Letter Never Sent Tell me when to go.

Military using its promotional arms in theaters:

Aware that Americans’ perception of war gets fuzzier with each generation, the Marines and Navy have joined forces for the first time to produce a polished four-minute, 48-second movie trailer full of Hollywood-style scenes and sound bites from the war on terrorism.

Until the trailer debuted last month at theaters in Southern California, New York and Denver, moviegoers had not seen a rah-rah military booster film since World War II.

“Enduring Freedom: The Opening Chapter” cost the military $1.2 million to make. The high-quality mini-movie is designed to bolster civilian support for the armed forces.

Onward Christian soldiers. What took you so long? Dissent is coming from all quarters – even in Bush’s own church:

But the most dramatic intervention comes from President George Bush’s own United Methodist church which launched a scathing attack on his plans for war.

Jim Winkler, responsible for the application of the church’s teachings to social policy, said war against Iraq was ‘without any justification according to the teachings of Christ’.

After careful study of Christian doctrinal writings on Just War, Winkler said he was ‘told flatly’ by the church’s scholars, ‘that they simply did not apply to this situation’.

Winkler said ‘we keep the lines of communication open’ to the White House, but added: ‘I regret that the lines have been one way. I hope and pray that the President has considered the church’s teachings.’

Winkler’s sentiments have an impact beyond the usual circles of dissent in a church-going society that, for the most part, supports Bush.

Related:

I wonder what will happen with this. If the Kurds try to broaden their power what will Turkey or Iran do? Is the US giving secret support to the Kurds so as not to arouse the ire of Turkey? Or, are the Kurds trying to help Hussein by trying to alter the playing field? Things like this are not expressed publicly without reason.

WASHINGTON – Iraqi Kurdish military commander Hamid Efendi said yesterday that his forces would try to capture nearby oil-rich areas if the United States strikes at Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The Kurdish goal of extending their authority to the prized oil fields around the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul – outside the Western-protected Kurdish enclave – carries military and political risks that could trouble Pentagon planners.

Iraqi Kurdish fighters could face direct combat with the more powerful Iraqi forces and open a new front that might divert attention from the goal of toppling Hussein. It would also enrage neighboring Turkey, which controls crucial trade routes for the landlocked Iraqi Kurds.

The Sniper Problem…An illustration that law-enforcement is not all powerful. This is very bad for the government. They can’t have ordinary Americans being shown day after day that the government is impotent to stop a determined murderer. Another potential problem is the possibility that this sniper could have been someone trained in the US Military. That would be a huge embarrassment to the Bush administration and to the military junta that runs this country.

The threat of continuing embarrassment and the attention of this series of shootings has prompted the Pentagon to approve the deployment of military surveillance to help find the sniper. Maybe also so if it is a member of the military they can take him out on their own? Something is fishy about this. Also, not to mention that this violates the spirit of the Posse Commitatus Act despite assertions to the contrary:

Authorities had considered using a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle but decided to have military pilots fly reconnaissance, a defense official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A main objective is to improve communication among investigators.
The help will be provided in a way meant to comply with the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that bans the military from domestic law enforcement. That means the military will relay data to law enforcement officials and will not decide on its own what targets to watch, the official said.
The Pentagon’s participation also could involve a system of sensors that could detect flashes of gunfire on the ground, the official said.

Related:

I’ve been thinking about why anonymous administration officials would mention this obviously crazy plan at length. Is this some message to Iraq to somehow give the impression that the US is tougher than it really is? I mean, this plan is just arrogant to the extreme. It would drive the mideast into a roiling pit of craziness. The whole region would be destabilized by American occupation. Not to mention the domestic effect. I can’t believe that this is a serious plan. It has to have some propaganda purposes which are not expressed outright. Is it to diminish the effect of what the US might really do if they overthrow Hussein? Is it to scare Iraqi generals? Is it to give the impression of greater strength? Is it to galvanize players in the Mideast? Is it some sort of signal of the impending war? Is it an attempt to isolate the rest of the world especially Japan and Germany? Or, could it be something else…maybe an attempt by government officials opposed to the invasion to somehow plant this story to stir up opposition to the pro-invasion cabal? There is something else to this. It is too huge to be otherwise. I can’t believe they would naively admit to something like this without some other purpose.

