Chaos, Violence, Unrest: Parody or Evidence for the Prosecution?

[gottaB]

Who remembers Donald Rumsfeld's "Henny Penny" press conference? To refresj, the date was April 11, 2003. US forces had moved into Baghdad and toppled the statue at Firdos Square. Rioting, looting, and criminal violence were spreading across Baghdad as well as other cities to the south.

From the DoD transcript:

Q: Do you think that the words "anarchy" and "lawlessness" are ill-chosen --

Rumsfeld: Absolutely. I picked up a newspaper today and I couldn't believe it. I read eight headlines that talked about chaos, violence, unrest. And it just was Henny Penny -- "The sky is falling." I've never seen anything like it! And here is a country that's being liberated, here are people who are going from being repressed and held under the thumb of a vicious dictator, and they're free. And all this newspaper could do, with eight or 10 headlines, they showed a man bleeding, a civilian, who they claimed we had shot -- one thing after another. It's just unbelievable how people can take that away from what is happening in that country!

Do I think those words are unrepresentative? Yes.

Q: Mr. Secretary, could I follow that up?

Rumsfeld: Sure! (Laughter.) I think it deserves a follow- up! (More laughter.)

Q: You seem ready for the --

Rumsfeld:Let's go get that newspaper! (Laughter.)

I saw this episode on a rerun of Frontline, and I just couldn't believe it. It was like watching a Stanley Kubrick character. Somebody tell me, is this really happening? Did the Secretary of Defense mock the Geneva conventions and the reporting of facts? Are ordinary human concerns only so much schtick for this guy? Why isn't he behind bars?

What's going on? I don't understand.

[anarchy1999]

1. Guess you missed it when he did it.

Yes he did, What is there not to understand? What do you not understand? What is there to be confused about. You have the transcript, Rummy said it. He was pretty tough to watch those first few months of the invasion/occupation, hmm, sorry "war".

[gottaB]

2. I remember, and ask then what is memory?

Rummy's outburst is one of those things that gets more shocking each time you recall it.

Good movies are like that, more shocking each time you see them. It's rather rare for parody or satire to achieve that kind of psychological depth.