Bush's Iraq visit a pre- election PR stunt: analysis

[UpInArms]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s999853.htm

"Electoral raid on Baghdad" read the caustic headline in the left-wing Paris daily Liberation which summed up European newspaper editorial reaction to President George W Bush's Thanksgiving Day visit to US troops in Iraq.

The brief visit, arranged in top secrecy, occurred too late for most papers to give it full coverage, and almost all ran the same wire agency photo of Mr Bush, clad in a grey army bomber jacket, carrying a large tray of roast turkey, potatoes and grapes through a crowd of smiling soldiers.

<snip>

Liberation noted that more than 430 US soldiers had been killed in Iraq, 184 of them since Bush declared an official end to the war on May 1, and quoted a Gallup opinion poll this month showing that 54 percent of Americans disapproved of the way the post-war situation was being handled.

...more...

[soothsayer]

1. bwa ha ha ha!

They've got his number.

[robbedvoter]

2. "The Turkey has landed" - paging Les Nesman

Delicious piece:
""Electoral raid on Baghdad" read the caustic headline in the left-wing Paris daily Liberation which summed up European newspaper editorial reaction to President George W Bush's Thanksgiving Day visit to US troops in Iraq.

The brief visit, arranged in top secrecy, occurred too late for most papers to give it full coverage, and almost all ran the same wire agency photo of Mr Bush, clad in a grey army bomber jacket, carrying a large tray of roast turkey, potatoes and grapes through a crowd of smiling soldiers.

Those which did comment were mostly sceptical of Mr Bush's motives, with the US presidential election now less than 12 months away.

"The turkey has landed," ran the front-page headline in the London daily Independent.

"George Bush becomes the first US president to visit Iraq in order to provide the television pictures required by his re-election campaign," it said, noting that Hillary Rodham Clinton, "his undeclared Democratic opponent," was on her way to Baghdad from Afghanistan.

[htuttle]

15. "As God is my witness, I swear I thought turkeys could fly!"

I pondered this in another thread, but I'm starting to get real curious as to where the turkey and potatoes came from.

It takes hours to cook a turkey, so they obviously didn't cook it after they landed. Did they grab it from some soldiers' table? Did they just hand it to Shrub and have him hold it long enough to get a picture?

I doubt they brought it from the US, since the potatoes wouldn't have stayed hot and fresh that long (the turkey might hold up over a long flight, but not the potatoes).

[Lisa]

24. it looked like he had just picked up the tray, then set it down again ...

... saying "nice bird" -- at least in the clip I saw on the Canadian news.

[htuttle]

25. Now THAT sounds like the Chimpy I know...

Stealing food from the troops, then handing some of it back to them and expecting them to be grateful.

:o

[Occulus]

28. How did he get there in the first place?

If it was on AF1, well, I'm sure the kitchen on that thing has the capacity to cook a turkey easily...

[htuttle]

30. Read reply #24

Apparently, Canadian news showed the real story. He just picked it up and set it back down again.

[Occulus]

26. "The turkey has landed"

Bravo! BWAHA!

[LiberalFighter]

38. They should had made it "Tofu Turkey"

nt

[Snellius]

3. LOL: "The turkey has landed"

"The turkey has landed," ran the front-page headline in the London daily Independent.

[maddezmom]

4. "Bush's secret visit to Baghdad opens presidential election season." n/t

[Sallyrat]

9. 'The turkey has landed'

should read (and with my regrets)

'Chickenhawk feeds turkey to sitting ducks.'

[TolstoyAndy]

14. Sallyrat !! said it best

[Johnyawl]

22. 'Chickenhawk feeds turkey to sitting ducks

That was the best caption I've ever seen! I spewed coffee all over my keyboard!

[R Hickey]

56. A foul caption that should ruffle some feathers.

"Chickenhawk feeds turkey to sitting ducks." Sad but true.

On edit, how about... "Free-range turkey tells sitting-ducks goose is cooked."

Or..."Sitting ducks goosed by free-range turkey."

