“Kidnappings, Beheadings And Defining What’s News,” by Jacques Steinberg, New York Times, 1 Aug, p. WK1.
“Looking Out for the Many, in Saving the One: A Filipino’s ordeal in Iraq shows the risk of relying on migrants to fuel an economy,” by Seth Mydans, NYT, 1 Aug, p. A1.
The scary part about all the coverage on the beheadings and kidnappings it that it has a real magnifying effect—a serious CNN factor, especially for the smaller, more wavering coalition members. But frankly, the decision by the Philippines did more to fuel this than the media has.
But here’s the silver lining: you gotta believe the House of Saud is starting to pull its head out of its ass and realizing that if a Philippines can be scared out of Iraq, it can be scared out of Saudi Arabia too.
Think about that when you consider just how big this System Perturbation known as Operation Iraqi Freedom may end up being in the grand scheme of history.
| Permalink |
