Since we have had all this coverage about 9/11 and specifically what people in other parts of the world thought about the terrorist attack, and America in general, it got me to thinking. They interviewed 3 boys in Iraq, aged 13, 14, & 15, all of them were saying basically the same thing. " Why should we be sorry for America, they want to occupy us." We will never be able to win over the world as long as oppressive governments keep feeding young minds propaganda like this. It seems that most governments use Television as the main medium to spread their lies etc, so I think the US should be looking at developing some GLOBAL television station, for each major language, and begin broadcasting it for free into these countries. Sort of a "Radio Free America" but for television. Give them an alternative to look at, and let them see the freedoms we have in America, and around the world. Let them see for themselves that America is not a giant EVIL empire that wants to expand into their borders. Already you can see how the internet is breaking down barriers in countries such as China etc, people are getting a taste of the free form of information and are learning that governments are lying to their own people in a self serving manner. However, in impoverished countries like Iran, or Iraq etc....people do not have access to the internet, yet. But they do have access to state sponsered television, so why not do a little state sponsered television ourselves? At least then people would have a choice of what to hear, and different viewpoints are always good, at least they promote discussion and thought. So, to recap, time to get some SUPER charged TV satelites in orbit that can pump free TV into foreign lands and spread our idea of free press to the world. Thoughts? DaDakota (rambling man)
Personally, even with good intentions I think the idea would backfire. Those youngsters that have been brainwashed with anti-American propaganda would see such an act as yet another attempt by Americans to spread their own beliefs and propaganda on the rest of the world in an attempt to make everyone fall in line with our ideas and beliefs. Such an act might make foreign nations think we actually are trying to expand into their borders. Just my opinion.
Drap, It might at first, but if you do it in a "Free Press" sort of way, it would eventually take hold. People would watch if just out of curiosity, at first they would denounce it, then they would wonder...heck just broadcast CNN or the BBC in their own language, and let them get a taste of what the rest of the world is saying, because right now, they are only hearing their governments opinion. In Iraq's case, I would put money that their television does not mention that the reason they are under sanctions is that their own government is not living up to agreements it signed after it INVADED Kuwait. Might be interesting to hear what people thought when they found out this...... Could be another way of outsting Saddam, and the Mullahs in Iran. DD
Yes, the amount of anti-U.S. and anti-Israel propaganda is sickening. It still exists here though, on our own soil. I saw a guy on W.Belfort and S.Post Oak with a sign that read, "LaRouche says: Ariel Sharon is preparing the next 9/11!" OMFG, I wanted to get out of the car and slap some sense into this guy. Anyhow, brainwashing is horrible. Not be able to think for yourself, reguardless of your stance on any topic, is a crime.
LaRouche!! I'm gonna hang out in front of some courthouse annexes (like LaRouche supporters do) and hold up a sign that says "America doesn't give a flying flip what LaRouche thinks." The guy is about as relevant as my dead aunt...and I never even had an aunt!
lol Madmax, my aunts used to always pinch my cheeks when i was little.. you are lucky! j/k Give me some history on this LaRouche guy. Its relevant to this thread because its "propaganda."
if it doesn't change the mindset of those iraqis, at least it would win over the rest of the islamic world's support. anything that doesn't involve more bombs please. thank you.
I actually speak fluent Arabic and what the kids really said was "US please come to our country and kill our conscripted fathers" "US please come to our country and cause as much colateral damage as you can. Maybe kill our mothers and truly make us orphans." "US please come to out country and give the Iraqi youth yet another reason to dedicate our lives to causing your country ten times the pain you have caused ours." Those quirky translators never seem to get it right.
Radio Free Europe... how effective was it? Somewhat. It would be foolish to say it had no effect... but let's just say the Berlin Wall didn't come tumbling down because of it. IMO, the key is wealth. Make the general populace rich because of free trade, and they're going to be far more willing to buy into the international system. To do that, you can work with governments you really don't like. By the time they realize what is happening, it will be too late.
Since we have had all this coverage about 9/11 and specifically what people in other parts of the world thought about the terrorist attack, and America in general, it got me to thinking. At the LBJ school, we have a lot of international students and many Americans who were abroad last year during 9/11. What they described as what they saw in their countries is nothing like what the news here reports. What many of them saw was sadness over the event, but laughability at the idea that "the world changed on 9/11". The US changed certainly, but the rest of the world has already been living in this "real world" for a long time. Most countries have fought wars on their own soil, seen civilian deaths, etc. Countries like Britain and Spain have dealt with terrorism for decades. The Americans, especially, commented how people abroad thought it was ridiculous that America suddenly thought the rest of the world changed. I never thought about this way, but we really did adopt the attitude that "the world is all about us" after 9/11. One comment in particular was from a Brit who said that maybe Bostonians (where there's a strong Irish community and a primary funding mechanism for the IRA) will finally stop funding the IRA after seeing what terrorism is really all about. There was certainly sympathy and no justification of the attacks or anything like that, but it's a sort of "now that you see what we deal with, help us all do something about it" attitude. However, in impoverished countries like Iran, or Iraq etc....people do not have access to the internet, yet. But they do have access to state sponsered television, so why not do a little state sponsered television ourselves? Just as a side note, people from Iran, China (mainland), and India that I talked to all had 24-hour 9/11 coverage on CNN and/or BBC.
Major, Some do have access to CNN, but the government puts restrictions on what they can and cannot say, and CNN has been cut off in China before when it over stepped its state imposed boundries. DaDakota
You really shouldn't be surprised about the opinions of these three Iraqi teens. As soon as any country is threatened, there's a tendency to stand together against the foreign threat even if people generally don't like their government. Just look at post 9/11 America to see what I mean. The first result were overwhelming poll results for GWB. Even hard core democrats stood behind him, because he's the president. The same thing happens everywhere. External threats lead to more support for the government. Period.
It's sad that the three Iraqi teens say this, but to a certain extent what they say is true. Cheney, Rumsefeld, and Rice certainly do want to occupy the country of those teens. There are a number of people in Bush's administration that want to occupy Iraq. That much wasn't propaganda. The only problem is that they made a connection from what some people in the Bush administration want, and the civilians that died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Yeah, they're all brainwashed morons who dlislike us cause we're so nice and free. After we occupy them we can require them to watch Fox New Channel or go to Guantanamo for imprisonment until the last terrorist is caught in the world. Get the name of those teenagers they sound like prime candidates for this treatment.
Personally, I don't like the way our press has handled things. No discussion on foreign events, the birth of the sound byte, and sensationalism for entertainment value are the norm. If the idea was to ever become credible, the money would be put to a non-profit fund where journalism is unfettered by threats of government funding or coorporate pull out whenever some unfavorable investigative piece comes out. Then again, such an idea might backfire for our government... but not our people.
