US Conservatives Say Critics Support Saddam - The tactics of

[vox]

For those interested in avoiding war in Iraq, it's good to know how the conservative media in the US is trying to paint anyone who questions the idea as a traitor.

Spinsanity.org (http://www.spinsanity.org/) has a very good article about this, originally published at Salon.com, called "The patriot patrol strikes again!"

They are using an old and powerful tactic. Rather than rely on facts, they seek to make suggestions that lead one to believe any opposition is really support for Iraq. It is this kind of propaganda that sways public opinion.

Please expose these tactics as thoroughly as possible. Lives, literally, depend on it.

vox

[LeonardoDaVinci]

Yes, that is absolutely true. Ever since 9/11 and Bush's infamous declaration: "You're either with us or against us." we witnessed a great decline in public as well as international criticism of US policies. The media and the American public have acquiesced to the demands of the government and became even more docile than ever. Anyone who voices his or her disagreement with the new, bigoted post-September 11 policies will be accused of being unpatriotic and a conspirator. It is also rather similar to the accusations of anti-Semitism directed at those who voice their concern over the plight of the Palestinian people and their subjugation by the Israeli government.

This method of undermining the views of your political opponents by attacking their character is very old and can be traced back to the Greeks. Thucydides the great Greek historian tells the story of the Athenian politician Cleon. In the course of trying to persuade the Assembly to execute the entire adult male population of Mytilene, Cleon goes out of his way to accuse his opponents of taking bribes. But Diodotus, speaking for the opposition, replies that Cleon's attack is essentially personal. Diodotus warns: "This sort of thing does the city no good; her counsellors will be afraid to speak and she will be deprived of their services… The good citizen, instead of trying to terrify the opposition, ought to prove his case in a fair argument… When a man's advice is not taken, he should not be disgraced, far less penalised."

Diodotus puts his finger on the great danger to democracies inherent in personal abuse. He points out that in essence, any politician who wins by simply wounding his opponent personally also inflicts a subtle wound on his country as well as democracy. Good men and women will thus feel less inclined to enter politics in the first place. Nevertheless, this type of political antagonism remains a favourite method for rebuking dissidents and keeping them at bay. For no matter how valid the arguments of the anti-war activists are, they will be demonised by the government and portrayed by the media as unpatriotic appeasers who have turned their backs on America and the ideals of the founding fathers. Therefore, it is up to us to stand up to these demagogues (i.e. George W. Bush & Co.) and their insidious dictatorship, as they are merely pursuing personal vendettas that will undoubtedly have much wider implications for the people of the Middle East. We must not be blinded by their bombast rhetoric of the eternal good and divine role of America, and more importantly, we mustn't be cowed from practising our democratic right of free speech.

[hawarameen]

i often wonder if anyone in America sees bush as the comical figure the rest of the world sees him. i have to say he is the major embaressment to an otherwise proud nation.

everytime i see him on the television i cant help from laughing, he thinks he's in some sort of western film with his "wanted dead or alive" speaches. for example there was a report in a newspaper here in UK that at a concert he saw Stevie wonder and then tried to get his attention by waving at him!!!!

yet i hear all the time that most Americans think he's the best thing since sliced bread.

[j]

Bush's public approval ratings are falling. I think many people are realizing that he is an idiot.

However, because many people here dislike him does not mean that they don't support the war with Iraq. Most americans are still blinded by patriotism. The aniversary of 9/11 is less than a month away. The flags will fly, opposition will be silenced, and Bush will probably launch an attack against Sadam.

Does the US have ANY support for attacking Iraq in the worldwide community??

j

[mujer revolucionaria]

Yes we definitely see him as a comical figure. Everytime I hear him speak, I think...."come on enough is enough, is the joke over yet??" I also get nervous when I hear him talk, like "come on.....you can do it.....you can make it....please dont say anything TOO stupid!!"

I have not supported him from the beginning and never will.

He is just plain stupid, and though his stupidity is frightening, the people that REALLY scare me are Rumsfeld, Cheney and Ashcroft.

Terrorism has become the new communism in the US, as far as "witchhunting" goes.

I still dont know how his approval ratings could ever have been good.....I mean, are people really that stupid?? I have got to think those polls are fixed and quite inaccurate.

[hawarameen]

Personally i think that his problem with Sadamm is a personal one, i believe he wants to finish what his father couldnt and remove Sadamm based on the idea that he may do something in the future.

Speaking as a kurdish refugee from North Iraq i know how bad sadamm is yet what frigtens me most is the future, who or what will replace him, his son is twice the sadist he is. It is precisely the American and western policies that have left us homeless in the past and i fear for the future of my country (Kurdistan) if bush takes his personal vendeta too far.