Just as the Bush administration planned. Let the war drag on until it becomes just a murmur in the background, inaudible above politicians' sex scandals, celebrity rehab trips and news of the latest American Idol winner. Did the British public pay much attention to the various low-level conflicts raging in their empire? No, unless there was a catastrophic setback like the fall of Khartoum. By the time this empire has bankrupted itself, just as all others have done, it will be too late.

This just goes to show how the MSM is influenced by (ie - controlled by) gov't and big corporations. I guess Britney was the newer "shock and awe" until Spitzer made the forefront. I noticed the story never even mentioned Afghanistan. The average American probably doesn't even remember that war. I guess Iraq made us forget Afghanistan as Iran will make us forget Iraq.

Occupational armies just don't make the TV glitz that blitzing armies do, ya know? It's the difference between ongoing brutalization and wholesale killing.

I had thought that the U.S. death toll in Iraq was closer to 400,000, and I am cheered to learn that the cost of democratizing that great new nation has been far less than I had thought or was willing to pay.

Like the war on drugs, the war in Iraq can fade into the background while yet it rages on. I think that will be the fate of war in Iraq: endless as planned, with endless profits and as far as the media and therefore the people are concerned, a non-issue.

The media are the people!

I suspect the reverse is true too. As people have lost interest in the war, so have the media.

It is the intended effect of government sponsored education in the U.S. Every citizen is subjected to twelve years of brutal peer pressure which teaches conformity and a fear of speaking out or holding a contrary opinion. Now as adults, the sheeple do as they're told and, most importantly, believe as they are instructed by their television sets. Nobody wants to stand out as a misfit or weirdo. War is for everyone!

In earlier times, children spent far more time with adults - as farm boys and girls, as apprentices to adult tradesmen and as cabin boys aboard sailing vessels, or whatever the hell kids did long ago. The people's stupid conformity and obedience to words out of television sets is the result of the new way of growing up exclusively among peers in the U.S. "education" system.

It is a problem that can never be rectified, but can only be defeated from without as in the case of Nazi Germany.

The interests that control the mainstream media have this country's attention like I have my dog's while I'm holding a tennis ball. Wherever I move the ball, her gaze will follow, unflinching and oblivious to all else. At least I love my dog. The corporations that have purchased American journalism love only money, and will eventually extinguish people's ethical priorities altogether if left unchecked. And they are being left unchecked.

Ghawar, Well said.

Lord Trigo, Good points. While the Foreign Legion was ultimately defeated at Dien Bin Phu, the cafes of Paris and cities across France were oblivious. Out of sight, out of mind.

America suffers from "Attention deficit disorder." While everyone is o-o-o-h-ing and a-h-h-h-ing over the Spitzer story, and people are arguing over every little word from candidates, and from pundits-people are still dying in Iraq; horribly and violently.
What in God's name is wrong with this country? Are we becoming that easily distracted? Are we becoming that simple-minded?
Does a sex-scandal, and comments from advisors during presidential campaigns really weigh more heavily in our minds than the horrors of war?
Makes me want to yell; "Hello? Anybody home? Anybody? Anybody at all?"

Why do we keep calling it a war, it is an occupation!!!

RE: I guess Iraq made us forget Afghanistan

Well, if you want to know the latest on Afghanistan, there is supposed to be a vote to extend the mission.

Afghan mission extension expected to pass today

Parliament is expected to pass a motion to extend Canada's military mission in Afghanistan until 2011 today, just a few weeks before a crucial NATO meeting in Bucharest, Romania. ...

The vote is as assured after a compromise was ironed out between the Liberals and the Conservatives on the Afghan issue last month.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080313/liberals_confidence_080313/20080313/

Motion to extend Afghanistan mission expected to pass

A confidence motion to keep Canadian soldiers in Kandahar until 2011 is expected to pass easily on Thursday, one of two possible votes facing the House of Commons that could trigger an election.

The Conservative motion, revised following consultations with the Liberal party, calls for the mission to be renewed past 2009, but with a focus on reconstruction and training of Afghan troops. It also includes a firm pullout date, calling for Canadian troops to leave Afghanistan by December 2011. ...

