Sunday, December 27, 2009

The pattern continues


'The Joys of Airstrikes and Anonymity' argues (providing multiple examples) that after every Predator or aerial attack some anonymous U.S. spokesman will make positive claims that are uncritically reprinted by the press. Subsequently many of these claims turn out to be exaggerated or even completely untrue, but that "... no matter how many times government claims about attacks turn out to be false, the American media repeats them ..."

The June 16th, 2008 blog entry, 'Reflex', and a March 22nd, 2002 entry, 'OPED 21 "Straight talk" on Hazar Qadam', had already noted the propensity of the military to reflexively deny ever making any errors... and that after any strike with unanticipated consequences "... the Pentagon’s first reflex after any error is to deny everything, then to deny everything, then to partially admit the possibility of an error (if the evidence becomes irrefutable) while obfuscating the issue, but never to forthrightly admit that an error has been made ..." This practice of obfuscating, dare we call it lying, looks to have changed from being reactive when things go wrong, to being proactive "... and by design, there is never any debate or discussion over the propriety or wisdom of these strikes..." The press by its continued acquiescence in this process aids and abets these efforts...

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