The Face of Fallujah - US Propaganda

POSTED BY: Ghoulman
UPDATED: Tuesday, December 7, 2004 16:45
VIEWED: 4869
PAGE 1 of 1

GHOULMAN

Friday, November 26, 2004 4:35 PM

Smoking while Iraq burns
Its idolisation of 'the face of Falluja' shows how numb the US is to everyone's pain but its own
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1359871,00.html
Naomi Klein
Friday November 26, 2004
The Guardian
Iconic images inspire love and hate, and so it is with the photograph of James Blake Miller, the 20-year-old marine from Appalachia, who has been christened "the face of Falluja" by pro-war pundits, and the "the Marlboro man" by pretty much everyone else. Reprinted in more than a hundred newspapers, the Los Angeles Times photograph shows Miller "after more than 12 hours of nearly non-stop, deadly combat" in Falluja, his face coated in war paint, a bloody scratch on his nose, and a freshly lit cigarette hanging from his lips.

Gazing lovingly at Miller, the CBS News anchor Dan Rather informed his viewers: "For me, this one's personal. This is a warrior with his eyes on the far horizon, scanning for danger. See it. Study it. Absorb it. Think about it. Then take a deep breath of pride. And if your eyes don't dampen, you're a better man or woman than I."

A few days later, the LA Times declared that its photo had "moved into the realm of the iconic". In truth, the image just feels iconic because it is so laughably derivative: it's a straight-up rip-off of the most powerful icon in American advertising (the Marlboro man), which in turn imitated the brightest star ever created by Hollywood - John Wayne - who was himself channelling America's most powerful founding myth, the cowboy on the rugged frontier. It's like a song you feel you've heard a thousand times before - because you have.

But never mind that. For a country that just elected a wannabe Marlboro man as its president, Miller is an icon and, as if to prove it, he has ignited his very own controversy. "Lots of children, particularly boys, play army, and like to imitate this young man. The clear message of the photo is that the way to relax after a battle is with a cigarette," wrote Daniel Maloney in a scolding letter to the Houston Chronicle. Linda Ortman made the same point to the editors of the Dallas Morning News: "Are there no photos of non-smoking soldiers?" A reader of the New York Post helpfully suggested more politically correct propaganda imagery: "Maybe showing a marine in a tank, helping another GI or drinking water would have a more positive impact on your readers."

Yes, that's right: letter writers from across the nation are united in their outrage - not that the steely-eyed, smoking soldier makes mass killing look cool, but that the laudable act of mass killing makes the grave crime of smoking look cool. Better to protect impressionable youngsters by showing soldiers taking a break from deadly combat by drinking water or, perhaps, since there is a severe potable water shortage in Iraq, Coke. (It reminds me of the joke about the Hassidic rabbi who says all sexual positions are acceptable except for one: standing up "because that could lead to dancing".)

On second thoughts, perhaps Miller does deserve to be elevated to the status of icon - not of the war in Iraq, but of the new era of supercharged American impunity. Because outside US borders, it is, of course, a different marine who has been awarded the prize as "the face of Falluja": the soldier captured on tape executing a wounded, unarmed prisoner in a mosque. Runners-up are a photograph of a two-year-old Fallujan in a hospital bed with one of his tiny legs blown off; a dead child lying in the street, clutching the headless body of an adult; and an emergency health clinic blasted to rubble.

Inside the US, these snapshots of a lawless occupation appeared only briefly, if they appeared at all. Yet Miller's icon status has endured, kept alive with human interest stories about fans sending cartons of Marlboros to Falluja, interviews with the marine's proud mother, and earnest discussions about whether smoking might reduce Miller's effectiveness as a fighting machine.

Impunity - the perception of being outside the law - has long been

GHOULMAN

Friday, November 26, 2004 6:14 PM

I found this (Florida, naturally)... can't believe it really.

Translation - Der Fuhrer

JAZAF

Friday, November 26, 2004 8:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
I found this (Florida, naturally)... can't believe it really.

well ... why the hell can't you believe it?
currently he is and furthermore they voted for him. My big deal is how Americans can get so caught up in one single picture and not see around it..... it's like not seeing the forest for the trees. and that's just sad.
and what's with the german translation?(just curious)
---------------------------------------
Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with till you
understand who's in rutting command here.

GHOULMAN

Friday, November 26, 2004 9:04 PM

You don't get that? I'll try to explain.

