Perhaps it’s not enough sleep, or tummy rumbles, or worries about my trip today (not the flying part, the actual meetings part), but I’m finding little to write about, war-wise. Maybe for the best, but I feel like I should be ranting about something or another.
It’s still probably too early to throw some told-ya-sos about the chemical plant in the middle of the desert, surrounded by electrified fences, in command of a general, and highly camouflaged. Even if it was discussed on the news yesterday, and was part of the CENTCOM briefing this morning, NPR didn’t have all that much to say about it, so I guess it’s still unconfirmed. Right?
Actually, it was an interesting contrast going from relatively non-stop TV coverage (flipping between CNN, MSNBC and FNC) to listening to NPR this morning. Almost like it was a discussion of another world. NPR had doleful music, lots of doubts and fog of war and analysis as to what was “critical” for the Bush Administration to “succeed.”
Of course, that’s not to say that it’s any less accurate than the cable news stations with their blaring martial music and techno-triumph graphics. That gets a bit old, too.
Still, listening to NPR, you could almost hear whispers of “quagmire” in the background, almost think the war is already lost, just a few days after it started. There was no talk of Iraqi soldiers hiding among civilians, no talk of the videotaped interrogations and Americans shot in the forehead. Lots of talk about American casualties, though, and how the rapid pace of the first few days seems to have evaporated, signalling … the dreaded Q-word?
There were, in the 40-odd minutes I was in the car, six references to Saddam Hussein having appeared on Baghdad TV, though, to be fair, at least two of those discussed why there were “doubts” as to whether the spots were authentic or not. Still, maybe it was a slow news day for them, too.
On a related note, I started a mini-rant about Michael Moore, who seems to think what it means to be an American is to prove that the Thought Police haven’t won yet, and declare for 45 seconds how Bush didn’t really win the election in Florida, and “we” are all ashamed of him for his actions in Iraq. The definition of “we” was not given.
Then, I got tired, and decided to do some real work.