Who’s using the military as a “global propaganda machine” now, AP?
The Associated Press has really outdone itself. Just look at this headline:
Analysis: Obama achieves defining TV shot in Iraq
It’s a drool-drenched piece on Obama’s masterful “achievement” — manipulating a politically expedient photo op with the troops in Baghdad. The AP “analysis” — or rather, adjunct public relations release — praises Obama for creating an image that will help him politically:
President Barack Obama went for the defining television shot in Iraq and got it — pictures of hundreds of U.S. troops cheering wildly as he told them it was time for the Iraqis to take charge of their own future.
The war zone photo opportunity produced a stunning show of appreciation for Obama from military men and women who have made great sacrifices, many serving repeated tours in a highly unpopular war.
And the televised outpouring of affection likely will prove critical to the credibility of a new and liberal commander in chief as he tries to sell U.S. warriors and the American public on the grim prospects now facing them in Afghanistan.
So: Using American troops to “achieve a defining TV shot” is a stroke of genius if you are Barack Obama.
But heaven forbid a Republican president ever dare to be pictured with our troops — and heaven forbid a Republican president take precautions to ensure that suspected Iraqi insurgents aren’t posing as journalists for hostile Western media outlets.
Flashback: AP chief: Bush turned military into global propaganda machine.
Tools.
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How do you tell if its a hand picked group? Look at the unit patchs on the militarys uniforms, all different.
This was setup to include only military people who supported el bozo in the first place.
SUCKERS!!!
The non-stop fawning by the liberal press is mindboggling.
Pravda would be proud.
funny how the networks this morning cut off the sounds of hoots & boos when Obama mentions giving Iraq back to the Iraqis. At least, that’s what it sounded like to me…
Is there any audio out there of the entire reaction?
mentions=mentioned
I need to keep my tenses correct.
I wonder how many of the soldiers were told to be there? Last time I checked in Oct 08 about 70-75% of the military backed McCain…
I think it is unbecoming, lost of military bearing that a soldier hugs the POTUS in likes of those photos. Not the same military I once served in.
Do the people at AP never check their own archives for congruence and editorial continuity?
They must not, else they would have been reminded of the vitriolic articles they wrote against President Bush accusing him of using our military for photo op purposes, and been disabused of the notion that for Obama to do the exact thing is “a stroke of genius.”
And I still don’t see where Obama achieved a single benefit to this nation by going to Europe to denounce us. Even Real Clear Politics has an article saying Obama shouldn’t expect much of a bump, if any, in his approval numbers as a result of this trip.
Sickening. We’ve got an armed forces group full of highly-skilled chess pieces and Obama views them all as pawns.
Only less important.
Even if I had a teleprompter I’d be speechless over this.
There is a similarity between the surprise Iraq visits of W and BHO.
George W. Bush: False accusations of a fake turkey.
Barack H. Obama: Fake who just arrived from Turkey.
A recent Maureen Down column was devoted to Obama’s alleged abilities to persuade people to like him. Dowd was in full-on slobber mode as she described his “talents.” She was obviously oblivious to the impact of her words. In essence, the way she described him was being either a master manipulator, or a sociopath.
Surely there must be someone at these news organizations who thinks deeply enough to see this hypocrisy. The intellectual vacancy required to miss it entirely seems implausible to me. Rather, I think, the folks who do see it must be scared to voice their opinions, for fear of losing their jobs.
Are we sure that’s what he was saying when the crowd of soldiers mobbed him? Maybe he was saying, “There’s free beer in the tent next door for everyone after my speech, and my speech is over!”
This is horrendous in the extreme.
As one of the people who used to ‘orchestrate’ events in that very palace and room, his appearance was FAR from what the AP describes it as. Rummy got far more from the troops than what you hear on the videos.
I’ve reviewed the videos (go to Mudville Gazette to see the downloads) and in the pauses where you could tell he was expecting applause, you could hear a pin drop.
That atrium of the palace was all marble, 3 stories tall, and had a chandelier the size of a school bus in it. Sounds would bounce off the walls like crazy. But the cheering you heard was FAR from ‘thunderous’. With a crowd that size, had they been as enthusiastic as for others there, you would not have been able to hear any other sounds at all. It would have been DEAFENING.
Second, look at those in uniform on the dais with him- go check the makeup of them. 26 in uniform. Not close to representative of the services.
Third- NO COMBAT types in the mix at all- all are FOBBITS. I had an intereseting phone call re:Baghdad yesterday, regarding a young trooper who called in to report about who was being selected to see the president. The advance team wasn’t very smart about it, lets say.
The videos show the truth- it was far from a resounding welcome. The band was louder than the crowd, and Ive been there when you could not HEAR the band..
If they wanted a good pic/vid of him in front of the troops, they should have shot it from the 3d floor balcony, as TIME did when Rummy was there. FAR more dramatic. BUT, if they had in this instance, likely it would have looked really bad- REAL troops wandering away, and looking quite empty.
Mr Wolf
BTW, we are about to learn whether Obama is the next Carter. How he deals with those pirates that just seized and American ship with 20 Americans on board off the coast of Somalia will tell us how serious he is on national defense. Will he confront them with an ultimatum? If so, will he equivocate with some lame comment about “not at war with Islam”?