Or..."Free-range chickenhawk gobbles to flock of human clay-pigeons."

Or..."Human clay-pigeons eat crow served by baked turkey."

[hippiechick]

5. Possible Dem Ad: "HE's the reason you're so far away from home"

"It's Thanksgiving and you're 3000 miles away from your family and friends. Sure it was nice of him to pay you a visit, but he's on his way back to the safety of his ranch in Texas. You have to stay here and risk your life every minute of evry day. And he's the one who sent you here. Vote Democratic in 2004."



:hippie:

[TankLV]

49. ...all based on a stack of lies..."

add that one at the end.

[leftchick]

6. "A Photo-op With All the Trimmings"

.......Aljazeera's caption to this photo. :)

[htuttle]

18. Whose turkey was that?

I'm really starting to get disturbed about this, but there's no way that they cooked that after they landed.

I bet they grabbed a turkey that had already been sitting there, handed it to Shrub, and said to Faux, "Take a picture."

[Hawkeye-X]

7. Plus, this PR move is going to flop on him

Like his Mission Accomplished flop.

All PR moves that Rove or *'s idiotic helpers think may 'boost' his election chance, will turn into an immediate flop after flop guaranteeing a huge defeat in 2004 -- a 50-state sweep, no matter who the nominee is.

Hawkeye-X

[lumpy]

8. Bush and Rice leave surreptuously

for Iraq wearing baseball hats, slouching down in their seats so as not to alert airport guards. Bush commented that "We looked like a normal couple". His entourage included 5 reporters and 5 photographers. No mention that several other presidents have visited soldiers on the front at Thanksgiving. His own words indicate that he was afraid for his life as well he should have been.
He spent 10 minutes ladling out mashed spuds to the soldiers ( 600 soldiers) after his speech praising their dedication to his cause. Then he and Condi proceeded to go into conference with his support group in Iraq. A brave little soldier that man.

[Mikimouse]

10. Yep! Welcome to the world of

post-modern politics, where the impression is the salient point, rather than the substance of the real visits by previous presidents.

[RedSock]

11. more

In Madrid, the daily Vanguardia noted darkly that "George W Bush does not attend the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, but has dinner in Baghdad with those who dream of coming home alive."

and

A front-page editorial in Lebanon's leading An-Nahar newspaper compared Bush to Roman emperor Julius Caesar, but said the US president could not repeat the phrase: "I came, I saw, I conquered." The editorial was headlined: "I came, I saw nothing, but I will conquer."


we need jpgs of these papers!!!

[Paschall]

19. Here's Libération's front page

In PDF:
http://www.liberation.fr/img/pdf/UNE_2003_11_28.pdf

[Lorien]

I first I thought it was a good PR move

(despite my intense loathing of Bushco) I was having Thanksgiving at a friends house when I saw it. We had a large group of people of all ages, most seemed fairly apolitical. When the story came up on the evening news, one of the older women said "well, that seems brave of him"...but when the story went on, filling in the details of the sercurity and the brief time he was there, the comments turned to "Just another flight suit photo-op"! "What a chicken shit! Can't even stay for a decent visit like Clinton"! "This is just another campaign stop for the little weasel-he's so transparent!" "what a pussy"!, etc. I was surprised at how quickly and completely their opinion of his visit changed once they had all the details. I really think this one is gonna backfire on them in the long run.

[lancdem]

20. Thanks for the post

It's interesting to see how the comments changed so abruptly. I certainly hope this backfires on him.

[treepig]

12. the whole thing is yet another example of the "irony is dead" meme

there is non-stop jabber about the secrecy of the whole trip - if it is so damn secret - why all the saturation coverage? if mr. bush really just wanted to give a boost to the troops, why do i need to know about it, ms. cable news network ceo?

[leftchick]

13. This part is Rich!

<A front-page editorial in Lebanon's leading An-Nahar newspaper compared Bush to Roman emperor Julius Caesar, but said the US president could not repeat the phrase: "I came, I saw, I conquered."