Both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have rejected any extension of the mission. ...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/13/motion-confidence.html

Recommend the Video links. BTW, if you wish to watch it live, cpac.ca should be covering the vote.

The elite now have a lot greater control over news sources than ever before. There is no pretty face for Iraq, it is a holocaust. They control what journalist go to Iraq and the country is now to dangerous for them to wander about anyway. Remember before the war, reporters could go anywhere in the country. Not anymore. It was a hell of a lot safer place to be when Saddam Husein was in control. Isn't that fact kind of a yardstick for how things are going?
Out of Iraq now, and war crimes and treason trials for the ones who got us into it.

Spot quiz: Someone tell me how many US troops have died in Iraq. Quick!

How many of you know what that number is on a day-to-day basis?

@peaceman: The slaughter at Dien Bin Phu was deliberately kept out of the French press, and was not symptomatic of reporting overexposure. (Stan Karnow, Vietnam, A History)

The headline is obvious enough. But how many people get their news from the internet as opposed to TV? How many people are still reading articles about Iraq?

It seems to me there was a near blackout in other media too.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, since the only thing on news teevee was Hills v. Obama, the only stories on Iraq (especially the Northern Turk invasion) were on Current TV--believe it or not they still have a reporter there, filing stories and getting them aired.

At any rate, with the media it's just like the beginning of the war: "Don't ask, don't tell."

Maybe if we get into a Depression and another couple of wars, the next election will take 3 years of primaries and congress will hold hearings on Tennis players who unceremoniously cuss out line judges.

I know that 80 Canadians and one diplomat have died in Afghanistan without looking it up. The last one might be the second suicide.

I think that the American count is past 3,000 and heading to four as far as soldiers (excluding contractors) go. I have no idea how many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died.

The Fifth Estate is updating their "THE Lies that Led to War" documentary next week (about Iraq) and this is what we were watching this week (and so can you free on line):

Life and Death in Kandahar

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/lifeanddeathinkandahar/video.html

Want videos of IED and blown up Hummers? Log onto Liveleak.com and search under IED for all the news not fit for the MSM.

Conservative America follows the media. Since they cannot think on their own they need a reporter or a pastor to tell them what is what. They mindlessly stare and nod with spittle running out the sides of their mouths. If the media said that the Sweedish were terrorists they would start shouting anti-Sweed slogans. No evidence is necessary. 9/11 is a perfect example of the gullability and mindlessness of America.
So whatever is in the news is in the minds of Conservatives whatever isn't, isn't.

Every Sunday I watch This Week with George Stephanopoulos. At the end of the show is the "In Memorium" with all of our soldiers who were sacrificed during the week. From the beginning, when the numbers were much higher, I've watched, looking at each photo, and saying their name. I take note of how old they were and where they came from. I hope others are doing the same. It's so sad knowing what a waste it was. While their families and friends will of course note their passing, and the why of it, their ending is probably ignored by the majority of us.

War as a business is about making money ...Politics and the media which do their part in the racket is about the entertainment aspect of everything they sell including the news.

This is the reality that is not taught in schools anywhere because if the truth was taught we would have a revolution based on logic instead of frustration.

The surge is boring war footage and the coverage is boring on purpose to bolster the Republican plan to keep as many seats in government as possible.

I think Admiral Fallon was wise to resign because once Bush/Cheney are gone in 09, they can't hide behind the military and the flag when the planet begins the search for justice in finding the War Criminals who encourage more War and terrorism.

Bush/Cheney in their greed and lust for power have set themselves up as the fall guys and stooges for the dark side.

I commend them for a hell of a job!

One of the best outlets on the Iraqi war/occupation was the web site www.nowthatsfuckedup.com (read the Wikipedia entry). Although it's reason for existence and target audience was pro-war 18-45 year old men, the appearance of trophy photos (war porn) from the battle zone truly showed some of what war is like to those that experience it first hand. Naturally, it was shut down in April 2006 on the grounds of "obscenity".

These images taken by the troops were horrifically and sickeningly obscene, but the best hi-def anti-war, anti-violence images ever.

