Media Blitz, Terrorist victory

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: The Shambles
Date: 17 Sep 01 - 01:44 PM

Is not this urge for some kind of huge military reaction, just to stop us from thinking about it? To just take the responsibilty away?

Whether you think there will be such a thing or not, are you saying that there is not such an "urge"?

If so, I hope you are correct.

The guilty people who took over the planes are beyond understanding. They were probably beyond understanding, when they were still alive.

Understanding why this was so, is what I suggest we should all be addressing. For there are plenty more where these came from. We can't risk making even more.

Dealing with those behind the planning and funding, will have to be done over time, ruthlessly but with great care, but not necessarily with grand gestures and millitary action.

If they are needed, and they seem to be, the heroes are the dead and the rescuers.

This country needs her sons, not heroes.
Katrina Gall, from a song about another conflict.

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: Troll
Date: 17 Sep 01 - 01:55 PM

GUEST;

The cuts in military sending during the eight years of the Clinton administration damaged the readiness of the military severly. We had squadrons of fighters that could not field a full complement of planes because there were no spare parts available to make needed repairs. They had to cannibalize one or two to keep the others in the air.
There was not enough fuel to deploy the fleet on routine manuevers and the spare parts problem was the same as with the Air Force.
And so with the Army and Marines.
And you feel that Bush's proposed approprations are out of line?
As it now stands, those requests will only get us back up to peacetime speed; where we should have been all along.

troll

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: GUEST,PeteBoom (at work)
Date: 17 Sep 01 - 02:27 PM

CY - I think the innundation of the media coverage is a mixed blessing. Personally, I'm concerned about what my 5 grand kids see on television - their parents aren't in the room ALL the time with them. How do you help the kids assimilate what has happened? We had out grandson over yesterday for a visit - just him and granny and grandpa. Wonderful time - chicken on the grill and a nice visit. He spoke a bit about "what happened in New York." He had bits and pieces, but not the whole picture - made me only want to have a "chat" with his parents, instead of tear into them. (I'm not as physically large as Mick, but....)

As far as the organizers of this claiming a victory from the coverage. I think it was short lived. The point of terrorism is to terrorize - to frighten into submission. The one thing that was shown over and over though, even on Tuesday, the cameras showed people running for their lives as the towers came down. They then showed those unhurt checking on people around them, and charging back INTO the wreckage to help others who did not get clear. Not just professional rescue crews either - office workers, shop keepers and people who just happened to be there.

I think it was an editorial in the Daily Mail that pointed out the raw courage it takes to do that. People need help and you're there and can help. This does not make New Yorkers or Americans in general better than other people. It simply means that like most people, Americans are not quite as soft or cowardly as some pundits would have others believe.

A terrorist victory? Nah, more like scoring a try in a game that is far from over.

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Sep 01 - 04:24 PM

Guest's post of 17-Sep-01 1:20pm makes no comment on the appropriateness of Bush's defense budget. It merely makes an observation regarding how one might've been able to foretell in advance the response President Bush was likely to pursue vis-a-vis an event such as the one that occurred 11-Sep-01.

The reader is left to decide for him/herself whether it is a valid observation. Actions the United States has yet to take will ultimately determine the shape and color of that response. Admittedly, it's a non sequitur to assume that a pro-defense stance automatically dictates a military counter-strike when one's country has been attacked.

Regardless, if the information troll supplied in his/her post of 17-Sep-01 1:55pm is correct, it would seem unlikely that, in the few months he's been in office, President Bush has had sufficient time to equip the nation's defenses to launch and sustain the kind of effort he's advocating to wipe out terrorism.

Perhaps the U.S. isn't ready for military action?

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Sep 01 - 08:42 PM

I've been hoping this wasn't a victory for the US military-industrial complex. But I'm beginning to wonder. It's starting to look like maybe they're going to be the ones who benefit the most in the long run.

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: DougR
Date: 18 Sep 01 - 01:49 AM

Geeze! Reading into this tragedy the fact that somebody is going to benefit is a bit far out, isn't it? I suppose the next thing we will hear is "only the rich will come out well" over this tragedy. Never mind that many corporations so many of you hate so much are on the verge of going out of business because of this terriorist attack. You might want to keep in mind that corporations are composed of employees. Those employees are also on the verge of losing their jobs. The corporations in danger include the nation's airlines. What would we do without our airlines? We would be in a mell of a hess.

DougR

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: CarolC
Date: 18 Sep 01 - 02:16 AM

Believe it or not, DougR, I'm advocating a balanced approach. We need to be concerned about our economic base. But we need to be equally concerned about our citizens. If Bush creates a bigger mess than is needed just so that some people can profit at the expense of others, he will not be helping anyone in the long run.

If he approaches this situation with caution and wisedom, and uses only as much force as it needed to correct the situation, there may be hope. It's a fine line to tread. But I think we need to be very careful about our motives for everything we do in the context of this situation.

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: The Shambles
Date: 18 Sep 01 - 05:10 AM

Some questions from one who has not seen much of the US media coverage, to those that have?

Have you read in the US media of the support and sympathy coming from the Europe and the rest of the world (in particular the UK)?

Have you read why that may be?

Have you read anywhere that it is simply because these terrible events and losses, were in the USA?

Or read anywhere that the outrage from the UK is because the UK casualties were the the highest number killed by a single terrorist attack?

For it matters not to me (and I suspect most of us), the number or nationality of the casulalties or where these obscene events took place. Only that four passenger aircraft were hi-jacked and flown deliberatly into the middle of two crowded cities............

Have you read that the hearts of millions of NON American people's hearts were broken along with yours at that moment?

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: PeteBoom
Date: 18 Sep 01 - 03:58 PM

Actually, Shambles, the American coverage has been quite good on the international response. From the UK and nearly all the Commonwealth countries, through Europe, Asia and Africa, coverage has been included of nearly every nation that can be thought of. What has impressed me and many I know here in the States has been the expressions of support, not from governments, but from average citizens - firefighters in Germany, school children in Japan, office clerks in Taiwan. People with NO connection to the States - just other human beings grieving that such a thing could happen.

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: DougR
Date: 18 Sep 01 - 04:11 PM

Yes, Shambles, coverage has been good. Ove sixty nations of the world lost citizens in this disaster. No one's loss is more important than another.

DougR

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: The Shambles
Date: 19 Sep 01 - 03:18 AM

Is there a thought that any change, is a victory for the terrorists?

The change I mean is that the subject is the 'only game in town' and people are now talking and asking hard questions about the outside world, as never before?

Is the current push to get people back to working normally, part of this?

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: DougR
Date: 19 Sep 01 - 03:59 PM

I think some people perceive it as such, Shambles.

DougR

Subject: RE: Media Blitz, Terrorist victory
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Sep 01 - 04:06 PM

Cranky Yankee, wotta guy!