Article by a reporter "embedded" in bush's Iraq PR trip

[Kat45]

I just read a very long account by one of the pool reporters on bush's trip to Iraq. (It's posted on the Drudge Report.) I want to share some of my observations.

bush was only in Iraq for 2 1/2 hours. The troops he visited were in a tent close to the airport, not a large number of troops, so they could have easily been hand-picked, just as the audiences for his other appearances are. And the sumptious meal they were being fed was enough to get them all psyched up and happy. The visit was also a total surprise to them, which certainly would evoke a strong, and loud, reaction. And I would think that soldiers would be happy to be visited (ie acknowledged, recognized, praised) by someone in power, particularly their "commander in chief."

The interviewed soldiers who made positive comments about bush were folks who had only arrived in iraq fairly recently. The expense of the trip, including flying the selected journalists there (including a whole crew from faux news), feeding them meals, etc. must have been astronomical. And I'd say that just the fact that any journalists were invited along on the trip is pretty strong evidence that this was a PR/photo op.

http://www.drudgereport.com/flashbb.htm

It's a very long article, and the fucking drudge report generates pop-up or pop-under ads every so-many minutes. When that happens, the page moves back to the beginning, so you have to take the time to scroll back to where you were reading.

[burrowowl]

1. I liked the part

where a reporter took off his flak jacket to type on his computer and then saw a soldier he wanted to interview. Came back, the laptop was there but the flak jacket was gone. Pretty pathetic when the only way a soldier can get a flak jacket is to swipe it.

[maggrwaggr]

2. if he'd left an AK-47 lying around that woulda got swiped too

support our troops. Give 'em guns that jam and no armor.

[IndianaGreen]

3. So Bush was welcomed by Cherries

I noticed that Bush didn't say anything to the troops about the new Reserve units being activated, a clue that the war was not going to end anytime soon.