Saturday, March 04, 2006
UK Enters Media Mania Race?
Today's 8pm posting of the DRUDGE REPORT has replaced the Big Headline about "Blair under fire for envoking God in Iraq war decision" with a new Big Headline about "Papers: All Troops out of Iraq by early '07".
Well - Wow! Just when I thought the US media had won top bonkers award for odd reportage, ala the Katrina tapes, the UK media (at least the Sunday Mirror and Sunday Telegraph) steps up to the plate for good old England.
I don't know what is behind this story. But I'm hoping that this Reuters report will win the MSM award for the year's Biggest BU**S**T - UK, US to withdraw Iraq forces by early '07:
"LONDON (Reuters) - The United States and Britain are planning to pull all their troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2007, two British newspapers reported in their Sunday editions, quoting unnamed senior defense ministry sources.
The Sunday Telegraph said the planned pull-out followed an acceptance by the two governments that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq was now a large obstacle to securing peace.
'The British government is understood to be the driving force behind the withdrawal plan but all 24 coalition members are likely to welcome the move, given the growing international unpopularity of the war,' the Telegraph said. ......
Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper also reported on the planned withdrawal saying it would happen within 12 months."
BUT, we also hear today from Yahoo! News: "Iraq's president said Saturday that he had been assured that American troops will stay in his country as long as needed, .... President Jalal Talabani said Abizaid assured him U.S. forces "are ready to stay as " long as we ask them, no matter what the period is."
AND, then there is this on Bush in Pakistan :"President Bush praised Pakistan’s fight against terrorism as unfaltering Saturday ...... Bush and Musharraf renewed their war-on-terror alliance in a news conference at the presidential palace, ...... “We’re not going to back down in the face of these killers,” Bush said two days after a suicide car-bombing killed an American diplomat in the southern city of Karachi. “We’ll fight this war and we will win this war together.”"
SO, perhaps those seniorDefense Ministry chaps who leaked this story have been talking to their counterparts who are managing W; or maybe W is just blissfully unaware of his firm policy on this subject. OR maybe the Brits just wanted to get Drudge to change that embarrassing Headline. If it's the last one, they won. If it's none and for real, we all lost.
Well - Wow! Just when I thought the US media had won top bonkers award for odd reportage, ala the Katrina tapes, the UK media (at least the Sunday Mirror and Sunday Telegraph) steps up to the plate for good old England.
I don't know what is behind this story. But I'm hoping that this Reuters report will win the MSM award for the year's Biggest BU**S**T - UK, US to withdraw Iraq forces by early '07:
"LONDON (Reuters) - The United States and Britain are planning to pull all their troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2007, two British newspapers reported in their Sunday editions, quoting unnamed senior defense ministry sources.
The Sunday Telegraph said the planned pull-out followed an acceptance by the two governments that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq was now a large obstacle to securing peace.
'The British government is understood to be the driving force behind the withdrawal plan but all 24 coalition members are likely to welcome the move, given the growing international unpopularity of the war,' the Telegraph said. ......
Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper also reported on the planned withdrawal saying it would happen within 12 months."
BUT, we also hear today from Yahoo! News: "Iraq's president said Saturday that he had been assured that American troops will stay in his country as long as needed, .... President Jalal Talabani said Abizaid assured him U.S. forces "are ready to stay as " long as we ask them, no matter what the period is."
AND, then there is this on Bush in Pakistan :"President Bush praised Pakistan’s fight against terrorism as unfaltering Saturday ...... Bush and Musharraf renewed their war-on-terror alliance in a news conference at the presidential palace, ...... “We’re not going to back down in the face of these killers,” Bush said two days after a suicide car-bombing killed an American diplomat in the southern city of Karachi. “We’ll fight this war and we will win this war together.”"
SO, perhaps those seniorDefense Ministry chaps who leaked this story have been talking to their counterparts who are managing W; or maybe W is just blissfully unaware of his firm policy on this subject. OR maybe the Brits just wanted to get Drudge to change that embarrassing Headline. If it's the last one, they won. If it's none and for real, we all lost.
