From: joedees@bellsouth.net
Date: Sat 09 Nov 2002 - 19:24:31 GMT
> Greetings, Joe,
>
> My last visit was pre-1991.
>
> My point is this: that you are expressing views that closely mirror
> that of the spin that is being put out by the DoD and White House and
> their associated contractors, and it shows little understanding of
> Iraq as it actually is. There are a lot of instant 'experts' on Iraq
> who learn enough to through some names around, and then launch into
> providing analysis and recommendations. A little like everyone
> becoming an expert on terrorism. People who have been studying
> terrorism for years - before it became the
> intellectual-fad-of-the-moment -- (e.g. G. Post, B. Hoffman) are far
> more thoughtful and cautious than the Bush cowboys. And the same is
> true of those who have studied the Middle East for years - they simply
> do not come close to the same thinking as Bush and his right-wing
> advisors. You speak with the certainty of someone who should have
> been studying the Middle East for many years, so I asked about any
> experience you might have with Iraq, or the Middle East, for that
> matter.
>
> Goldberg has written many fine articles on the Middle East. He is
> getting over there a lot, and is developing better and better
> contacts, especially in Egypt. He has a bit of an 'agenda', as you may
> have noticed, but within that reality does a good job. The article you
> cite was not one of his best, overall, though it produced some great
> anecdotal information about the widespread horror inflicted by the
> Saddan regime on the Kurds. Not many people in the American or
> European public know about this, so it was a useful article. But
> Goldberg was also the first to admit that for this article he was
> being led around by people who had an interest in having a strong
> anti-Saddam story told. He tried to distinguish between reality and
> spin and did a creditable job, over all. Where he _probably_ errs is
> in his attempts to summarize the magnitude of the attacks, but he was
> not the first nor last to struggle with this.
>
> Cheers,
> Lawry
>
Here are some more:
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/05/bowden.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/int2002-04-25.htm
http://chblue.com/artman/publish/article_683.shtml
http://www.msnbc.com/news/832122.asp?0si=-&cp1=1
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On
> Behalf Of joedees@bellsouth.net Sent: Saturday, November 09, 2002 1:23
> PM To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk; fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Subject: RE: The
> terrorism meme
>
> > LdB: >Joe, have you ever visited Iraq?
> > >
> > Scott: I haven't. Have you?
> > LdB: Yes, I have. But my question is to Joe.
> >
> No. How long ago was your visit?
> And what about Jeffrey Goldberg's?
> http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?020325fa_FACT1
> >
> >
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>
>
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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> see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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>
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
> Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
> For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
> see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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