Naturally, NTFU was shut down in April 2006 on the grounds of "obscenity", and the military subsequently made it illegal for troops or veterans to ever release such images (or forfeit their 'honorable discharge').

I've noticed lately that the local news have the same stories on for three or four days in a row. It isn't even really news, but filler-type things because nothing else is going on to report. I don't know who owns the local channels on ABC, CBS, and NBC.

And of course now it's all about Spitzer, blown up and told in those hushed voices with wide, disbelieving stares as they give all the gory details, and then with such pride that they've learned who the call girl was, and every little detail of her life. SICK. SICK. SICK!

WTF, Thanks for the info. I haven't seen Karnow's book. Your first question: as of yesterday? we officially lost 3,984 military in Iraq.

When I said, "out of sight, out of mind," I was referring to the lack of reporting on Vietnam by the press which was probably pressured by the government to keep the public in the dark.

Also, WTF, starting tomorrow, www.kpfa.org will be broadcasting 'The Winter Soldier' testimonies of Iraqi and Afghanistan war veterans. They'll be speaking up for several days.

Thanks, Vaudre, for the Canadian link!....I know so many of the other posters here are more than "tuned in."...But how much can you know without doing something concrete!!!!I just sent the link:www.cbc.ca/Fifth/
lifeanddeathinKandahar/video/html along with a strong note to 60 minutes, Frontline and Bill Moyers Journal...urgently asking them to SHOW IT. I know it is a piddling reaction, but it beats intellectually sterile venting among the choir. Code Pink Ladies are on the right track!!!

I'm always impressed by the unmitigated contempt I read on this board for the unenlightened masses.

Have ya'all ever tried talking to your neighbors like they were equal human beings? It's interesting that for all the disdain you have for the Corporate Media... you take your characterizations of your fellow citizens from that same source. Like every one that doesn't do what YOU do and believe what YOU believe is a knuckledragging Fox News addict.

I think Google has given you prosthetic brains, and eaten your hearts. You're incapable of forming a coalition of disparate people based upon common issues.

Soon I'll be hearing "genocide" given a new, Orwellian euphemism by progressives, as a possible approach to environmental conservation. Something like "thinning the herd."

"Sheeple?" Flippin "SHEEPLE?"

Will you be the ones cheering as they're Shepherded through the slaughterhouses? Perhaps they should be rounded up and placed in camps for "resocialization" some day. Won't that be dandy.

I'd rather be a misled sheep, than a heartless ideologue and judas goat.

For those putting links up to alternative media... thanks. I always appreciate it.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Is there a 4K pool?

Cranky,

I think your metaphor about the Sheeple being lead to the slaughter house misses one point that in the political world contrary to the Meat Packing Industry, it is the black sheep, the squeaky ones who get the kill treatment, those who go along must learn to protest themselves if they want to improve their baby sheep's lives.

There is more protest going on than you will see in the media, but if we jump on the Sheep for that we are doing what the War Machine wants... blame the people not them.

The people have a lot more common sense than they get credit for and I see a better world coming out of the whole mess.

When will we ever learn?

We are, just not at the the rate comfortable for human consumption.... Instant gratification of the consumer ethic.

From what I understand from a few of my old colleagues, the reporters in iraq have been pretty much restricted to the Green Zone... this is design, it prevents them from reporting on what they can't see for themselves.

It seems the big game in "news' reporting these days is to take a news "event" and speculate it to death... then do an endless critique on how good their OWN coverage was until the next 'event' comes up.

Some folks may have noticed that their favorite 'news' outlets have been running the very same stock footage over and over since this time last year. That is because the Occupation Forces have been keeping the reporters in the Green Zone "for their own safety"!

The net result is, the mistaken belief that "NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS".

Thanks for info on kpfa.org, peaceman. I will definitely be listening.

Surprise!!! NOT!
Why do think that the administration has been monitoring all news medi?
Several years ago, all Iraq news was pushed to interior pages. Now all news about Iraq is smahed into one story, with any loss of human life NOT mentioned instory lead

Whoever believes the public is losing interest in the Iraq war will believe anything. Since the media is controlled by this federal administration, the news, if it can even be called that, let us say edited reports instead, is obviously trying to quell the repugnant facts of the war. I, personally, listen for any reports of the war. Don't you? After all the trillions of dollars spent that two or three generations of Americans not even born will have to pay off.