I can't believe the Bush/Cheney election people, or Gov. Bush of Florida, would promote thier candidate with a phrase used exclusively in association with Hitler.

No one uses that term because it directly translates into Der Fuhrer.

Dong ma?

JAZAF

Saturday, November 27, 2004 12:44 AM

ooh, ok. I get now.
But these people probably aren't thinking about the German connection. they just want to make it clear what Bush is. at least i think so

---------------------------------------
Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with till you
understand who's in rutting command here.

WILDBILL

Saturday, November 27, 2004 3:49 AM

Translated to German this is "Unser Fuhrer" not "Der Fuhrer".

SGTGUMP

Saturday, November 27, 2004 4:09 AM

Screw Naomi Klein.

DARKJESTER

Saturday, November 27, 2004 6:14 AM

I see that billboard as more Orwellian than Nazi-esque. Not that that reduces the absurdity....

MAL "You only gotta scare him."
JAYNE "Pain is scary..."

GEEZER

Saturday, November 27, 2004 1:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by sgtgump:
Screw Naomi Klein.

Quote:
Naomi Klein now totally unavoidable
By Jeremy Nelson
Published: Thursday, December 6, 2001

Naomi Klein sighting have increased twenty-fold in the last two weeks, sparking fears that the globalization pundit may have become airborne. If that is the case, she may be ubiquitous within a week, and despite increased production of the anti-Klein drug "Friedman," the epidemic may not be stopped in time.

http://www.thevarsity.ca/news/2001/12/06/fontColor880088bnewsbfont/Nao
mi.Klein.Now.Totally.Unavoidable-157527.shtml

"Keep the Shiny side up"

BOJESPHOB

Sunday, November 28, 2004 4:07 PM

Well, Mr. Miller didn't even know that the photo was taken until it was distributed. This really is a ploy to try to make the US soldier out to be the "everyday man" that the they are. BUT, it really does hurt what you are trying to do when that video of the soldier shooting the unarmed man on the news. The thing that does NOT get on the news and get that much are those same insurgents that go and blow a bomb up in a market in Iraq and kill a bunch of women and children. The worst part about this is, who is to blame for all of it? The US? Iraq? The rest of the world? Christianity? Islam? That's really hard to say. Yes, there is some element of all of those in it. If September 11th wouldn't have happened, Bush would not have been re-elected and we wouldn't have gone into Iraq, he wouldn't have had ANY support to do anything of the sort. But Bush is still to blame for the invasion of Iraq, so let's just say that the guilt lies on both sides. Basically we played right into the hands of the radical fundamentalists by invading Iraq. They now have a steady flow of recruits who don't see all of the good things that the US has done for the downtrodden (we have THE largest charity base in the world). They don't see the help we send to the AIDS victims in Africa, nor the aid that we send to a country when a natural disaster happens, they see the news where another Iraqi is killed (doesn't matter to them if they were innocent or not). There are a lot of wonderful, loving people in the US, but are overshadowed by the greedy, hateful bigots that have control (and believe me, you, it's not just the President, nor Republicans in general, the Demi-crats fall under that umbrella too). We seem to have this foreign policy that seems to alienate people. This is the WHOLE reason that the Presidency AND congress should be volunteer, and they should receive NO compensation for thier time serving the country. That way we get rid of the doofs trying to get richer AND more power. If you are forced to make 7 dollars an hour doing jury duty (which is mandatory), they shouldn't be able to make more money for their croneys.

GHOULMAN

Thursday, December 2, 2004 4:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Quote:
Originally posted by sgtgump:
Screw Naomi Klein.

Quote:
Naomi Klein now totally unavoidable
By Jeremy Nelson
Published: Thursday, December 6, 2001
Naomi Klein sighting have increased twenty-fold in the last two weeks, sparking fears that the globalization pundit may have become airborne. If that is the case, she may be ubiquitous within a week, and despite increased production of the anti-Klein drug "Friedman," the epidemic may not be stopped in time.

http://www.thevarsity.ca
"Keep the Shiny side up"

Ah yes, more American articles that attack the people the neofascists hate. That is, anyone with an anti-Bush opinion.

Typical, it's like reading Tucker Carlson on CNN - attack the person and ignore the facts.

Smarmy articles like this aren't funny, they mearly demonstrate the anti-intellectual campaign the Bush/Cheney Junta and thier ideological dogs are funding. Rather like the Nazis discredited intellectuals in the 30s.

