[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

So...ummm....when did you realize the staged event was just some good ole propaganda?

I assume that all such things have some element of stagecraft. The statue toppling looked like something supervised by the military. I kinda assumed that was the case because they were standing around, and it was a war zone, and militaries generally are in charge of anything they are standing around, especially in a war zone. The particular extent of staginess for the statue toppling was never too important to me because the only thing I ever got out of it was that Saddam had lost so much power that he couldn't stop it. That the toppling was psy-ops does not mean that Iraqis weren't happy to see it happen. If your stories are saying that there were no Iraqis that wanted the statue down, then that's another level of propaganda (and conspiracy theory).

You're description below was as an either-or sort of thing: either its a symbol of freedom (as was reported by breathless dolts) or it was staged by some mastermind with a baboon heart. I don't see it as an either or.

yes we had -- in fact I think it's fair to say that Gulf War I never really ended, it just stopped getting much press.

I know this because it was publicly reported. By the government. When they applied the word "war" is when they wanted us to start thinking of it as "our war," (ie, when they new we'd as individuals have to start making some sort of commitment to the endeavor). I don't see any problem with them starting to apply the word "war." If they didn't ever apply the word "war" (ie, if they didn't want us to start thinking of it as a war), then I'd have a big problem with them. If you want to think of the decision to start using the word "war" as nefarious propaganda, and belittle everyone and anyone who isn't initiated in the art of conspiracy theory, then so be it. It may be propaganda, it's necessary, and most people think of it as "spin" on one end and "lies" on the other. Id bet that most people would say that the government does indeed spin and lie when they present a case to the public.