Debacle. Debacle. Has the word “propaganda” been erased from the vocabulary of the American government? As I said earlier, we would have been done with this war months ago if I was in charge of propaganda. Let’s see, America does a whole bunch of psy-ops, dropping fliers telling Iraqis to surrender. That worked… somewhat. Remember that Iraqi commander who surrended his whole division? He was actually a lower ranking officer and faked it. Then, there were those who weren’t really surrendering, but I think that was to be expected. People acted like it was a big surprise. I pretty sure the military is smart enough to plan for harassing by small enemies. Yet, they didn’t put enough information out there to make it seem like it.

So, Baghdad falls the day before. They could have bombarded the media with many images of happy people, but instead only a couple get showed ad nauseam. I think I’m seeing a tilt more towards the left in the media. Has anyone considered that the media may be doing this on purpose in order to get people to downplay the images? People want happy news right now. Why isn’t it being provided? Oh yeah, then it wouldn’t really be news.

Then there’s also the news of the riots and looting being repeated. Are images of looting supposed to make the news “balanced?” Again, this probably has been prepared for, although you wouldn’t be led to believe that.

The UN wants to get in on the action after it’s over. They didn’t help at all, why should they get a say? Personally, I believe the UN sucks and is not doing a very good job at all. I have a feeling America is probably going to consent, and this is most likely because we don’t want to use all our money. With the right propaganda, we could get the Iraqis to tell the UN to buzz off. Something like, “They tried to keep the US from freeing you” with the flags of the countries next to them.

There’s also the matter of bombing Saddam’s place, and then not knowing who died there. This isn’t a novel; you’re not trying to keep the reader in suspense. People are impatient and want to know what happened. Has Saddam managed to run away, like bin Laden? I think the message that should be put out is that it doesn’t matter if Saddam is alive or dead. Baghdad is free. He abandoned all his followers.

Finally, the issue of rebuilding is really coming into play. Before, I was really worried about this, but now, I’m not worried as much. There was some “anarchy” going on, but it’s being exaggerated. The point is, it’s not being directed at American troops. The issue now is speed. If we quickly vote in a resolution by Congress to supply humanitarian aid, and get it there quickly, the American people and the world will be satisfied. Being quick will satisfy the natural short attention span of the people. All we really need is something big and symbolic, then the true building can take place, without so much scrutiny.