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11/17/2004: "Rodney King Not!"

Two things have struck me about the recent incident in Fallujah in which an unarmed Iraqi, lying injured in a mosque without treatment for over a day after capture of this mosque by Marines, was caught on tape being executed by a second group of Marines. First, reaction in opposition to this act has been remarkably muted. Checking on various mainstream news sites last night, I had difficulty even finding mention of it. Compare that to the revelation of the Rodney King video, which sparked a veritable firestorm of outrage. The second thing I�ve noticed is that the normal apologists for the Bush Administration have been acting like this tape is Rodney King 2. Just look at some of the comments from Rush (in addition to the comment I included on our �A Rush Insight to Ponder� daily feature): �I am happy to report the American left is digging in even further. The American left and its spin machine -- that's my new name for the old media -- they are still trying to defeat this president in the war in Iraq, ladies and gentlemen.� �They are continuing to appear to not have their own country and its citizens' best interests at heart. I'm specifically referring to this incident involving a Marine and the shooting in Fallujah. This is simply outrageous what is being done here, what is taking place� �The lack of proportion and the absolute choosing of sides always against America, it seems, by our friends on the left and their spin machine, the big media, has gotten to the point here where, you know, each day you think they can't top themselves -- and they do.� Excuse me, but I believe that it�s Rush that�s over the top here. The mission of the US military is to defend the United States. In Iraq, that mission is translated as �winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.� Failing that mission could turn Iraq into a nest of terrorists, just as Afghanistan became after the Soviet military failed its mission. The Soviets failed because Afghanis never saw them as anything more than foreign infidel conquerors. So what are we showing when we execute unarmed injured Iraqis in mosques? That we�re foreign infidel conquerors that will only leave once defeated in holy war, as the Soviets were. And I haven�t even talked about the Geneva Conventions. Rush has some choice bits on this. Let�s talk about them tomorrow.