The public mainly watches the news to be excited, not to be informed.
and
Out of sight, out of mind.

One problem with 'democracy' is that the people give up their responsibilities in governing to a set of 'representatives' ie members of a political party, who usually have other agendas.

It is hard to miss when a Canadian soldier dies since the CBC first mentions the death, then mentions the ramp ceremon, then mention the arrival and, if the family permits, televises the eulogies at the funeral.

WTF - a dating service seems to have co-opted your webpage at this moment so, when the problem fixes itself, give us the link again.

WernerS you ever notice with the cbc.ca that it is

cbc.ca/fifth

cbc.ca/thehour - with George Stroumboulopoulos
cbc.ca/sunday - with Evan Solomon and Carole MacNeil
cbc.ca/politics - with Don Newman
cbc.ca/national - with Peter Mansbridge (though sometimes his ex fills in for him)

Don Newman is most like your George Stephanopoulos. We tend to have more stuff concerning Afghanistan than Iraq in our archives. Those who watch hockey know that Don Cherry from Coaches Corner tends to devote part of the segment here and there to the war in Afghanistan - between calling Russian and French hockey players sissies.

The CBC would not mind having their stuff air on other channels but, which that seems a possibility, they remove the online link.

El-Farouk Khaki's webpage (top left corner) links to the NOW article entitled "Addicted to power - Dion's deadly Afghan double-deal shows he'd rather count body bags than combat Tories" where it says:

The Tories and the Libs believe in war, a mutual conviction cemented last week when Liberal leader Stéphane Dion agreed to their pact to extend Canada's war commitment in Afghanistan until at least 2011.

On the other side altogether, the NDP is a pacifist party that pushes more creative options for conflict resolution than blowing the shit out of people who have different beliefs than your own.

The NDP would like to see the United Nations, the official international organization of conflict resolution, brought into the discussion of the Afghan quagmire, while the Conservative-Liberal cabal are content to swear fealty to the rogue forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

http://www.elfaroukkhaki.ca/

As the article says, it is the NDP and the Bloc which are keeping Afghanistan in the news.

The occupation isn't a 'front page issue' because it being so is contrary to the interests of all parties involved, except perhaps the public at large. Remember, the surge is working! That was about the last major coverage coming out of Iraq, the Republicans don't want to change that message. The Democrats don't want to rehash an issue that they are too incompetent or indifferent to do anything about. The media has played the story for all they can get out of it, time to move on. The only people to benefit from added coverage (aside from any incidental lives that could be saved) are those opposed to the occupation. Why would the powers that be want to help them? It's simple, those who can do something about Iraq - Wont, so why even bring it up.

FWIW, I don't think the issue has dropped out of the public's consciousness, not in the least. It effects too much else that is taking place. It remains The central and defining issue of the day and will remain so until last soldier is pulled out or the last drop of oil is stolen, which ever comes first.

Ho-hum. Another day in the life of an empire. The sun is always shining on the British (oops, American!) flag.

Did you all hear that the oil is flowing pretty good again, and the Iraqi government is getting a pretty fat bank account on that exported $100+ per gallon crude? Apparently they have no consensus on what to do with all the money, so its accumulating rapidly. The US should be taking its cut one of these days.

Wrong. As public interest wanes, so does the coverage. Are we blaming thne media for the lack of compassion for Iraq that is evident, for a long time now, amongst Americans? Let's face it, Americans don't care about any ragheads, only their own. As soon as casualties mount again they will be interested. The falling casualties was a signal to forget about it. And most did. Typical.

If America learns that war is not to be undertaken lightly, the deaths of the soldiers will not have been in vain. If America learns to be a good member of the world community, then, maybe, the death of 1 million Iraqis will not be for nothing. If America collapses into poverty and is no longer a threat to anyone and cannot recover its dominant position, those deaths will have been worth it. The death of an American soldier is not a bad thing at all. Imagine if none had died while raping a country and its people. How would that be better? In fact, the more die, the likelier it is that the US will behave in the future. 4000 is not enough to change the American mentality. Neither is 10,000.