I predict he will try to talk his way out of this by calling an international pow-wow with his new “friends” and end up doing nothing or worse, paying the ransom. This will go on and on and on.
fixed.
I guess Ms. Dowd has gotten over her disappointment that Hillary! didn’t win. And what’s this about his “talents”? Was she referring to his glistening pecs? His “smiling eyes”? She reminds me of Lili Van Schtupp in “Blazing Saddles” regarding Sheriff Bart: “Tell me, schatze, is it twue what they say about the way you people are… gifted? Oh, it’s twue. It’s twue. It’s twue, it’s twue!”
I find it deploring and sad our military cheered this imposter.
I did not see any CIB’s, EIB’s, jump wings, air assault wings, avaitor wings or combat arms insignia of any kind.
The warriors were busy.
HURST of the AP should be assamed of himself… read this piece of TRIPE this AM… Nowhere does he mention O-BOZO’S statements during the campaign, THE SURGE IN IRAQ IS A FAILURE… Nowhere does he go into the failed attempt to CHARGE VETS FOR THEIR TREATMENT, FOR WAR RELATED INJURIES… I believe it is time for the MSM to get off their KNEES, take off the KNEE PADS, clean the STUFF off their faces, and start “REPORTING THE NEWS”!!!
#14 Pasadena Phil
I’ve got three words for you, Seal Team Six.
Dog. Pony. Footlights.
Veterans know exactly how Obama got his defining moment filmed.
There are many types of motivation.
Can you say “Rent-A-Crowd”?
Yes, hard to miss if you know what you are looking for.
Definitely non-combat types. Rear echelon is usually where you find the malingerers.
REMF’s are like affirmative action hires. They joined the service for the freebies.
You don’t need seals for that piddly thing, a few boys from ACU2 could handle that nicely; as for the “outpouring” over Obummer, when I was in the gulf, not only did you not find any athiests in foxholes, you didn’t find liberals either.. MSM is busily manufacturing support for the messiah, and they have to work that much harder given what a lousy performance “the one” is giving thus far. The next 100 days should be interesting…and painful.
i too feel barrack “used” the photo-op but that is what presidents and politicians do. yes his condemnation of them in the past may seem disingenuous, but what pol isn’t? i give him some marks for going, and some for behaving in front of the troops, unlike his bow and scrape and kiss butt in the middle east stops. we have to be fair and balanced in our praise and criticism lest we join the left in bds.
Ragman: That’s where I’m at!
The irony of coming full circle to having to deal with the Barbary pirates again under Obama is just too delicious. When we went “to the shores of Tripoli” the first time, we established a higher standard for dealing with pirates than the rest of the world. We refused to pay annual royalties for protection as well as ransom if captured. Rather than pay, we destroyed the pirates by sinking all of their ships, reduced Tripoli to rubble, forced them to release ALL hostages and then made them pay for our efforts. It the British staged a similar campaign soon after and piracy was brought to bear.
It was the first international demonstration of the “American exceptionalism” that John Q. Adams referred to in his 1728 State of the Union address. We had rejected the international standard of paying protection royalties and ransoms (but only for certain “special” people. The rest? Sold to slavery.) and imposed our own higher standard of “no negotiations”. The world followed our lead.
As we continue on the global campaign to return to the dark ages, is today’s incident going to be another symbol testifying to the decline of the American character?
On rereading my previous comment, let me fix some awkward wording.
We had rejected the international standard of paying protection royalties and ransoms (which Europeans paid but only for certain “special” people. The rest? Sold to slavery.)
Michelle,
You’re comparing apples and oranges here. The comment about Bush had nothing to do with pictures of troops cheering the President–he was talking about alleged suppression of unflattering news.
I wouldn’t claim the AP is unbiased in other respects, but this post is drawing a dubious comparison, to say the least.
Col Jack Jacob this morning on Imus in the morning, mentions todays politicians are primarily media personalities. Col Jacobs is more focused on the U.S. Military Budget, and the Afghanistan War and our build up of troops.
http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2009/04/col-jack-jacobs-discusses-afghanistan.html
I totally agree! Here is the Commander In Chief and he NEEDS a 3×5 cards to read off the name of commands he is supposedly in charge of??? What a joke. I guess he is lost without a teleprompter!!!!
I wonder if “Wag the Dog” was one of the movies on the non-playable DVD Obama gave Gordon Brown? I wonder if we will ever hear Harry Reid proclaim that we cannot win the war in Iraq? So many questions and so few answers…
How ’bout this comparison then, vargas. Check out the reaction of the troops at the beginning, then watch all the way through for the MSM’s garbage at the end. It shows you how the MSM really feels.
Oh TOTUS — where arreeee youuuuu???
oops… quote was WCC’s. Sorry!
Oh, and I would like to know how the composition of the soldiers in the Obama backdrop was organized, and by whom. I’m thinking the political staff traveling with Obama. Positioning cameras and lining the backdrop with the right kind of faces is very important if you want to capture a particular image. The shots I saw didn’t seem to reflect a cross-section of the troops in Iraq, but maybe they were easily obtainable headquarters staffers instead of front-line troops.
