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Edited on Sat Dec-13-03 02:10 AM by calimary
That's because the Turkey Trot in Baghdad WAS a photo op. Nothing more.
Please. Have you heard the extent of the aftermath, as annoying but relentless facts keep rearing their ugly heads? Have you heard about the "Stars and Stripes" piece (the military newspaper, "Stars and Stripes" wherein one sergeant emailed that his troops - stationed farther out from the heavily-guarded compound - were loyal and true and to be greatly proud of but were turned away from the bush affair. The Sgt. said that when they marched a long distance to join the meal, they were told they weren't among the pre-selected who were hand-picked to be on hand. Or "pre-screened," as the Washington Post describes it, while reporting on this. It occurred with the Army's 1st Armored Division, according to a report I'm reading in washingtonpost.com.
It just seemed phony and shallow and manipulative. And then also he violated international law - international aviation law that governs the filing of flight plans and being who you say you are. Air Force One, a 747 jumbo jet, misrepresented itself to British air traffic controllers as a smaller Gulfstream 5, and went through British air space as such. But (my husband's a pilot and tells me stuff about this)apparently a Gulfstream 5 and a jumbo jet handle differently and react differently and maneuver differently, so if the controller thought he was directing a Gulfstream out of a near collision, the instructions could well be Gulfstream directions for climbing and banking and the swiftness thereof - that a 747 CANNOT duplicate because of its size and mass. So what happens if something happens? Could such a collision be avoided in such a case? And if not, to what cost - and of how many lives? More deaths for a lie?
Besides, I did read elsewhere in the washingtonpost.com story (it's called "A Baghdad Thanksgiving's Lingering Aftertaste") that the British air traffic controllers are worried about this deliberate misrepresentation. Their argument is that - if the bushies could gain entry into British airspace by pretending they're someone else, what's to stop a terrorist or terrorist group from doing the same thing?
Then again, I guess we're back to that latest bush soundbite - "International law? I better get my lawyer" or "I gotta call my lawyer" or some such wording. And THAT was about the forgive-the-debt pleadings to Russia, France, and Germany (even while you can go stuff it if you even think you're gonna get a piece of the action, contract wise) but that's another story. But we now see two separate arenas of international law at which he's openly and brazenly scoffed. I remember an era, long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away where NO ONE was "above the law," not even a president (in that case, Nixon). That, in fact, was one of the pre-eminent buzz-phrases of the day: "No one is above the law."
I'm trying to suggest that you look at the whole story. I invite you to be no longer taken in by the preferred surface treatment. Evidently, we're seeing a pattern. 1) Stage photo op - go for broke, anything goes, go all out. 2) Let photo op sink in. 3) Run for excuses and look for some diversion when the false front of the photo op falls off - as it inevitably does. Unraveling usually starts in a week or two. Look what happened with the "Mission Accomplished" on the aircraft carrier. Not such a strong card to play, after all, was it? And the turkey platter was even just a prop! It wasn't meant for a single one of those soldiers to carve into and serve to fellow battle brothers. He was supposed to pick up that tray and smile for the cameras and then put it down, shake a few hands, and then get the hell outta Dodge before the natives started getting restless post-sunrise.
It was all a sham, and a shame, just for some nice-looking photos. Strictly for appearances sake. He just used these people and this situation because he does need some heartwarming, Norman-Rockwell-Goes-to-Iraq images, especially since the last ones in the fighter jock suit didn't age well. And it's just a genuine shame that American lives are being lost for it, and American tax dollars are being squandered/stolen for it. The republi-CONS complain about the "redistribution of wealth" as a pet predilection of their opponents, but they're the worst offenders of all! It's just the profit part that always flows up. The cost part flows down. THAT is what they really mean by trickle-down. But that's another story, too.
Man (or woman!), I hope you look again. But I have read other posts. You seem consistent within what I understand to be your mindset and your philosophy and your convictions. I gently hope you'll look again. Our people over there, the fighters, and our people here, the civilians, are being had. On a turkey platter. And people of conviction can stop it.
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