The editorial was headlined: "I came, I saw nothing, but I will conquer." >

........The Arab world sees dress-up boy for what he is.

[0007]

17. What ya think will be on the plate for xmas?

[PaDUer]

39. Him and Condi

on the platter..makes you wonder what's going on w/ them..Plus, he said they "looked like a normal couple".

[TolstoyAndy]

16. Contempt (repeat)

(apologies to all who have have seen this in another topic)

I will accept, for the purposes of this post, that he actually was there, and the whole Rove story.

But doesn't this raise issues about what a puppet he is?

His masters have such contempt for his safety that they brought him into an airport where he could be killed so easily on landing or takeoff.

If he had been killed, it would have been the excuse for martial law they have been looking for, in US + UK.

Therefore, his masters are probably disappointed he wasn't splattered. We can see from this, that he is not in charge. He is not the decision-maker, because they can gamble with his life and come up with the conclusion that his safety is unimportant to national security.

If it were, he would have stayed on his dung ranch.

Contradicting myself, it is also possible they recognize that Mr. Undickslosed Location is unelectable on his own without his puppet, so the monkey must live.

No matter what, this photo op was a supremely arrogant and ill-advised stunt. That opinion is not news to any of y'all.

I must conclude (since I don't want to be arrested) by saying that I wish Mr. Bush a long life and, in the next new GOP slogan, "Four More Terms" in office. Wishing any bodily harm on this most incompetent and evil pResident would be against the nonviolent tactics I support.

[moondust]

21. How much did it cost and how many homeless and poor Americans...

could have a good meal or two or ten around the holidays? And so on...

You don't fly halfway around the planet on the taxpayer's dollar to stay for 2-1/2 hours and accomplish absolutely nothing. People's needs come first.

[Sideways]

23. Anyone Else Think They Used A Double?

Fuckin A Bush is a paranoid narcissitic asshole. He wouldn't even get out of his bullet proof caddy in London.

You really think Bush went to Baghdad? There was an attack on a DHL plane just days ago and yet Bush is flying into Iraq?

Saddam has over 100 doubles according to the press and we have all seen the fat and thin Osama tapes....did W really fly into Iraq?

Personally I think Bush never left Crawford. Just my humble opinion but I just don't see how they could have cleaned the shit off his pants if he actually went into Iraq.

[Lisa]

29. if it's this guy, I hope Cheney's paying for it!

He charges something like $15000 per appearance, not counting travel costs.

http://www.premiereproductsinc.com/ppi_players/kevin_haney2.htm

[UpInArms]

31. or maybe this one

http://www.gwbushimpersonator.com/

[peacefreak]

57. that's funny

I thought the same thing. Is it time for my tinfoil hat fitting?

[Lisa]

27. the people filming the stunt had clearly been briefed ...

For all the talk about it being super-secret, and done just to cheer up the troops -- the camera panned away from Bremer and across the room to the curtain before a suitably-costumed Bush sauntered out. This is a small detail, but the fact they'd sacrifice spontaneity in order to get some planned footage says a lot about their aims, I think.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

32. More propaganda for the clueless...

...Lord knows there are quite a few of the clueless in NeoCon America these days.

[neuvocat]

33. Who said his poll numbers would go up again?

Cause I sure don't see anything positive from Mr. Flight Suit's next Adventure here.

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[leftchick]

35. No, but I know who the

fucking bozo is in this photo-op.....





.....and it appears he forgot his codpiece.

[Sideways]

36. Your Point Is?

Er UM Sheesh Blah blah Blah blah..... Bush is a FUCKWITTAGE. I don't give a shit what Hillary is wearing. Bush is the fucking selected resident IDIOT let us pick on HIM!!!!!

[koopie57]

46. I would presume

that she was dressed in a tasteful and appropriate manner, as usual. She always looks nice.

[Algorem]

37. on video you see * pick up tray,pose for still photos using soldiers as

props,and put tray down right away.Also,just before picking up tray, he was making nicey-nice, chatting with a certain soldier(for cameras of course),and when he puts tray down you see soldier looking at him like he's going to talk to him some more,but Bush walks right past him with his head turned slightly away from soldier so as not to make eye contact("I'm through with you boy,go get killed or sumpthin'.").

