Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

This strategy is being currently employed by Bush in repeated public appearances at military bases as well as by Cheney and neocon Administration mouthpieces throughout the media.

The specific case in point is the use of Al Qaeda as perpetual bogeyman.  Recognizing the visceral impact of Al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden on Americans relating to the 9/11 tragedies, a u-turn has been made to make people forget why Bush stated with urgent necessity why we must immediately invade Iraq.

The international community doubted that the alleged "weapons of mass destruction" existed.  The Cheney-Bush Administration was beseeched to allow the ongoing UN weapons inspection to locate any such weaponry be completed before any military action commence.

The neocon ruling junta recognized how necessary it was to attack immediately rather than face the inevitability of a clash with the international community.  

When President Jacques Chirac of France spoke out with diplomatic eloquence all the flustered neocons could think of was the crude propaganda gesture of launching "freedom fries" and having Rupert Murdoch style paid media shills bark, "If you don't like it here, move to France!"

As time has elapsed and greater numbers of Americans, as revealed in current polls, have declared that they want an end to the Iraq War and for the troops to be brought home with vigorous dispatch, the neocons have thrown Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda into the mix to seek confusion through deception and hopefully buy at least a little more time.  

Now Bush, Cheney and the rest of the neocon machine mention the necessity of defeating Al Qaeda with unrelenting repetition while stating the case for continuing the Iraq War.

On Sunday night, July 29, on CNN Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the man who once ran a campaign for his party's presidential nomination on an education theme, functioned in the manner of a trained robot as he parroted the absurdity of the Administration line.

The defeat of Al Qaeda was repeatedly linked to victory in Iraq.  Anything short of that would be a triumph for Osama bin Laden.  What Alexander omitted just as a starter is that the leadership of Iraq that we support has been requesting that American forces leave that savagely battered nation.

In the best tradition of the Goebbels repetition strategy, Alexander kept repeating the Al Qaeda buzzword.  He also stated that Senator Harry Reid of Nevada and other Democrats should stop "playing politics" and let the generals handle the war.  

Once again there was a serious Alexander omission.  What about all the generals who have been moved out of Iraq because they found the Administration's assessments and goals unrealistic?

Murdoch mouthpiece Bill O'Reilly has repeatedly called for the removal of Bill Moyers from public television for his "partisanship" in presumed contrast from the unstinting objectivity practiced at Fox by himself, Sean Hannity, Neil Cavuto and Michelle Malkin.  

If any of you were watching Moyers on his Journal last Friday night, July 27, it was easy to see why he has sparked O'Reilly's ire.  He dares to present the other side of the Iraq story in a way that Phil Donahue had done prior to the first shock and awe attacks, when scores of experts appeared and delivered correct assessments of what would occur should America invade the Middle East.

The Donahue guests conveyed logic and reason in contrast to the blustery neocon propaganda and deception about non-existent weapons.  There was such a flurry of consternation in certain corporate boardrooms that Donahue's program was soon dropped for "low ratings" even though he had more viewers than any other MSNBC evening talk show, including that of inveterate Cheney admirer Chris Matthews.

Fawaz A. Gerges, the author of "The Far Enemy:  Why Jihad Went Global" and the recently released "Journey of the Jihadist:  Inside Muslim Militancy", appeared with Moyers alongside Brian Fishman, who is part of the team at the U.S. Military Academy  whose objective is to train young officers who might find themselves combating Muslim militants.

Gerges noted that the only way for Al Qaeda to be removed from Iraq is for the Iraqis to take the step themselves.  To Gerges and Fishman the Al Qaeda presence is but a part of a much broader ranging civil war within Iraq that has developed and expanded, as experts appearing with Phil Donahue and others grimly predicted would occur.  

Knowledgeable experts in foreign affairs discuss the broader picture and cite as the prevailing catalyst for current Middle East unrest, including popularity increases for Al Qaeda and other militant Islamic groups, the rash act of the U.S. occupying Iraq.  The Arab world reacts with supreme revulsion to events reminiscent of the days of empire as represented by Rome and Great Britain.

Meanwhile the clash of ideas continues between the brazen propaganda of the Cheney-Bush global neocons bent on world hegemony and voices of reason that understand the complexities of the Middle East and the necessity of American forces withdrawing from Iraq.