Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Post-modern newspeak: When is a prediction actually a promise?
If this weren't so damned scary it would be laugh-out-loud funny:
Iran's hard-line president said Tuesday that Israel will one day be "wiped out" as the Soviet Union was. His remarks drew applause from participants at a conference called to cast doubt on the Holocaust.
Interesting idea. The Holocaust couldn't have happened, because Israel still exists. If the Holocaust had actually been effective genocide, we wouldn't have all these nettlesome Jews around.
The strange logic of the Iranian leadership is exceeded only by the desperation of the West's chattering classes to avoid any discussion of the possibility that Islamic Republic is actually working toward Israel's destruction. The curious choice of verb in USA Today's headline (screencap below) gives away the game: "Iran's president predicts end of Israel." How did USA Today's editor decide that Ahmadinejad's eruption was a prediction, rather than a promise?
3 Comments:
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Wed Dec 13, 09:38:00 AM:
In this case, "prediction" may be the stronger word. Who believes promises from politicians?
By 
, at
Wed Dec 13, 10:06:00 AM:
It seems like our foreign policy class is so accustomed to verbal sleights of hand, convenient lies, obfuscations, and assorted other diplomatic bullshit that they have an incredibly hard time simply believing the very plainly expressed words of a foreign leader.
Incredibly, these people who insistently and pompously ignore very clearly words and oft repeated threats / promises call themselves "realists." Same way Chamberlain was a realist, I guess.
By , at
Wed Dec 13, 02:40:00 PM:
Then it's a good thing this man or any other tyrant doesn't have, and never will have, nuclear weapons.
Whats that you say....? He already has them.......? Oh well, I'm STILL not worried. He doesn't mean it...he's just insecure.