The only real job experience Obama has is campaigning. He never, ever stops…
The biggest hing I noticed in the pictures were that the troops in the background were posed (like a class picture in elementary school). It looks to me like alot of these soldiers were troops who were voluntold to be there.
***
The few photos I saw seemed to show younger lower ranking military men and women sincerely liking President Obama. They trust and like this man.
***
This old U.S. Army member (1964–1966) would have been keeping a STIFF UPPER LIP and looking unhappy–I know a lot more about the O’Bummer (PBUH) than the troops in the picture did.
***
John Bibb
***
The State Run Media (SRM), has become as much a propaganda vehicle as Pravda was during the Soviet Union. Expect the same level of accuracy as Baghdad Bob.
Didn’t he go out before the troops yelling “hoorah” or something he’s not quite sure how to sound out? That and his limpy forehead slapping salute makes me cringe, and I was never in the military. Quite sure it makes those who have served half nuts to watch it. You just can’t fake this stuff.
Perhaps the greatest sin in modern liberalism is to be guilty of hypocrisy. Most of the time when libs play “gotcha” games on conservatives, they’re trying to portray their target as a hypocrite.
Lost on all of them, however, is that a self-serving and blatant double standard is the ultimate expression of hypocrisy. By getting selectively indignant about others’ hypocrisy while being selectively indulgent of their own, they end up in the ridiculous position of being hypocritical about their hypocrisy.
You name it, and libs have a double standard for it:
- Filibusters by Republicans = an abuse of power; filibusters by donkeys = an exercise in a cherished Senatorial tradition.
- Deficits under Republicans = fiscal irresponsibility; triple-deficits under donkeys = an investment in our future.
- Warning of the dangers of terrorism = playing on our fears; terrorizing the public with horror scenarios of supposed economic catastrophe unless we pass a “stimulus” bill without even reading it = being proactive.
- Comparing Republicans to Nazis and Fascists = “speaking truth to power”; Questioning the Dear Leader’s policies = racism.
- George Bush visiting the troops = a cynical ploy to divert attention from his failures as a president; Hope-a-Dope visiting the troops = a master-stroke of politics and public relations.
It wouldn’t be so tiresome to deal with today’s liberals if they were consistent in their principles: a thing is good or bad in itself no matter who does it. But liberal hypocrisy makes that impossible, and ultimately produces people with no principles at all — only present-moment tactical positions that can and do reverse themselves on a dime.
Tell me what war is not unpopular with the leftists..no doubt they were against both world wars.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Every Kleptocrat we’ve had has done this.
The dangerous part of it all is that this man KNOWS he’s compromising the future of our country with this crap, yet for personal political gain, he goes ahead with it. Even Booooosh didn’t do that. The mistakes he made were all at least errors on the side of caution, not that it really mattered.
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
The wars themselves aren’t unpopular with the leftists, my good friend.
They just believe we’re fighting on the wrong side of them.
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
Regulus – that is sooo being pasted into my blog this week.
With appropriate citation, of course.
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
I almost barfed reading about Odummy in Iraq where the troops “wildly cheered him.”
I don’t have time to read all the other comments, so I apologize if anyone has already addressed it…
I question the demographics (within the military) of those in Obama’s audience. From an email group I am part of, the audience may have been limited to Fobbits and not actual warfighters, and that the warfighters may have actually been turned away from being able to attend…
Seems we’ve got some serious disconnect here…
Sounds to me like they’re cheering for the Iraqis, and the acknowledgment of all the work they’ve put into the situation, under President Bush.
They aren’t cheering for the President…
Hopefully cooler military heads will prevail and the US will keep a decent troop level in Iraq. Iraq as a semi-stable, semi-democratic country with a huge American military presence is our best asset in the world right now (especially in the Arab world). No matter how the left wants to parse it Iraq is a win and having our troops there right now is all that is keeping the lid on Iran and Syria.
Instead of focusing on a photo op gone well the AP would do better to focus on the fact that every dictator and wanna-be fascist ruler is stepping forward to challenge the US to a pi$$ing contest and winning.
Color Col Jack Jacobs Ret unimpressed with the photo op with the troops in Iraq compared to the Secretary of Defense’s news about the Military Budget.
Hugging the C-i-C? Ugh…. and that , er, “lady” soldier looks really well fed. must work in the mess…
First thing that was obvious to me when I saw the pictures on TV was that the front row behind O was all Black and Hispanic – the second row was all the white guys in the back of the bus.
Well, we’re going to need the military when the revolution comes. So, better to have them on the homefront to fight for America than to have them overseas.
And no, I’m not kidding.
Having been in the military, all I can say is the background troopes look like they were ordered to be there. They look so board, with the exception of one one two grinning like a moron. Also if you notice most of the background troops are women, the ratio of men to women in the military in not that great. They are mixed service also, I noticed some Air Force, most Army, one or two Marines.
When bo was done the troops were not sure if they should clap.
The commander of the base was told to get a crowd, so he did.
And don’t forget to compare Obambi’s nose-in-the-air street strut to Bush’s “swagger.”