq. In fact, the barbaric way it was handled by the
Bush Administration will only inflame things -- and put our troops at
greater risk.
But when you have a dishonest administration playing partisan politics
with our national security, what do you expect?
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS