Fight photographs with photographs
Not exactly what could be called "seeking the higher moral ground" that people here are searching for, Tom. The battle needs to take place at the source, within the ranks of our soldiers.
Release a list of the reasons for which the high-value prisoners at Abu Ghraib were incarcerated
Can’t be done. First of all, it’s illegal. Second, releasing any information provides intelligence to our enemies, and a little detective work is all that would be required for insurgents to determine who was being held where.
Present the evidence connecting Abu Musab Zarqawi and Saddam Hussein
This is doable, though I don’t see what difference it would make to hard-core anti-Americans. It’s already attributed, and accepted, as a direct result of the prisoner mistreatment at Abu Ghraib.
Strengthen Iraq's media by using them to reach Iraqis
Also doable. Of course that would mean replacing a lot of Iraqi journalists, which would result in the new Iraqi news media being seen as merely another American puppet.
At home, give helpful stories to friendly journalists and sympathetic news outlets
Where are they? I mean, there are some out there, and they do a good job, but they’re already well overtaxed.
as much of this information as possible should emanate from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
As the beginning of this point states, Bush don’t work that way, and trying to force him to work that way will just shut him up all the more.
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As far as I'm concerned, Tom, the world can cartoon its ass to hell, and while Mein Kampf is one of the most infamous pre-WWII Hitler pubs, it does remain both an interesting and insightful read. It just depends upon what you’re looking for -- historical record and the psyche of the maniac, or new methods of disposing of your amassed enemies.
As I stated at the beginning of this post, the battle needs to take place within the ranks. Releasing classified information simply because it is neat is not the way to win a war. The phrase remains, "loose lips sink ships", as do the release of classified photos. I refer to the fact that all activities within the military are classified at the confidential level -- at least confidential.
Many heads will be rolling on this one (some a lot further than others), but the message sent needs to be a clear one for our troops (particularly for the ill-trained whiners in our Reserves). Breaking ranks and willingly performing illegal acts against others, including the release of classified documents for public consumption, will result in life-long retribution, in the form of a tour at Leavenworth, and life-long dishonor.
If some are unable to handle moral problems in their own house, they should simply know to stay out of the military's house. If this is not good enough, they should be expecting retribution when they stray -- and not hide behind their lack of training (military and home) on how to relate with fellow human beings, and being ordered to follow illegal orders (which is completely contrary to Basic Training -- Active & Reserve alike).
Purest bunk. Breaking a law one is ignorant of is no excuse, particularly when it is clear the perpetrator is completely aware of what he/she is doing.
“I didn’t know it was illegal to apply electric shock for interrogation purposes!â€
“I didn’t know it was illegal to take pictures of interrogations and publish them on the internet!â€
Right.
The problem remains here, not out there. We just have to do our jobs, and clean out the ranks. And the media can track this improvement or not, whine about it or not, suggest steps to be taken or not. It really isn't their concern. After all, it’s called freedom of the press for a reason. They simply choose to want Bush out of office, and that’s where they will continue to bark and howl.
Dan
Off Topic » in reply to "Where are the communications majors?"
re: Fire with fire . . .
