Recent History Question
I’m going to write this little article intentionally without Googling all my facts. For a variety of reasons… one, I can’t think of search terms that won’t give me a lot of crap, and two, I had the initial discussion without Googling, and it’s all about perception.
So I was having a discussion the other day, about the fact that the casualties in Falluja have surpassed those that were incurred taking over Baghdad. I expressed some surprise that should be the case. I expressed some dismay that the casualties had continued to accumulate (and even accelerate) since the operations in Iraq had been declared â??over.â?
â??The President never said it was over.â? Came the response.
â??He didn’t? He didn’t say that ‘the era of major operations in Iraq is over’? I could have sworn that was an exact quote.â?
(To be fair, I am recapping the discussion from memory, and I am almost certainly misrepresenting the other side of the conversation, my apologies)
â??No, that quote has been misrepresented in the press, and the hundreds of times where he expresses that more casualties are coming have gone unreported.â?
â??Well, that is certainly true, I have never heard the White House say that the American public should expect more casualties.â?
The conversation continued along many fronts… has Bush gotten a fair shake from the media? Did he ever say it was over? Was my expectation that casualties would decrease (not disappear) following that declaration unrealistic? Was that statement reported out of context? Would a statement such as the following have been reported more accurately by the media (and would it have set expectations among the public to a more realistic level?
â??The era of major operations in Iraq is done. This does not mean there is not a long road in front of us. This does not mean that servicemen will be coming home in 6 months. Nor does it mean that American lives are no longer at risk. This task will still take American effort, and American blood. The end result, I believe is worth it, as we will make the world a safer place, not only for Americans, but all human beings.â?
EDIT: I wrote the above, with the intention of being much more explicit, much more media spin-proof, and much less likely to inspire unrealistic expectations among the public. (end edit)
The reaction I got to that statement was â??That WAS what he said.â? I don’t recall ever being told that the lives that have been lost were worth it.
So my question to you is… was that what he said? Was that what you heard? Has the government done what it could to manage expectations appropriately?
If you post a comment, great. If you answer in your own blog, post a link. Or if you just want to drop me a line, feel free.