"Iraq plans to take legal action against the suppliers of chemicals used in a poison gas attack on the town of Halabja in Iraq's Kurdish north, which killed 5,000 people in 1988."

Rumsfeld, wasn't it?

Americans care about only one thing - their financial security.
The injustice of the Iraq war; the criminal policies of G. Bush are secondary.
If someone can show a direct link between the Iraq War and financial hardship, the war will end.
Not before.

But the fact that Iraq is no longer news- this tends to happen with the passage of time- the u.s. lack of attention does not in any way diminish the misery of death and suffering the people of Iraq continue to endure. Or the people of Afghanistan.

They don't want us to know anything, that way they don't have to lie as much.
Corporate media wont Tell America the true number of Iraqi deaths, or the true death toll of our brave Military men and women.
Because if they did, the Christians that support Bush would have to vomit.
I read somewhere that if our wounded are flown to a hospital out of Iraq , say Germany, and they die in transit, thier deaths does not count as a soldier lost in Iraq.
This administration is so deceiful, that they will stop at nothing to continue the course.

I don't pray for God to bless America, I pray that he saves America form this evil darkness that has us in its grips.

All!!!! please attend a 5 year anniversary of the invasion on the 3/19/08. Check on commondreasms.org for a vigil near you or initiate one yourself. If we keep to the streets it will start appearing in the papers again.
Also, check on Pacifica Radio the 3/14/,3/15 and 3/16 for a hearing initiated by the Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan "Winter Soldiers, Iraq and Afghanistan"

vaudree, you should make an effort to find out how many Iraqis have died. I will tell you that the best research now places the
figure at over 1.3 million; but, why should
you trust me or anyone? Do research on the
conflicting claims, factoring in known bias,
if any, and then make your own decision, but
do try to come up with a definite figure. It's not that hard.

This weekend and next week take to the streets. I have no illusion that it will create a miracle. But, though I am not otherwise bored, I can think of nothing better I can do.

Looked it up, 3,098 American soldiers, 647 contractors (country of origin not given) and approximately 55,664 to 61,369 Iraqi civilians have died, as of February 5, 2007, as far as we know (CBC) - which, at the time they said may have been low. There have been mass slaughters of whole villages since then. Your numbers seem in the ball park. Though, when the dust settles, estimates made during the war tend to be low. I think I will settle on "way too many" for now even if it is closer to "oh I can't believe it, not in my worse imagination did I think it was this bad."

The US has taken one side of a conflict in a province and gave them weapons to wipe out the other side - which is why there have been a few less US soldiers dying lately.

The latest on Omar Khadr:

U.S. 'manufactured story' on 2002 Afghan gunbattle: Khadr's lawyer

A military commander "retroactively altered" a report of a gunbattle in Afghanistan in 2002 to redirect blame for a U.S. soldier's death to Omar Khadr, Khadr's defence lawyer alleged Thursday.

Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler made the allegation during a pretrial hearing Thursday for the 21-year-old Canadian citizen at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ...

In the report, the commander said a U.S. soldier killed a man identified as the suspect in the slaying of Speer, said Kuebler.

However, the report was revised months later, under the same date, to say a U.S. fighter had only "engaged" the assailant, according to Kuebler, who said the later version was presented to him by prosecutors as an "updated" document.

"What we have is, as I said at the outset, is this manufactured story about Omar's participation in the event, or this myth about Omar's participation in the event, which appears to have been manufactured at some point during his detention," Kuebler said.

"And then you have government records, official government records, being retroactively altered to be consistent with that manufactured story." ...

(It gets worse)

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/03/13/khadr-interrogators.html

MPs to vote on extending mission of torture

Liberals and Harperites focus on good intentions, not interrogation practices.

by Linda McQuaig

Later this week, our two leading political parties are expected to join forces and commit Canada to another three years of military intervention in support of the Afghan government — which we know practises torture.

This is a curious development, since most Canadians — like civilized people around the world — find torture abhorrent and utterly at odds with their values.

