What's Next in the M. East and SW Asia?

[Voltaire]

Well a cursory glance at the front page of most MSM websites, most prominently msnbc, reveals some pretty interesting developments in the Middle East and SW Asia:

There are increasingly more stories about US soldiers getting killed in Afghanistan, as well as more stories about Pakistan "denying us" permission to go around their country hunting for terrorists. Coincidentally, a carrier group is being moved from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, presumably to be closer to Afghanistan. Also, Pres. Bush was on one of the major networks recently talking about how he'd still kind of like to get Osama before he leaves office, when the last we heard from Bush was that Bin Laden was "not important."

So what exactly is the media trying to nudge our opinion towards? Is the U.S. government planning for increasing destabilization of Pakistan, and hoping to swoop in and take control of their nuclear stockpiles before islamic extremists can? Will the purported reduction in US troops in the Iraq theatre merely be shifted to Afghanistan?

I personally think it's safe to say that the media is trying to butter us up to military action in Pakistan. It's incredibly sad that Afghanistan has been such a forgotten conflict, up until now, when the government and the media seem to be colluding to grab the attention of the ADD public again.

I was trying to post the source links for this post, but the system won't let me post urls til I get 15 total posts, and I'm a newb. Sorry. Like I said, just take a glance at the front page of msnbc for instance and poke around the related stories.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Ahh yes, the " Bush will invade Iran" fear mongering is getting old , so lets make a new one up. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

 

[Gunny]

Well a cursory glance at the front page of most MSM websites, most prominently msnbc, reveals some pretty interesting developments in the Middle East and SW Asia:

There are increasingly more stories about US soldiers getting killed in Afghanistan, as well as more stories about Pakistan "denying us" permission to go around their country hunting for terrorists. Coincidentally, a carrier group is being moved from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, presumably to be closer to Afghanistan. Also, Pres. Bush was on one of the major networks recently talking about how he'd still kind of like to get Osama before he leaves office, when the last we heard from Bush was that Bin Laden was "not important."

So what exactly is the media trying to nudge our opinion towards? Is the U.S. government planning for increasing destabilization of Pakistan, and hoping to swoop in and take control of their nuclear stockpiles before islamic extremists can? Will the purported reduction in US troops in the Iraq theatre merely be shifted to Afghanistan?

I personally think it's safe to say that the media is trying to butter us up to military action in Pakistan. It's incredibly sad that Afghanistan has been such a forgotten conflict, up until now, when the government and the media seem to be colluding to grab the attention of the ADD public again.

I was trying to post the source links for this post, but the system won't let me post urls til I get 15 total posts, and I'm a newb. Sorry. Like I said, just take a glance at the front page of msnbc for instance and poke around the related stories.

That you think the MSM is in collusion with the Bush Administration is laughable, at best. This would be the same media that has sensationalized any and everything any and every Republican, especially those in the Administration, has done or said the past 7+years? Puh-lease.

Afghanistan hasn't gotten the attention because the left and the MSM have been too busy trying to crucify Bush over Iraq, and it has been a much lower-level conflict until recently.

Let me get you up to speed: The US has been at war on two fronts since 2003. Focussing mainly on one does not make the other go away. When one front deescalates and somewhat stabilizes while the other escalates and destabilizes, which one do YOU choose to sell copy to the masses?

 

[Voltaire]

Hah, well, I definitely wasn't trying to imply that Bush and the MSM are in a room somewhere deciding what goes on the front page of msnbc, so I apologize for my lack of clarity, and I see why you came down so harshly.

That being said, I just considered it an odd turn of events when, like RetiredGySgt said, the current flavor of the week has been Iran. Is the media really that desperate for doom-type stories that a day without Iran firing off missiles or Israel flying planes around Iraq leads directly to the obvious insinuation that the U.S. is planning for some sort of contingency in Pakistan?

That's primarily what I was getting at, is that now that the focus is shifting to Afghanistan, the media is primarily using it as a vehicle to insinuate that there will be some sort of move on Pakistan.

 

[editec]

Hah, well, I definitely wasn't trying to imply that Bush and the MSM are in a room somewhere deciding what goes on the front page of msnbc, so I apologize for my lack of clarity, and I see why you came down so harshly.

That being said, I just considered it an odd turn of events when, like RetiredGySgt said, the current flavor of the week has been Iran. Is the media really that desperate for doom-type stories that a day without Iran firing off missiles or Israel flying planes around Iraq leads directly to the obvious insinuation that the U.S. is planning for some sort of contingency in Pakistan?

That's primarily what I was getting at, is that now that the focus is shifting to Afghanistan, the media is primarily using it as a vehicle to insinuate that there will be some sort of move on Pakistan.

You think?

Or is it just possible that the media is reporting what Americans need to know?

The fact is that some elements within the Pakistan Army are aiding and abetting the Taliban, and that has been the case (as reported in the media) for years.

We don't have enough guys in aAfghanistan for the mission we've given them.

Our so called allies in the war on terrorism are defending terrorists on the Paki border.

Nice work Junior.

Hell of job!

Those of you who have been supporting this nitwit for the last 8 years also ought to congratulate yourselves for a job well done, too.

You deserve some credit for your sound judgement in supporting the mindboggling incompetent criminals you help put in office.