16.9.03
Bush administration turns to Syria
John "Biblical Doomsday Prophecy Nut" Bolton is to deliver a report to the House attacking Syria on various matters: for allowing Syrian nationals to cross the border into Iraq to fight US soldiers there, supporting "terrorist" groups, and developing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Talk about a shameless attempt to distract attention.
As Atrios points out, noted Middle East expert and Bush administration shill Judith Miller is responsible for this article. Miller, of course, is the same "journalist" who broke numerous Pulitzer-worthy scoops, including memorable articles on the "trailers of mass destruction", those deadly aluminum tubes, and the infamous baseball-capped Iraqi scientist pointing to spots in the sand. It looks like she's back up to her old tricks again - happily providing a journalistic figleaf to the Bush administration's latest naked lies and unsupported assertions.
You have to admire the way that the article is structured. None of Syria's grievances (e.g., the occupied Golan) are mentioned at all. It is simply presented as the "irrational Arab country" bent on hatred of America and all it stands for.
Then you also get gems like this, accepted fully at face value:
SCENE: A cafe in Damascus, or perhaps Hama. ABDULLAH, a budding anti-American "jihadi", sits at a table drinking coffee and smoking a water pipe. His obligatory Qur'an is open to the sura condemning all Americans to hell. A burning US flag decorates the far wall of the cafe. OUTSIDE we hear a large crowd chanting "No to American freedom and democracy, yes to Comrade Saddam!" repeatedly.
ENTER: MOHAMMAD, ABDULLAH'S comrade and fellow anti-American activist, who is wearing a t-shirt with the faces of Presidents Bashar Assad, Saddam Hussein, and Jacques Chirac, drawn in socialist realist style, and the words "Down with America" emblazoned on it.
MOHAMMAD: I have come to say goodbye, Abdullah, and wish you good luck in your jihad against the Americans in Iraq. Do you have everything you need - your AK, your roadside bomb, and your night-vision goggles?
ABDULLAH: Yes. Thank you, Mohammad.
MOHAMMAD: And are you sure you are not forgetting to take the most important things - your Syrian identity card and a large sum of money?
ABDULLAH: Thanks for reminding me. Proper identification is crucial for the underground guerilla. And while Saddam's Werewolves organization does pay well and offers large sums of money to "jihadis" like me who are willing to attack Americans, one can never have too much money on hand during a firefight.
MOHAMMAD: Indeed.
EXUENT MOHAMMAD and ABDULLAH.
Well, maybe the Bush administration can hire a willing filmmaker and turn their version of reality into a movie - like they did with that "9/11"fantasy documetary.
John "Biblical Doomsday Prophecy Nut" Bolton is to deliver a report to the House attacking Syria on various matters: for allowing Syrian nationals to cross the border into Iraq to fight US soldiers there, supporting "terrorist" groups, and developing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Talk about a shameless attempt to distract attention.
As Atrios points out, noted Middle East expert and Bush administration shill Judith Miller is responsible for this article. Miller, of course, is the same "journalist" who broke numerous Pulitzer-worthy scoops, including memorable articles on the "trailers of mass destruction", those deadly aluminum tubes, and the infamous baseball-capped Iraqi scientist pointing to spots in the sand. It looks like she's back up to her old tricks again - happily providing a journalistic figleaf to the Bush administration's latest naked lies and unsupported assertions.
You have to admire the way that the article is structured. None of Syria's grievances (e.g., the occupied Golan) are mentioned at all. It is simply presented as the "irrational Arab country" bent on hatred of America and all it stands for.
Then you also get gems like this, accepted fully at face value:
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters who traveled with him to Iraq last week that of more than 200 foreign fighters captured in Iraq, the largest groups were those from Syria and Lebanon. One intelligence official said 60 to 70 percent of those detained were believed to be Syrian, based on identity cards or interrogations. Many were carrying large sums of money, a Defense Department official said. [emphases added]Right... I can just imagine the chain of events that would be required in this reconstruction of reality:
SCENE: A cafe in Damascus, or perhaps Hama. ABDULLAH, a budding anti-American "jihadi", sits at a table drinking coffee and smoking a water pipe. His obligatory Qur'an is open to the sura condemning all Americans to hell. A burning US flag decorates the far wall of the cafe. OUTSIDE we hear a large crowd chanting "No to American freedom and democracy, yes to Comrade Saddam!" repeatedly.
ENTER: MOHAMMAD, ABDULLAH'S comrade and fellow anti-American activist, who is wearing a t-shirt with the faces of Presidents Bashar Assad, Saddam Hussein, and Jacques Chirac, drawn in socialist realist style, and the words "Down with America" emblazoned on it.
MOHAMMAD: I have come to say goodbye, Abdullah, and wish you good luck in your jihad against the Americans in Iraq. Do you have everything you need - your AK, your roadside bomb, and your night-vision goggles?
ABDULLAH: Yes. Thank you, Mohammad.
MOHAMMAD: And are you sure you are not forgetting to take the most important things - your Syrian identity card and a large sum of money?
ABDULLAH: Thanks for reminding me. Proper identification is crucial for the underground guerilla. And while Saddam's Werewolves organization does pay well and offers large sums of money to "jihadis" like me who are willing to attack Americans, one can never have too much money on hand during a firefight.
MOHAMMAD: Indeed.
EXUENT MOHAMMAD and ABDULLAH.
Well, maybe the Bush administration can hire a willing filmmaker and turn their version of reality into a movie - like they did with that "9/11"