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PaDUer]

41. Zot! n/t

[SmokeyBlues]

42. Actually...

What I find puzzling is how so many in the military can stomach being within 10 miles of the faker. One would think that the layered stench of cowardice and desertion would be overwhelming to the senses!

Speaking of cowardice, Bush admitted in his own words that he was "skeptical" (that is, scared shitless!) and "asked a lot of questions" (that is, scared shitless) about going to visit the hand picked people at the airport. Also, speaking of desertion, when asked directly to explain the missing year of TNG service, *hole responded that he wasn't sure where he was for the entire year, but he knows that he did do the time.

I tell you, once a coward and deserter, always a coward and deserter.

[leftchick]

43. well said SmokeyBlues. I might add that.....

he fucking creeps me out, eeeewwwww.....

[koopie57]

47. I think I would prefer a 1 percent pay raise

and still being alive, but that is just me.

[drscm]

45. Yup! Praise a deserter for his photo op...

while he ignores those who are dead as a result of his unjust and immoral war,

while he ignores those lying in the hospital wounded and maimed as the result of his immoral and unjust war,

and while he cuts combat pay and death benifits for the families who lost loved ones in his immoral and unjust war

so that he can afford a photo op wearing a uniform he does not deserve.

I'm only surprised that the b@stard did not stop off in Saudi Arabia for a campaign fundraiser. He deserves something from them for protecting their terrorists while he uses our children to attack a straw man.

[lumpy]

48. We all were not expecting to commit to

having 2 wars/invasions on 2 fronts. Intelligent leaders would attempt to make changes using diplomacy and good will instead of rashly jumping in to kill & destroy using the force of the mighty military. If the US would pull in all the troops the US has stationed in as many countries that will put up with us, there might be enough troops to really subjugate the many enemies that Bush has created; the man who would unite us all and bring peace and democracy to the world.

[VLC98]

52. 1% pay raises?

What a crock! My husband has been in since 1985 and can't recall ever getting a 1% pay raise. However he can remember some of the smallest raises coming from Raygun and Pappy Bush. I believe their administrations were the ones offering financial incentives to leave the service (SSB?), probably to spend more $$ on Star Wars.

[corarose]

44. OH WOW! A Turkey carrying a Turkey

The piece of shit looks so damn dumb.

[Algorem]

50. Mr. Kevlar Depends

[Entente]

51. He wanted to upstage Hillary Clinton

That is the 1st thing I thought when I learnt of this quick trip.


I wonder what others photo ops he has conconcted or have been concocted for him?



What next? A landing on the moon? Discovering Atlantis single handedly?

[GarySeven]

53. Bush intimidation

In all of the posts on Bush sneaking in and out of Baghdad, no one has pointed out the fact that Bush, in constantly appearing in these media events, is sending out a coded message to the world. In all of these events, he is seen standing surrounded by military personnel. This conveys the message that, like a military strongman (as in, say, Saddam) he has the power of the military behind him. That, and the fact that he stole the election through a bloodless coup, is part of a deliberate effort to intimidate the rest of the world into silence, or at least to stand aside while the Titan strides.

The world knows that Bush and the Republicans have overthrown the legitimate methods by which power has been transferred in this Republic for 200 years. Couple that fact with the image of Bush as best buds with the most feared military in history. The message sent to the world is that the old U.S. that could be trusted is dead -- replaced by a military dictatorship in which executive power is wielded by a man with no respect for democracy or freedom. This message of intimidation is not lost on the American people, either. My God -- how did it ever come to this?

[teryang]

54. I agree, what is he, Bob Hope?

He's there for the morale of the troops?

MacArthur used to land at Kimpo in Korea when the security situation was too dangerous to travel, stage the photo op and then fly right back to Japan.

Truman who demonstrated his courage during WWI as an Army officer on the battlefield never had to engage in such theatrics, completely inappropriate for the "elected" civilian leader of the government.

