This story should be a big deal.
Previously, stories of trigger-happy US forces killing whole Iraqi families have been reported, but largely viewed as happenstance in the US. I believe that is because many in the US believe a certain percentage of the killings were justified, and the rest were accidents, and well worth the cost of getting rid of Saddam. In other words, they've almost been viewed as a natural part of liberating a country (for some crazy reason). Whenever a story like this would come out, FOX and the other Bush apologists would spout stories about how much better the Iraqis are now.
Bush can't simply dismiss the accounts, since Italy is our ally. And, with the military issuing a denial, and the journalist sticking to her story, we see how the Bush PR machine works - issue an immediate denial, accuse someone else, hope it blows over.
I do not pretend to know why one story is big and another is not. Sometimes, you think that an event is going to have big reprecussions, and it dies with a whimper. Other times, seemingly small stories blow up. This one has the potential of a blowup, but given Bush's hold on the media, he'll probably ride it out again.
However, I do believe it negates any of the supposed credit that Bush got for Syria in Lebanon. Although even that story is another case of Bush trying to take credit where no credit is due... |