What's next... kicking the bodies of children gassed in Fallujah by US troops?

GEEZER

Thursday, December 2, 2004 4:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Quote:
Originally posted by sgtgump:
Screw Naomi Klein.

Quote:
Naomi Klein now totally unavoidable
By Jeremy Nelson
Published: Thursday, December 6, 2001
Naomi Klein sighting have increased twenty-fold in the last two weeks, sparking fears that the globalization pundit may have become airborne. If that is the case, she may be ubiquitous within a week, and despite increased production of the anti-Klein drug "Friedman," the epidemic may not be stopped in time.

http://www.thevarsity.ca
"Keep the Shiny side up"

Ah yes, more American articles that attack the people the neofascists hate. That is, anyone with an anti-Bush opinion.

Typical, it's like reading Tucker Carlson on CNN - attack the person and ignore the facts.

Smarmy articles like this aren't funny, they mearly demonstrate the anti-intellectual campaign the Bush/Cheney Junta and thier ideological dogs are funding. Rather like the Nazis discredited intellectuals in the 30s.

What's next... kicking the bodies of children gassed in Fallujah by US troops?

Uh, Ghoul. The article's from the online edition of the University of Toronto student newspaper, the Varsity. I hadn't realized that the Bush/Cheney Junta had spread to your nation's universities. Maybe you're not as paranoid as I thought.

Actually, after SgtGump's recommendation that we all have a romantic liaison with Ms. Klein, I googled for a picture so I could see, strictly theoretically of course, if this would be worthwhile. The Varsity's image caught my eye and lead to the article. I just got a chuckle out of it.

.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

GHOULMAN

Thursday, December 2, 2004 4:58 PM

Yea, I didn't read the article, merely your blurb. I inferred the writers angle because the blurb you provide calls Naomi a "globalization pundit"... that's wrong.

So I only read your blurb. Is that wrong?

Having read the article, it's hard to put a finger on it. It's really crappy as articles go, it has no info, opinion, or meaning. Funny needs meaning. Shows the quality of education at UofT, a school known for matriculating the biggest pole lickers in Canada. I'm sure you know them as Harris supporters.

SGTGUMP

Thursday, December 2, 2004 9:31 PM

Naomi Klein sucks. She isn't doing anything but calling soldiers 'Baby-killers'. Regardless of whether we like the war or agree that war is necessary, there is no reason to attack soldiers. We have all heard stories about soldiers doing bad things in Iraq, but not a single person can say that they are qualified to remark on such things, unless the have just come from the front lines after fighting. I was a soldier for five years and I can tell you why I no one ever called me a 'baby-killer', because I wouldn't have allowed it.

RUE

Saturday, December 4, 2004 4:42 AM

I'm sincerely curious to find out where she called soldiers 'baby killers' or even some version of that.

In it, I read that civilians were targets by accident (the Lancet highlights long-distance warfare like airstrikes) and are now targets BY POLICY. I thought she did a pretty goog job highlighting the policy - 'it comes from the top' - aspect. I didn't read anywhere that this was being put on soldiers. Perhaps you could point out the place where she portrayed soldiers in a 'baby killer' light.

GEEZER

Monday, December 6, 2004 5:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
I'm sincerely curious to find out where she called soldiers 'baby killers' or even some version of that.

In it, I read that civilians were targets by accident (the Lancet highlights long-distance warfare like airstrikes) and are now targets BY POLICY. I thought she did a pretty goog job highlighting the policy - 'it comes from the top' - aspect. I didn't read anywhere that this was being put on soldiers. Perhaps you could point out the place where she portrayed soldiers in a 'baby killer' light.

"Every day, US bombs and tanks move closer to the sacred Imam Ali Shrine, reportedly damaging outer walls and sending shrapnel flying into the courtyard; every day, children are killed in their homes as US soldiers inflict collective punishment on the holy city; every day, more bodies are disturbed as US Marines stomp through the Valley of Peace cemetery, their boots slipping into graves as they use tombstones for cover. "

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040913&s=klein

Or from the first post of this thread:

"Because outside US borders, it is, of course, a different marine who has been awarded the prize as "the face of Falluja": the soldier captured on tape executing a wounded, unarmed prisoner in a mosque. Runners-up are a photograph of a two-year-old Fallujan in a hospital bed with one of his tiny legs blown off; a dead child lying in the street, clutching the headless body of an adult; and an emergency health clinic blasted to rubble."

