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September 10th, 2006

2006 09 10

Politics

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Incestuous Amplification

Via This Modern World, this looks interesting.

The propaganda that drew us into this war is now guaranteeing our defeat. The deception isn’t over. The deception is continuing.

…

the United States defeated itself by believing its own spin. In military terms, it’s called “incestuous amplification.” It means believing your own propaganda.

More info at The Best War Ever. (This same video auto-plays over there, so you can skip playing the video here if you’re going to follow this link.)

2006 09 10

Politics

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First Casualty

Via Daily Kos, here’s how we’re reducing violence in Baghdad:

U.S. officials, seeking a way to measure the results of a program aimed at decreasing violence in Baghdad, aren’t counting scores of dead killed in car bombings and mortar attacks as victims of the country’s sectarian violence.

In a distinction previously undisclosed, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said Friday that the United States is including in its tabulations of sectarian violence only deaths of individuals killed in drive-by shootings or by torture and execution.

That has allowed U.S. officials to boast that the number of deaths from sectarian violence in Baghdad declined by more than 52 percent in August over July.

It is said that when war comes, the first casualty is truth.

In the Bush Administration, it’s death by torture. Then the body is mutilated and dragged through the street as a warning to the other virtues.