Hi NightOwl; Re: "But somebody in this government has got to start waging the propaganda battle. Somebody has got to paint a picture of these Islamist terrorists that's so bad, people would be ashamed to say they don't support going after them. If he can't do it verbally, he needs to start using audio-visuals. Somebody has got to show some indignation and anger. War is a nasty business."
The government is very capable of running a good propaganda campaign. You saw that before the war, when they convinced the public, and even some foreign countries, that Iraq was awash in WMDs. They continued it when the insurrection started to bite by comparing it to the occupation of WW2. When they got Saddam's children and grandkid they made a big deal out of it. They had a happy time with Saddam's capture.
These guys know exactly how to run a propaganda campaign (well at least when the propaganda is directed at the American public). What they don't know how to do is to put a positive gloss on our desperate position in Iraq.
Re: "If people don't "feel" good about supporting it they won't. I get the feeling that we're relying on another WTC, a full blown Shiia uprising, or an attack from Iran, to justify continuing."
It's not about "justifying" continuing, it's about being able to continue at all. The problem in Iraq is not a propaganda problem, most American support the President on this just like they supported Kennedy, LBJ, and Nixon. Just as with Vietnam, the problem is not a US hearts and minds problem, the problem is that in Iraq, we are militarily, politically and economically getting our asses kicked.
-- Carl |
