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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (58959)	11/26/2002 1:27:14 PM
From: epsteinbd	Respond to of 281500

Second straight day with no shooting above the NFZ... New rules of engagement. Or funkspiel ?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (58959)	11/26/2002 2:25:11 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Karen, The Norweigian blogger Bjorn Staerk has a review of Scott Ridder's current tour of Norway, where apparently he's telling the Norweigians that Bush is running a "fascistic" government with "absolute power" now that he has a majority in Congress. Nice, huh? Bjorn doesn't think that Ritter is too tightly hinged either: Scott Ritter has been in Norway to launch his new book, War on Iraq. The local media are suckered in, and allows him to present himself as a tough-minded Republican with the moral authority of the UN, and the rare integrity to stand up against the warmongers in the White House. Scott Ritter comes off to me like one of those Usenet cranks who don't follow the normal rules of logic. When he's caught in an inconsistency or failure to draw the logical consequences of what he says, he has taught himself to ignore it. Ritter has found a greater cause than truth: peace, and his arguments are only consistent as far as they support the cause. He also seems to be adjusting his message to maximize its effect on the intended audience. I can't find any evidence that Ritter has ever accused the Bush government of being fascist, and using Nazi propaganda methods, in the American media. It wouldn't work there. He seems to think it will work here in Norway, though: - Most Americans are completely confused and misinformed, says [Ritter] who characterizes the Bush government as fascistic at home, and imperialistic abroad. - Bush now has absolute power with a majority in the Congress. The war on terror has resulted in Bush wanting to defy the UN and go to war on Iraq. At the same time he wants to surveil his own people with a whole department. .. [The Bush government] have engaged themselves both ideologically, intellectually and politically to remove Saddam Hussein. All of them had passed their expiration date, but now they control American politics. And this minority gathers followers through fear and ignorance. The Nazi Party in Germany did the same thing, says Ritter. I don't think this has the effect he intends. My impression is that most Norwegians who are against this war are so because they believe in diplomacy, in multilateralism and the UN, and because they see Bush as an ignorant cowboy. I know people who believe that the Bush government has fascist tendencies, but they're few. Even fewer would buy the nazi comparison. Ritter's just making a fool of himself. Only Dagbladet reported this comment, though. The other media quotes him as being more in line with Norwegian opinion. (Another exception: To Aftenposten he says there's a 40% propability that nuclear bombs will be used against Iraq by March. As propabilities go, 40% is a neat one. It's as near as you can get 50% without revealing that you're guessing.) bearstrong.net