A PR Coup
Iran’s detainees:
Our detainees:
When Ahemedinajad released the British troops yesterday, he scored a major public relations coup. Anyone who thinks Iran’s president is crazy or stupid is crazy or stupid themselves.
As the images above illustrate, Iran has successfully compared themselves to the United States, and it is the US that looks bad. Furthermore, while the US still holds 5 Iranian diplomats captured on Iraqi soil (ie, not our country), none of who have been heard from since, Iran engaged in diplomacy with Britain and together the situation was brought to a peaceful conclusion. It is the US that looks unreasonable and merciless.
“On the occasion of the birthday of the great prophet and for the occasion of the passing of Christ, I say the Islamic Republic Government and the Iranian people – with all powers and legal right to put the soldiers on trial – forgave those 15.” That’s what the Iranian President said when he released the detained sailors and marines. You’ll note the respectful nod toward Christianity. Manipulative? You betcha. Clever? Damn straight. And let’s unpack the rest of that sentence: with all powers and legal right to put the soldiers on trial – forgave those 15. Translation: “We could have been total fucking dicks about this, but we weren’t.” Does anyone have any idea how many people the US is holding, indefinitely and without charges? It’s a lot more than 15 sailors, who may or may not have been straying into Iran’s territory. Anyone care to guess what would happen if the US Coast Guard picked up a raft full of N. Korean sailors floating off the coast of California, or how long those soldiers would be in our custody?
I am no fan of the President of Iran or the repressive government he represents. His anti-semitic rants are uncalled for, bigoted, and unconstructive. However, the man has completely shown up the United States. All of a sudden, the worst Hitlerian Islamofascicommunisttheocrat of them all comes off as… a charmer? A funny guy? Merciful? Judicious? Maybe he’s been taking lessons from Hugo Chavez, another one of the Administration’s bete noires that seems to run circles around the thickwitted bellicose jerk that “leads” the US, but Ahmadinejad has made the Coalition of The Willing Two look like a couple of chumps.
It’s a sad day when the Iranian government looks reasonable and rational compared to the United States. It’s more than sad: it’s downright pathetic. Score 1 for Ahmadinajad.
April 8th, 2007 at 8:13 am
I tend to keep MSNBC on when I’m burning the midnight/sunrise lamp, which means I often get subjected to Imus In The Morning in the background. A couple of mornings ago, when the hostages were released, Imus and his pathetic team of yes-men were ripping into the Brits for consenting to the release and expressing appreciation publicly for it.
I just don’t get that washed-up douchebag anymore. When shit like that comes out of his mouth, it makes me want to buy toxic chemicals in opposition to his wife’s self-aggrandizing “Greening The Cleaning” campaign. It makes me want to boycott cancer research because of his thinly-veiled retirement resort that fronts as a morale-boosting getaway for terminally ill children.
Every show — whether it’s the schizophrenic political commentary; the bad modern country artists he shills for, like Big & Rich or Martina McBride; the lame, unfunny “comedians” he keeps trotting out like Rob Bartlett (this week, the shitbag introduced a bit that parodied the retard from Slingblade — how fucking timely is THAT stale 11-year-old pop culture turd?); the recent suck-ups to some of the worst right-wing scum in the history of talk radio like Jay Severin (Christ, it sounded like his crew was submitting resumes for their next meal ticket; the I-Man’s clock is ticking, after all); the routine mean-spirited fat jokes and manhood questions he and the crew jab at should-have-grown-a-beard-and-Matrixed-the-fucking-studio-by-now sportscaster Chris Carlin; or the easy-target not-funny-at-all racism (if you heard a recent bit they did on the WNBA, you would have heard words like “jigaboo”, I shit you not, peppering the no-brainer dyke jokes) that the show has devolved into using — is a new low. I keep listening with increasing anger and hate. It’s high time this cocaine cowboy got dealt with Old West-style.
April 9th, 2007 at 6:56 am
A clarification, and an update: It wasn’t a WNBA game, it was a Rutgers game. And it’s pretty much all over the news now, but the show in question has led to quite a public stink. The I-Man is markedly contrite this morning.
April 9th, 2007 at 7:02 am
This story contains the “jigaboos” quote, which I am surprised so many other news reports have been burying or omitting altogether. NBC’s local news this morning actually bleeped the word “hos.”