‘It is hard sometimes to know what is real and what is
fiction when it comes to the news out of Iraq. America is in its "silly
season," the summer months leading up to a national election, and the
media is going full speed ahead in exploiting its primacy in the news arena by
substituting responsible reporting with headline-grabbing entertainment.

So, as America closes in on the
end of June and the celebration of the 230th year of our nation's birth, I thought
I would pen a short primer on three myths on Iraq to keep an eye out for as we
"debate" the various issues pertaining to our third year of war in
that country.’

Three Iraq
Myths That Won't Quit

what’s to celebrate, we might
well ask ….?

‘We have entered an age of constant conflict. Information
is at once our core commodity and the most destabilizing factor of our time.
Until now, history has been a quest to acquire information; today, the
challenge lies in managing information. Those of us who can sort, digest,
synthesize, and apply relevant knowledge soar-professionally, financially,
politically, militarily, and socially. We, the winners, are a minority.

For the world masses, devastated
by information they cannot manage or effectively interpret, life is
"nasty, brutish . . . and short-circuited." The general pace of
change is overwhelming, and information is both the motor and signifier of
change. Those humans, in every country and region, who cannot understand the
new world, or who cannot profit from its uncertainties, or who cannot reconcile
themselves to its dynamics, will become the violent enemies of their inadequate
governments, of their more fortunate neighbors, and ultimately of the United
States. We are entering a new American century, in which we will become still
wealthier, culturally more lethal, and increasingly powerful. We will excite
hatreds without precedent.’

Constant
Conflict

elsewhwere on the truman show
…..

‘What explains the gullibility of Americans, a gullibility
that has mired the US in disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and which
promises war with Iran, North Korea and a variety of other targets if
neo-conservatives continue to have their way?

Part of the explanation is that
millions of conservatives are thrilled at the opportunity to display their
patriotism and to show their support for their country. Bush’s rhetoric is
perfectly designed to appeal to this desire. "You are with us or against
us" elicits a blind and unquestioning response from people determined to
wear their patriotism on their sleeves. "You are with us or against
us" vaccinates Americans against factual reality and guarantees public
acceptance of administration propaganda. 

Another part of the explanation
is that emotional appeals have grown the stronger as the ability of educated
people to differentiate fact from rhetoric declines. The Bush administration
blamed 9/11 on foreign intelligence failures; yet, the administration has
convinced about half of the public that mass surveillance of American citizens
is the solution!’

The High Price Of
American Gullibility