Rotophonic

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Archive for category Propaganda Watch

Propaganda Watch: Cheney Unleashes His PropagandaBot Army

Sep 4

Posted by rotophonic in Bush, Iran, Iraq, Politics, Propaganda Watch | 2 Comments

propagandabots.jpgIn a move designed like the plot of a second-rate spy movie, Dick Cheney’s office has apparently activated its army of propaganda writing “robots” to begin promoting a war with Iran (can you identify which one is Bill Kristol?). I’m not sure whether Cheney activated these writers with a nationwide radio transmission or simply a conference call, but Barnett Rubin is reporting that his sources indicated the propaganda should be starting this week.

They [the source's institution] have “instructions” (yes, that was the word used) from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don’t think they’ll ever get majority support for this–they want something like 35-40 percent support, which in their book is “plenty.” [source: Informed Comment Global Affairs]

The psy-ops campaign on Iran has been in full gear from George “Worst. President. Ever.” Bush for all of August and their strategy must be to now have others chime in supporting the administration’s claims. Good luck.

As I’ve noted many times, America should not be willing to trust these clowns in the White House with anything of substance anymore.

Propaganda Watch: Bush Warns of Iranian Holocaust

Aug 28

Posted by rotophonic in Bush, Iran, Politics, Propaganda Watch | No Comments

bushiranianthreat.jpgLike a broken, one-trick pony, the nation’s worst president ever, George W. Bush warned, in a speech today, that Iran’s pursuit of “technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust.”

Like clockwork, with the Petraeus/Crocker “report” looming and his staff leaving his sinking ship of a presidency, Bush and his cronies are cranking up the fear factor. We’ve seen this all before.

While I believe that the United States must act to prevent nuclear proliferation and assure the safety of our nation and others in the world, we’re done listening to you, Mr. Bush. Every strategy you’ve had in pursuing our safety through action in the Middle East has resulted in exactly the opposite result.

It’s getting rather sad how transparent their propaganda has become. Stability over there requires significant political progress in Iraq, not threats against Iran. If he was really serious, he’d actually be working hard instead of taking time off and letting the Iraqis do the same.

Propaganda Watch: Is ABC’s Blotter Bush’s New “Fact” Creation Machine?

Apr 3

Posted by rotophonic in Bush, Iran, Iraq, Politics, Propaganda Watch | 1 Comment

Just to keep everyone abreast of the Bush Propaganda Machine’s current psyops operations, take a look at this April 2nd post in ABC’s The Blotter.

Iran has more than tripled its ability to produce enriched uranium in the last three months, adding some 1,000 centrifuges which are used to separate radioactive particles from the raw material.

The development means Iran could have enough material for a nuclear bomb by 2009, sources familiar with the dramatic upgrade tell ABC News.

Does this method of influencing public opinion sound familiar? Niger, yellowcake uranium, aluminum tubes, Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson, and Colin Powell at the UN redux.

Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com points out that Bush was asked about this report today in his press conference, and notes

So within less than 24 hours, a completely shoddy, unreliable and vague ABC News report translates into a straightforward statement at the President’s Press Conference that “Iran will be capable of building a nuclear bomb within two years.”

With the Bush Administration’s credibility so deep in the crapper, the Neocons need to get ABC’s investigative reporters to run stories with unsubstantiated information in order to bolster their case against another Middle Eastern big talker, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Blotter should be ashamed of running that story. I guess the Bushies may have found their new Judith Miller.

Worst…President…Ever

Oct 31

Posted by rotophonic in Bush, Iraq, Politics, Propaganda Watch | No Comments

BushSo in his continuing chronic state of cognitive dissonance, George Bush pulled his head out of the sand just long enough to parrot some classics from the “distract them with fear and terrorism before the mid-term election” phrasebook. From his press conference on October 25th, 2006:

A defeat [in Iraq] — in other words, if we were to withdraw before the job is done, it would embolden extremists. They would say, you know, we were right about America in the first place, that America did not have the will necessary to do the hard work. That’s precisely what Osama bin Laden has said, for example. A defeat there would make it easier for people to be able to recruit extremists and kids, to be able to use their tactics to destroy innocent life. A defeat there would dispirit people throughout the Middle East who wonder whether America is genuine in our commitment to moderation and democracy.

I’m sorry to tell you, Mr. President, but people are already dispirited in the world. Iraq now makes it very easy for extremists to recruit. Most of us feel significantly less safe now than we did immediately after 9/11. So how exactly are we supposed to win? What does this win look like?

By many accounts his description describes a dream that is the exact opposite from the reality on the ground. Our very presence in Iraq emboldens the terrorists and forces many to question whether we are for moderation and democracy. Further, while there might have been groups of outside fighters that the Bush Administration could refer to as “outside terrorists”, it now appears that the U.S. is battling substantial Iraqi sects, each with their own 2000-year-old agendas. His dream for Iraq assumes we can just roust out those troublemakers from Iraq, and when we do, we’ll come home. Alas, it’s quite unlikely that we’ll roust Iraqis from Iraq.

Unfortunately, the situation in Iraq plays exactly to a key Bush weakness: To Bush, there is no nuance, no complexity.

History is already being written and in the end, I believe, George W. Bush will be remembered as a vapid, inept executive who set our nation back decades. If you want to watch chapter one of this history, you need to watch the chilling documentary from Frontline, The Lost Year in Iraq. These guys have been wrong about every strategy they’ve taken…and yet some would consider still listening to him and his cronies?