I doubt you'll find a direct "US soldiers are baby-killers" quote. but the inference is pretty clear.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

HERO

Monday, December 6, 2004 6:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
Yea, I didn't read the article, merely your blurb. I inferred the writers angle because the blurb you provide

So you took a small part and spun it to fit your narrow closed minded view of the world. Wow, thats out of character...

Quote:

Having read the article, it's hard to put a finger on it. It's really crappy as articles go, it has no info, opinion, or meaning. Funny needs meaning. Shows the quality of education at UofT, a school known for matriculating the biggest pole lickers in Canada. I'm sure you know them as Harris supporters.

There you go. Attacking the person and ignoring whatever facts they might be presenting. Can't you Libero-fascists stop with the politics of personal destruction?

I think you wouldn't know a real fact if it flew a plane into your building, much less bit you on the ass.

H

SGTGUMP

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 12:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:

but the inference is pretty clear.

Thanks Geezer

GHOULMAN

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 4:45 PM

the USA kills babies everyday, it's policy.

Follow up from our lovely truth teller, Naomi.

Naomi Klein
Saturday December 4, 2004
The Guardian

David T Johnson,
Acting ambassador,
US Embassy, London

Dear Mr Johnson, On November 26, your press counsellor sent a letter to the Guardian taking strong exception to a sentence in my column of the same day. The sentence read: "In Iraq, US forces and their Iraqi surrogates are no longer bothering to conceal attacks on civilian targets and are openly eliminating anyone - doctors, clerics, journalists - who dares to count the bodies." Of particular concern was the word "eliminating".

The letter suggested that my charge was "baseless" and asked the Guardian either to withdraw it, or provide "evidence of this extremely grave accusation". It is quite rare for US embassy officials to openly involve themselves in the free press of a foreign country, so I took the letter extremely seriously. But while I agree that the accusation is grave, I have no intention of withdrawing it. Here, instead, is the evidence you requested.

In April, US forces laid siege to Falluja in retaliation for the gruesome killings of four Blackwater employees. The operation was a failure, with US troops eventually handing the city back to resistance forces. The reason for the withdrawal was that the siege had sparked uprisings across the country, triggered by reports that hundreds of civilians had been killed. This information came from three main sources: 1) Doctors. USA Today reported on April 11 that "Statistics and names of the dead were gathered from four main clinics around the city and from Falluja general hospital". 2) Arab TV journalists. While doctors reported the numbers of dead, it was al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya that put a human face on those statistics. With unembedded camera crews in Falluja, both networks beamed footage of mutilated women and children throughout Iraq and the Arab-speaking world. 3) Clerics. The reports of high civilian casualties coming from journalists and doctors were seized upon by prominent clerics in Iraq. Many delivered fiery sermons condemning the attack, turning their congregants against US forces and igniting the uprising that forced US troops to withdraw.

US authorities have denied that hundreds of civilians were killed during last April's siege, and have lashed out at the sources of these reports. For instance, an unnamed "senior American officer", speaking to the New York Times last month, labelled Falluja general hospital "a centre of propaganda". But the strongest words were reserved for Arab TV networks. When asked about al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya's reports that hundreds of civilians had been killed in Falluja, Donald Rumsfeld, the US secretary of defence, replied that "what al-Jazeera is doing is vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable ... " Last month, US troops once again laid siege to Falluja - but this time the attack included a new tactic: eliminating the doctors, journalists and clerics who focused public attention on civilian casualties last time around.

Eliminating doctors
The first major operation by US marines and Iraqi soldiers was to storm Falluja general hospital, arresting doctors and placing the facility under military control. The New York Times reported that "the hospital was selected as an early target because the American military believed that it was the source of rumours about heavy casual ties", noting that "this time around, the American military intends to fight its own information war, countering or squelching what has been one of the insurgents' most potent weapons". The Los Angeles Times quoted a doctor as saying that the soldiers "stole the mobile phones" at the hospital - preventing doctors from communicating with the outside world.

But this was not the worst of the attacks on health workers. Two days earlier, a crucial emergency health clinic was bombed to rubble, as well as a medical supplies dispensary next door. Dr Sami al-Jumaili, who was working in the clinic, says the bombs took th