The entire middle east plus has been erupting in a wave of anti-American rage for better than a week now. We've gone from blaming it on the video the Islamists say they are protesting to admitting that at least the attack on the consulate in Libya was indeed an act of (gasp) war.
Still the video is being used as the excuse for the rampages that are still taking lives. What to do to? How do we convince the angry mobs that the United States government was in no way involved with the making of the video and that it deplores the disparagement of any religion? Are we missing a point here?
Why bother? They aren't going to listen number one. Number two, 99% of those protesters haven't, and never will, even see the video. It seems just a few words from their Imams is enough. What might those words be? Protest the video? Protest against the Americans for they have insulted Mohammad? Probably neither. I'd guess more likely it's something along the lines of, "We've got the momentum - keep it going! Death to the infidels! Death to America!"
With that in mind, why in the world did the State Department spend $70,000 to produce a video reiterating the joint statements of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton and distribute in Pakistan alone?
Well, they had to something, right? Actually I thought the whole idea was border line groveling. It will fall on deaf ears and actually I think it makes us look less than sincere. Besides, isn't it time to accept the video for what it is - an excuse to riot! Put out a video on the unacceptability of that!
Even though it's an exercise in futility I'd like to think we could have produced something that smacked of something at least approaching sincerity! Neither Obama nor Clinton have one iota of passion in their voices as they speak. Well, it was a quick and dirty.
Then why bother? It's not the money. $70,000 is chump change. It's the embarrassment of trying to do something in seconds that hasn't been done over centuries and missing the point to boot. To add insult to injury, it was done on the cheap. Just hope this is another video the Pakistanis won't see!
5 comments:
Mari... Gee, I can almost buy a house for $70,000 and today, this is all it buys. Yuch!
But on another subject. I didn't know how else to contact you, other than through this blog, with this information so here you go and I would be interested in your perspective on it. You seem to touch on a lot of subjects and are open to ideas/thoughts. I hope you'll approach this with that open mind. Also, this DOES NOT need to be posted on your blog unless you feel that it should be. That's up to you.
I recently put a post on my blog with some 911 informaton. Take a look and if you have not read these books, please do. As I said, I'd be very interested in your opinion.
Copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://tommys-mind.blogspot.com/2012/09/911-is-that-elephant-in-room.html
Thanks for listening. Tommy
Done on the cheap? $70,000 isn't cheap to me.. Besides anyone can take a camera and do the same for little to nothing.
What is the old saying about never apologize.....
Like everything else,a couple of days and they will have something else.. news is here and then gone. It hasn't been the first one, and it won't be the last. Why did they feel they had to apologized for something the USA didn't do.. only some nuts cases who happen to live here.
Word Tosser, of course you and I think $70,000 is a lot of money - but it's chump change when it comes to government spending!
You know, you're right, $70,000 is chump change :-( for Government spending.
Can you image the "set of balls" on the person that actually charged that much!!! Also, the person that approved the payment!!!
Crap, I can do that good on my Blackberry and I sure could use some of that chump change.. :-)
There's lots of folks who could have put that $70,000 to better use in a more constructive fashion, and Mari's point is well taken--no sense in spending any amount of funds wasted on deaf ears. Anti-American sentiments runs rampant enough without a video to fuel the hate, but any excuse will do I guess for some people...we lose lives, and they have the audacity to demand an apology?!
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