A message from WhatReallyHappened.com:

10/10/02 House OKs Iraq resolution. That proves it. The US Government no longer represents the will of the people. We live in a dictatorship. What will you do about it? Will you stand silent as the Germans of 1933 while your nation is stolen from you and your children marched off to die in a World War? History will judge the American people by whether we allow this war of conquest for oil to proceed or not. This is the wake-up cal to America. The rule of law is dead. The President and the US Congress have gone rogue and threaten the peace and safety of the entire world. Despite 100 to 1 opposition to the war by their Constituents, the Congress has rubber-stamped Bush’s war, the worst of all kids of war, a war for profit and greed.

Please forward the roll call vote for publication for this coming November’s elections. UNLESS WE VOTE THESE SCUM OUT OF OFFICE, THEY WILL FEEL THEY CAN DO AS THEY WILL WITH YOUR MONEY AND YOUR CHILDREN. Those who voted for war will get a permanent place at this website for voters to study. until the election.

Propaganda professionals at the employ of the military. It would be naive to assume they don’t practice similar propaganda here. I’m amazed at how open they are about lying and intentionally manipulating a populace to fulfill their war aims.

Village Voice: Forked-Tongue Warriors:

Headquartered at the 4th Psychological Operations Group in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the psy-op artists typically rely on cartoon animations to get their messages across. But it’s psy-op history itself that belongs in a comic strip: Its collection of harebrained schemes is sometimes almost too colorful to believe, though all of the following tales have been reported on from time to time. One such plan initially investigated by the air force before Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait entailed the projection of a holographic image of Allah floating over Baghdad and instructing Iraqi civilians to overthrow Saddam. The idea was promptly dropped after scientists informed the Pentagon that it would require a mirror that was a square mile in area, not to mention the added problem that no one knows what Allah looks like. Furthermore, since divine portrayals of any kind are strictly forbidden in Islam, the hologram would surely have gotten a reaction, but probably not exactly the one intended.

Psy-ops against civilian populations is unacceptable. The intentional use of propaganda is a slippery slope. It just it makes it easier to deceive in all circumstances.

From The Propaganda Matrix, which has archived versions of the removed stories due to the British press gag order:

British Press Gagged on Reporting MI6’s £100,000 bin Laden Payoff
Tony Blair has last night ordered a D-Notice on British media reporting government officials signing court gag orders. This regards the case of former MI5 officer David Shayler, who has evidence to prove MI6 gave £100,000 to bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, arms to Iraq and had prior knowledge of several terrorist attacks on London in the 1990’s. Newspapers like the Guardian, the London Evening Standard and the Scotsman have either completely removed or amended these articles. This evidence is damning – the British government is trying to bury the story before it buries them

Quite damaging to the war effort. This means that the Western powers were dealing with al Quaeda as late as 1996 and sold Iraq the very weapons it now cites as its justification for invasion. Know well that Britain has been doing the bidding of the US at least since WWII. They are two halves of the same coin.

A soldier and scholar, Clausewitz has had an enormous effect on the minds of modern politicians. It is instructive to see how these people think so you will know the threat.

Carl (Karl) von Clausewitz:

Just in case you still harbor illusions that our tyrants are not dead set on invading Iraq think again. What’s taking so long is building the justification and twisting the arms of those reluctant to carry out this dirty deed.

There has been a large buildup of forces in the gulf region, the Armed Forces have been engaging in ‘war-games’ in Kuwait where they have been attacked by hostile NiMBy’s (Not in my backyard). The Department of Defense has ordered 273,000 bottles of sunscreen. This would lead me to believe that they intend a force of 200,000 – 250,000 to assault Iraq.

In addition, I learned that a relative of mine in the Army is reportedly leaving for Afghanistan very soon. Since he’s part of an armored tank division I’m guessing his ultimate destination is actually Iraq.