Out of sight, out of mind...
I have been wondering why it is that certain segments of the population who are so vocal in registering outrage and protests over a posssible war with Iraq continue to ignore the facts in the case. Facts like Saddams warlike behavior towards his Arab neighbors, his use of chemical weapons on his enemies and on his own Kurdish populace, and in particular his persecution of Iraqis themselves.
In the late 90's when action was called for and delivered to the Serbians I don't remember much, if any, outcry from the same folks who now seem so visible, if not in numbers then in voice. What was the difference then that generated so little concern for "US Imperialism" in action. The fact is that Slobodan Milosevic was much less an international threat than Saddam Hussein and this occured in Europe, a problem for Europeans. The only answer that seems plausible to me is that the situation in Iraq is not on the TeeVee everyday as was the plight of the Muslims in Serbia. If you remember, as things got worse there, the coverage increased with almost daily images of the ethnic minority being burned out of their homes, refugees running before the tanks, mass murders beside the road.
But this certainly palls in comparison to the atrocities that Saddam has perpetrated in his region, and with the probable capacity to take this reign of terror on a much wider scale. It is a sad state of affairs these days that many people get all their information from TeeVee or selected reading on the Internet and due to Saddam being a very effective tyrannt, dictator and benovolent ruler, not much information escapes his vacuum. Certainly not graphic visual images, the ones that most effectively shape peoples opinions. The information on the barbarity of Saddams actions are there if one cares to read independent news journals and reported first hand accounts of Iraqis lucky enough to escape. I was surprised last evening to see ABC's Peter Jennings in Baghdad, trying to talk with ordinary Iraqis about how they felt concerning a possible US action. Ol' Pete, it seemed to me, was rather taken aback that no one seemed to want to say how they felt on an international new broadcast. Gee Pete, wonder why, could it have been that you had two "official Iraqi information officers" with you?
And later the History Channel had a very well done report on conditions in Iraq, which had quite graphic footage of the torture system sponsored by Saddam. But, I will bet big money, that very few of the protest crowd were watching. They were probably at some non reality based entertainment event, discussing the role "The Lord of the Rings" had in making them more informed citizens. The out of sight, out of mind theory also explains to me why the twits carry the "No Blood For Oil" banner so high. When you don't have any real information on a subject, make up something. And although because of "Big Oil" we all have cheap energy which allows us the excesses of life in the West, we just love to hate them. Blame the war on greed, oil and Imperialism, surely they really don't torture people in Iraq, we've never seen a picture of it.
I have been wondering why it is that certain segments of the population who are so vocal in registering outrage and protests over a posssible war with Iraq continue to ignore the facts in the case. Facts like Saddams warlike behavior towards his Arab neighbors, his use of chemical weapons on his enemies and on his own Kurdish populace, and in particular his persecution of Iraqis themselves.
In the late 90's when action was called for and delivered to the Serbians I don't remember much, if any, outcry from the same folks who now seem so visible, if not in numbers then in voice. What was the difference then that generated so little concern for "US Imperialism" in action. The fact is that Slobodan Milosevic was much less an international threat than Saddam Hussein and this occured in Europe, a problem for Europeans. The only answer that seems plausible to me is that the situation in Iraq is not on the TeeVee everyday as was the plight of the Muslims in Serbia. If you remember, as things got worse there, the coverage increased with almost daily images of the ethnic minority being burned out of their homes, refugees running before the tanks, mass murders beside the road.
But this certainly palls in comparison to the atrocities that Saddam has perpetrated in his region, and with the probable capacity to take this reign of terror on a much wider scale. It is a sad state of affairs these days that many people get all their information from TeeVee or selected reading on the Internet and due to Saddam being a very effective tyrannt, dictator and benovolent ruler, not much information escapes his vacuum. Certainly not graphic visual images, the ones that most effectively shape peoples opinions. The information on the barbarity of Saddams actions are there if one cares to read independent news journals and reported first hand accounts of Iraqis lucky enough to escape. I was surprised last evening to see ABC's Peter Jennings in Baghdad, trying to talk with ordinary Iraqis about how they felt concerning a possible US action. Ol' Pete, it seemed to me, was rather taken aback that no one seemed to want to say how they felt on an international new broadcast. Gee Pete, wonder why, could it have been that you had two "official Iraqi information officers" with you?
And later the History Channel had a very well done report on conditions in Iraq, which had quite graphic footage of the torture system sponsored by Saddam. But, I will bet big money, that very few of the protest crowd were watching. They were probably at some non reality based entertainment event, discussing the role "The Lord of the Rings" had in making them more informed citizens. The out of sight, out of mind theory also explains to me why the twits carry the "No Blood For Oil" banner so high. When you don't have any real information on a subject, make up something. And although because of "Big Oil" we all have cheap energy which allows us the excesses of life in the West, we just love to hate them. Blame the war on greed, oil and Imperialism, surely they really don't torture people in Iraq, we've never seen a picture of it.
