The Disassociated Press

Once again reading the news has drawn the ire of a previously content individual. I am said individual.

So, I was cruising through my newpaper, aka the internet, when I saw a photo of three Soldiers running. They were wearing a full compliment of battle rattle and carrying M4s. I scrolled to it to read the caption. The caption was a bit long to read so I clicked on the picture to enlarge it. When I scrolled down to read the rest of the caption it read:

"Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division run across a frozen prairie as they train at Fort Riley, Kansas, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007. The soldiers from the division's fourth brigade will deploy to Iraq in the next few weeks as part of President Bush's planned troop surge." (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Anything jump out of that? Does that anger you? Well, perhaps if you were part of the unit, or knew someone who was then you'd see the absurdity of the statement.

"...will deploy to Iraq in the next few weeks as part of President Bush's planned troop surge."

What a crock of garbage. They are, technically, part of the troop surge. Much in the way the original french fries in your combo meal were part of the meal before your "went large" (you glutton, you). They are part of a one dollar savings on double coupon day, but they are the original coupon for fifty cents off - not the additional fifty cents savings.

What my keen sense of perception tells me is that this is nothing more than another thinly-veiled media attack on W. This is another shot in the information war the media is fighting with President Bush; another attempt to scare the hell out of America and fill their heads with more half-truths and inuendos. The Soldiers pictures in that photo were sourced for the upcoming deployment long, long before last weeks announcement. (That is, if they are, in fact, part of the named unit and not just some random file photo.) They are not part of the additional force requirement that a "surge", by definition, would require. I am sure that secret meetings will has that out and the AP will find out in due time. That time, however, is not now. Of course, statements like that caption are much like the withdrawn question of a cunning attorney, once it's out there the damage is done.

Information is power, people, and it can be used like weapons. It's a crying shame that the weapon our journalists choose to use is one of quiet destruction at the hands of, and to the detriment of, those releasing it to the world. It is the "Agent Orange" of today. It is the weapon that those using won't know is killing them too until it's way too late. They will destroy themselves, also. What do you expect when your idea of "responsible journalism" drives a wedge into the fabric of America when we need, now more than ever, a unifying inspiration?

I just wish that some of these shmucks would gear it back for a moment and try to figure out a way toward a better future instead of telling me who fucked up in the past. It's here and we have to deal with it. We know who did it. Will you help get it right, or will you just keep telling me it was Colonel Mustard in the library with the WMD?