Yet the barbaric practice has achieved post-9/11 acceptability in some circles in the so-called advanced world, in the guise of being a necessary tool to fight terror. It's been a prominent feature of the Afghan war, which has spawned Guantanamo Bay, among other horrific prisons.

http://www.lindamcquaig.com/Columns/ViewColumn.cfm?REF=65

Fine. Post here among like-minded folks, but go too to your local media. Today. Now.

The tragic incompetence, chaos, lies and crimes that surround our participation in the Iraq war need to be revisited each day so that we never forget the atrocities that have been committed in our names. The MSM needs to keep the focus bright and sharp on this horrible monument to the Bush Aministration. We need to impeach those responsible for leading us in the very worst administration in United States history.

To follow along the bouncing ball of Iraqi events, be sure
to tune into Juan Cole's blog, which is updated daily on news
from the two wars [sic] at

http://www.juancole.com

so be sure to check it out if you have not done.

Even the progressive blogs provide little coverage on Iraq, except for it's cost, and you have to go to the sites focusing on Iraq.

http://www.juancole.com/(bill peppin beat me to it)
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/index.html

Maybe people just recognize the futility of it all, but things seem to be deteriorating, which could be convenient if we want to do Iran since we can blame it on them.

It is not a surprise that MSM avoids Iraq coverage. One of the first rules of Colonialism is to keep news on what is happening in the colonies at a minimum. Good news gets reported. Bad news does not unless we can blame it on someone else and get support for whatever they want to do.

The people just sit back and let the news be dictated by the powers that be.
If it is not on CNN or Fox, it does not exist in their reality.

How many people even know Turkey invaded Iraq last week, or that Irans President had a pleasant visit to Baghdad (you would have thought we could arrange a suicide bombing that would target him instead of providing his security).

It's scary how our reality can be so easily controlled. If MSM says the world is flat, and 70% of the people can be made to believe this with all sorts of scientific experts explaining why it is flat, doing so because they rely on grants from government and tax free foundations who want you to believe this, then the world will be flat. Anyone saying it is not will be labelled a conspiracy theorist, so those who are not dumb enough to believe it will keep quiet. Powerful stuff.

@peaceman, thanks for the link to 'The Winter Soldier' testimonies. I'll have to content myself with reading the testimonies as I am readying my coldframes for the next crop. I would highly recommend reading Karnow, probably the best history of Vietnam in English, and puts their centuries-old struggle for freedom into perspective. It is a monumental tome, but gripping reading.

@others who answered my question on the number of US soldiers killed. Most of you are on the ball, and knew the number because y'all acquire information via the internet. Traditional news outlets (TV, print, radio) appear to be afraid to highlight this information.

@vaudree, I stated that www.nowthatsfuckedup.com was shut down in 2006. The site has been taken over by cyber squatters. Wiki has a great article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowthatsfuckedup.com
12 months ago, a Google search provided many links to articles and blogs on NTFU. Many blogs co-opted the images, but have also been shut down. Though no explicit law against war porn exists, people are being threatened with legal action if they carry this material. The wiki entry is almost all that is left. This sick material exists in vast quantities out there, but the authorities cannot afford to have it circulated. Think of the worst photos from Auschwitz but in hi-def color, "suitable for framing". Yecchh.

I tell people all the time that the only thing that will wake people up is a HUGE loss of American lives, like the bombing of the Beirut barracks. The average American couldn't care less about Iraqi civilians, or even our own troops if it's only one or two a day. It has to be something SPECTACULAR. Besides, gas prices are the big story now. Bizarrely, neither the media nor the public makes the connection.

Curmudgeon99 and WTF, You're both welcome. Something's fishy. On two different posts today on CD, I was given the "your comments are awaiting moderation." One post made it, and I just checked the other article on the left side of CD with the picture of the Iranian woman with children. My second, and more important post wasn't added.???

I'll go to the library and get Karnow's book if they have it. Did you ever read Arthur Schlesinger's book, 'A Bitter Heritage' Vietnam from 1940-1968? Excellent commentary.
March 19th is "sickofitday." Everybody call off from work.

Let me see if this post takes.

Okay. My second post is on the other article but the moderation thing is still there.???