NP: Iraq

[Otto]

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Morris" <fqmorris at yahoo.com>
To: <Eulenspiegel7646 at aol.com>; <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2003 5:47 AM
Subject: Re: NP: Iraq
>
> --- Eulenspiegel7646 at aol.com wrote:
> > fqmorris at yahoo.com writes:
> >
> > > It just wasn't THE reason used to gain backing for the war (and it
doesn't
> "prove" that the WMD reason was pure manipulation).
> >
> > Why is he defending this fuck?
>
> Why are you so irrational?
> Why don't you ask a reasoned question?
> Why don't you take a pill?
>
> DM
>

Pynchon as prophet:

"Every day public opinion is the target of rewritten history, official
amnesia and outright lying, all of which is benevolently termed 'spin,' as
if it were no more harmful than a ride on a merry-go-round. We know better
than what they tell us, yet hope otherwise." (xiii)

I admit that I'm deeply impressed by this truly great text.

"Nun aber ist offenbar, dass gesicherte Erkenntnisse über Saddams
Massenvernichtungswaffen nie existierten. Die US-Regierung nimmt sich einmal
mehr George Orwell zum Vorbild und deutet die Vergangenheit um, auf dass die
Gegenwart gerecht erscheine. George W. Bush hält seine früheren
Beschuldigungen gegen den Irak nun schon für bestätigt, wenn seine Truppen
in dem Land Ausrüstung finden, die vielleicht zur Herstellung von
Massenvernichtungswaffen taugen könnte. Von großen Mengen der Waffen selbst
ist keine Rede mehr. "Wir haben die Massenvernichtungswaffen gefunden",
posaunte der US-Präsident in St. Petersburg heraus. Er meinte damit zwei
mobile Labors, von denen nicht einmal amerikanische Experten mit Sicherheit
zu sagen wagen, ob sie jemals zur Herstellung von Kampfgas oder Biowaffen
benutzt wurden.
(...)
Das Programm für Internationale Politische Meinungen führte kürzlich eine
Umfrage in den USA durch. Demnach glauben 37 Prozent der Amerikaner, dass im
Irak bereits Massenvernichtungswaffen gefunden wurden. Sieben Prozent sind
sich nicht sicher. "Manche Amerikaner", meinte Steven Kull, Direktor des
Meinungsforschungs-Programms, "wollen vielleicht die Erfahrung einer
kognitiven Dissonanz vermeiden."
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,251291,00.html

Kull continues, "For some Americans, their desire to support the war may be
leading
them to screen out information that weapons of mass destruction have not
been found."
While 59% of those polled correctly said the US has not found Iraqi weapons
of mass
destruction, 41% said they believed that the US has found such weapons (34%)
or were
unsure (7%). While 69% correctly said that Iraq had not used chemical or
biological
weapons in the war, 31% said they believed Iraq had (22%) or were unsure
(9%). Kull
adds, "Given the intensive news coverage and high levels of public attention
to the topic,
this level of misinformation suggests that some Americans may be avoiding
having an
experience of cognitive dissonance."
http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/PostWarIraq/PReleaseIraq5-03.pdf

"(...) doublethink is a form of mental discipline whose goal, desirable and
necessary to all party members, is to be able to believe two contradictory
truths at the same time. This is nothing new, of course. We all do it. In
social psychology it has long been known as 'cognitive dissonance.'"
(xi)

It has become obvious that neither the Yanks nor the Brits had sure
information about WMD's. Only because there is no other way than
international cooperation we old Europeans will forgive, but not forget what
the Bush-administration has done. And of course we're all happy that Saddam
is gone. That the reason for the war has been an outright lie is headline in
every important European newspaper today.

Otto