In the wake of Iraq’s further descent into sectarian violence, consider the possibility of black flag operations in this piece picked up by QRS Wave at The Truth Shall Set you Free from Joanna Francis:
I’d been sitting on these for a couple of weeks, but we’re already so far down the rabbit hole. As even Fisk keeps noting, someone obviously wants Iraq to succumb to civil war. As 160 die in one day in Baghdad amid five car bombs and Dahr Jamail’s latest despatch reports that Iraq’s failing health system has sunk to levels lower than seen during the economic sanctions imposed after the first Gulf war in 1990, more of us have to ask the hard questions.
I don’t know what to say. I have no words for this. My brain has completely left its housing.
Servant, that’s exactly how I felt as I sat on this for over a week. It is always good to be open-minded, as I profess to be, but as the humorous adage goes, ‘Don’t be too open-minded that your brains fall out’ ;) Nevertheless this one is compelling. It feels like we’ve been horizontally parked across parallel universes ever since 2001 and I don’t discount anything. The mind boggles, the disbelief is suspended. Drop me a line, on or off blog, if this one incubates with you as it did me.
I should have posted a warning: this post may make you sick but please don’t let it do your head in. If you’re like me you still want to uncompromisingly get at the the unflinching truth. To put things in perspective, its the Iraqis that are experiencing this terrible reality every day and from which there is no immediate escape, as well as US troops. We have the luxury of feeling terrible, and then being able to get back to the pleasantries and beauty in our lives.
Thanks Ann
Now that I’ve had some time to let these horrible images sink into my head, along with the context of the major premise, I have some words now. But none of them are “good.” I sent you a draft post that I’m working on along with a dialogue that I’m having with my blog friends about it. You could remove this burden from me and take it on yourself if you have the guts to push the publish button.
It’s not “truth” that concerns me, as you know. It’s consequences what concerns me. Everything outside my personal sphere of influence I can attribute to someone else’s actions. But my own actions I take very very seriously.
Here’s the strawman proposition I am working on. As would-be journalists in the new media, what responsibility do bloggers have when it comes to publishing content? I don’t mean anything banal like will we piss some people off bad enough that they will attack our advertising revenue. I mean what responsibility do we have to deconstruct and teach in the context of putting raw information into people’s brains? All kinds of people? You can easily imagine what someone in Iraq might do with this bullet bouncing around in his still living brain. And you can imagine also what will happen if you don’t push the publish button. Will people continue on in their comfortable clouds believing what they want to believe?
The scope of this media and it’s potential impact on minds must be considered.
Frankly, I don’t know too many people I would feel safe showing this to. In fact I know a lot of people I definitely wouldn’t show it to – who would think that it’s “cool.” Have you been in the forums with the young Marines? I have. What you read there is much more disgusting than what we see in this video.
The things that are in people’s minds are so much more ugly than this, I just don’t know who I would trust with it.
As you can see I’m on the horns of a rather large moral dilemma, and it’s literally kicking my Marine Corps ass to hell.
Thanks Servant, and I suspect its one only an ex-Jarhead can appreciate how jarring that dilemma is. There’s not much more to add to what’s already been exchanged by email, except to perhaps indicate that I appreciate the trust and will not publish it. It is in the fort knox of my mind, until and unless you choose to publish, my friend. Anyway, its already a riddle wrapped up in mystery and now cloaked in a dilemma. The plot thickens.