[Infowarrior] - Commentary: Watching Freedom's Watch

[Richard Forno]

Watching Freedom's Watch
Richard Forno

A new grassroots lobbying effort headed by former White House Press
Secretary Ari Fleisher is running a series of "pro-war" videos to support
military operations in Iraq.

While I sympathize with all who have served, suffered, and/or died during
this conflict, I must nevertheless take issue with what I find is an
appalling and misleading message being presented by this video:

The "Wounded Vet" video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNTWYnPi8yc

Three key statements from this ad deserve mention:

"Congress was right to vote to fight terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan"

True, but that's conflating rationales.  Terrorists who attacked us on 9/11
were in Afghanistan, not Iraq....and we attacked them there in late 2001
with strong international support and political backing. However, since we
invaded Iraq in a blatant war-of-choice with a flimsy international
coalition to support us, NOW there are terrorists in Iraq, including
elements linked to those who caused 9/11.  So it's become a self-fulfilling
prophecy:  "there were no 9/11-related terrorists in Iraq, but since we
invaded they're there, so now it's all the more reason to stay and fight
them -- and besides we've been authorized to fight terrorism wherever they
pose a threat!"  (And of course, by shifting our focus to Iraq, Afghanistan
is falling apart again -- our adversaries are regrouping and conducting
significant new operations against us there, too.)

The geographically-challenged might note that Iraq is pretty close to
another "problem country" in the eyes of the PNAC Alumni Association --
Iran.  But I digress.

"They attacked *us* and they will again."

While this is being said during the ad, a still image of a plane flying into
the WTC on 9/11 is shown -- thus clearly trying again to make the suggestion
that the perpetrators of 9/11 and (the need to invade and now stay in) Iraq
were/are linked, even though such links were disproved repeatedly by any
number of bipartisan government commissions and investigations in recent
years, and also by senior members of the Administration.  That's pure FUD
and fear-mongering.

"They won't stop in Iraq."

This is simply an extension of the tired old chickenhawk talking point
about "fighting terrorists over there so we don't fight them here at home."
Anyone who still believes or perpetuates that logic clearly does not
understand the nature of the current conflict, terrorism, unconventional
warfare, or simple human nature.  Sadly, that flawed logic has become one of
the more salient Administration talking points in defense of the Iraq War,
if not also a cornerstone for its current 'strategy.'

The bottom line about this commercial:  It has been proven repeatedly that
none of the 9/11 terrorists had ANY connection with Iraq. It is clear this
ad's desired message is to once again try connecting Iraq and 9/11 in an
effort to place fear in the minds of viewers in an effort to curry public
opinion for the current policy and 'strategy' during a time when serious
questions are being raised by the political opposition, general public, and
members of the President's own party.  I daresay folks in DC are in a panic
mode about what to do both from a political and national policy perspective,
and are fearful of admitting that based on how things have devolved in Iraq
since March 2003, the ideal outcome in Iraq won't be a "good" one aligned
with lofty US goals but rather the one that's "least bad" for all involved,
as Thomas Ricks noted the other day to Tim Russet.

Two final points about the politicization of Iraq and our military not
specifically related to the aforementioned commercial:  (1) I am sick of
hearing how pundits and politicians take great pains to say they're "just
back from Iraq" as if that confers any additional credence to their
statements.  Most such visits are tightly-controlled and secured, and as a
result these folks aren't seeing "the real picture" outside their security
bubbles and short periods of time "on the ground." (2) You can find soldiers
and veterans both for and against the war, so for a politician or pundit to
make claims that soldiers are supporting their position (or using them in
commercials) is a meaningless statistic, because there are just as many who
are opposed to it -- which is only natural if one considers the opinions of
various US servicemembers as representative of the deep divisions of opinion
here in American society. Such a technique is used simply as window-dressing
to support their various statements.

Just a few thoughts from someone not buying the spin.

-rick

PS:  Has anyone else noticed that during the past week that there's been a
marked increase in the hostile public rhetoric towards Iran?