CAN'T WIN FOR LOSIN'
By Cori Dauber
Notice something missing in the coverage of Fallujah?
There's been virtually no mention of civilian casualties, so little in fact that I've been hearing reports mention how much care US forces have been taking to try and avoid destroying buildings in the city (except for NBC's Kevin Sites, who is irresponsibly using the term "scorched earth policy," perhaps because he hasn't a real clue what it means. If we truly had a scorched earth policy there wouldn't be American forces risking their lives on the ground in Fallujah right now because there wouldn't be a Fallujah right now -- just a smoking pile of rubble.)
I believe there are two reasons for this change compared to last April. First, the decision to start operations by taking control of the hospital, so that there's no way for terrorists to pressure doctors (or doctors on their own hook) into preening for the cameras, especially al Jazeera's cameras.
And second, of course, is the fact that almost all of the civilians were given the chance to get out of town before the shooting began in earnest.
So, what happens?
The battle, despite the fact that it's obviously going well, is being described as all but a failure, not because Fallujah isn't being retaken, but because the effort to retake it was "telegraphed."
Listen, in fact, to how many news reports, from how many different outlets, all use the word "telegraphed." Where did that come from, where did they get that?
And not one of those stories that I've heard or seen has bothered to explicitly make the point that, in a world where everything is a tradeoff, letting the big fish know we were coming and giving them the chance to get away was the price paid for giving the civilians a chance to get out of Dodge. |
