While the nation's most intelligent and influential minds are lining up on either side of a non-story, non-issue: whether fee-fees (sensitivities) are more important than the rule of law when deciding whether New York Muslims have guaranteed constitutional rights…..I want to take this time to comment on last night's MSNBC "coverage" of the last American combat troops leaving Iraq.
The words "breaking news" have no meaning anymore……I realize that…..but last night's MSNBC's breaking news-that-wasn't….was a sad reminder of another manufactured and embarassing photo-op moment concerning Iraq.
Yes, it was on May 1, 2003, when George W. Bush had the nation's first Iraq "mission accomplished" national political photo-op moment. Dressed up in his G.I.Joe costume, the draft-dodging Republican president told Americans….
Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.
……
The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001 and still goes on.
……
The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We have removed an ally of Al Qaida and cut off a source of terrorist funding.And this much is certain: No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime, because the regime is no more.
Of the 4400+ U.S. military killed in Iraq, approximately 4275 of them were killed after President Bush's "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" moment.
Mission Accomplished was a cruel Orwellian joke played on Americans as a GOP president looked to polish his codpiece in preparation for his re-election in 2004.
Last night brought us the second Mission Accomplished moment.
Richard Engel was live at the Iraq-Kuwait border last night as what was described as the "last American combat troops" left Iraq. Military vehicle after military vehicle were shown crossing the Kuwait border while breathless and clueless MSNBC talking heads blathered on repeatedly about those "last American combat troops leaving Iraq."
What is the number of American military personnel still remaining inside of Iraq after the "last American combat troops" leave?
50,000.
What will these 50,000 American troops be doing in Iraq…..considering that "all American combat troops are leaving?"
The array of tasks for which American troops are likely to be needed, military experts and some Iraqi officials say, include training Iraqi forces to operate and logistically support new M-1 tanks, artillery and F-16s they intend to acquire from the Americans; protecting Iraq’s airspace until the country can rebuild its air force; and perhaps assisting Iraq’s special operations units in carrying out counterterrorism operations.
Call me crazy….but that sounds like there's a high probability that some of those 50,000 American military personnel will be involved in, you know, combat operations inside Iraq.
Such an arrangement would need to be negotiated with Iraqi officials, who insisted on the 2011 deadline in the agreement with the Bush administration for removing American forces. With the Obama administration in campaign mode for the coming midterm elections and Iraqi politicians yet to form a government, the question of what future military presence might be needed has been all but banished from public discussion.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
In my opinion, MSNBC did it's best Obama-lapdog work last night. In so doing they embarassed themselves and, just like with Bush's Mission Accomplished moment, played Americans as chumps.
The truth about Iraq is this: "leaving is losing."
The purpose in attacking and militarily occupying Iraq was to place permanent U.S. military personnel, permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq. That was the goal of the neo-conservative Bushies…..and they won.
The reason neo-conservatives still give for a permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq is "for the purpose of projecting American power throughout the region."
Even in Richard Engel's reporting last night he mentioned our "vital interests" in the region.
The U.S.A. is an empire. A decadent and deteriorating one, to be sure….but still an empire. Empires do whatever they wish to do…..that's the beauty of being an empire.
And as empires are prone to do, the leaders of the U.S. empire must keep it's citizens properly disinformed.
That's what last night's second Mission Accomplished moment was all about.