I think they should create a wolf's lair for him over there. Stay a little longer next time!

[radfringe]

55. gave a Republican pause to think yesterday

had to run down to the store yesterday afternoon, my neighbor's ex-husband was in line behind me...

we chatted about the usual things - then he mentions Baghdad Bush's T-day trip... This was a good thing for Bush* to do....

I said "yes it was a nice gesture, even if it was politically motivated, planned a couple of months ago and staged."

he looked puzzled - so I explained "the 'surprise visit' was planned a couple of months ago, the actual dinner took place at the Baghdad airport - not in the 'green zone' of Baghdad proper, the soldiers were 'selected' to attend - so in my mind the motive for this was not to boost morale or to show compassion it was to get a good photo-op for commercials. Meanwhile 50 or more service people were prevented from boarding their own flights to go home - they were left hanging and exposed to attack while Bush carved turkeys."

then I went on - "Given that there is NO exit plan in Iraq and no sign of any international peacekeeping forces joining in - will Bush fly in every year for a surprise visit?"

he sputtered - "But Hillary went there too - wasn't that politically motivated..."

me: "probably, but she was also in several cities in Afghanistan as well as Iraq and didn't treat her trip as a 2-hour layover. Look if Bush was sincere about boosting morale and showing compassion he would be working a hellavalot harder on an exit plan and getting international assistance in there - NOT handing out sweetheart deals to his buddies. - besides does one 2-hour trip to Baghdad Airport bring back the dead, does it magically make the WMD's appear. We went in there because Bush lied - and one two hour trip does not make up for that"

[SmokeyBlues]

58. It's what we have to do

Good show radfringe! We can't afford to play the good guys anymore when it comes to the willingly uninformed fools enabling the *hole cabal.

If they are foolish enough to bring up his name in front of me, then they have to face the onslaught of little and widely known 'facts' about *hole that I'm sure they would rather not hear. We always have to 'remind' these enablers what *hole and his band of thieves are really about, no matter how the conversation begins and no matter where it takes place.

For example, I encountered a young (and proud by his own admission) Black Republican not to long ago at a dinner who began with the same old shit about not knowing who the Democratic candidates are, how they are to far left, how Sharpton needs to get a new hair style, how *hole is the right person to lead us in this time of war, how *hole is a man of conscience and faith, and on and on. Being the gentleman I am, I allowed him to speak without interruption, but once he was done, it was my turn to step up to the plate and I damn sure was going to get in as many swings as possible.

I unleashed a factual stream of conscience on him beginning with the great selection of 2000, the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters in Florida (and possible other states), his weak denial of knowing Ken Lay -trying to pass the blame off on Ann Richards, his desertion from the TANG, his opportunist and unethical (and possibly criminal) behavior with the Texas Rangers and Haliburton, his aid in getting veterans benefits cut, his lying about weapons of mass destruction, his lying at the imminent threat that Iraq posed during his State of the Union Address, his lying about the IAEA report saying it contained all the evidence we needed to invade Iraq, his lying about the content of 'highly-classified' dossiers, the punk way he allowed his handlers and mouthpieces (Colin 'Tom' Powell immediately comes to mind) to lie to the UN and openly insult the representatives from France and Germany, PNAC and its evil plans that were hatched over a decade ago, Rice lying about not knowing that terrorists would use airplanes as weapons against American targets, the short-lived ' anti-terrorism task force' (or whatever it was called) that Cheney headed up but only met ONE time, the secret energy meetings, Rumsfeld lying about the knowing the EXACT location of the WMDs in Iraq, and so on.

By the time I stepped out of the batter's box (so to speak), the young *hole enabler who just a few minutes previously had introduced himself as a "proud Republican" was politely asking me if I would like another fucking soft drink. Yeah, jackass, go fetch me something to drink and don't take all day doing it!

As I said before, we can no longer play the role of the good guys with these willingly uninformed *hole sycophants who would lead us all down the path of destruction. But this is just my humble opinion.