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Language of retaliation

slam_meister

08:03 / 24.09.01

Is it just me, or is the language being used in the news refering to the current situation *very* reminicent of the gulf war?
In the observer polls this week around 30% of people polled would support general air strikes against Afganistan which raises the question is that in itself a terrorist attack?
The official NATO description for an act of terrorism is (I'm paraphrasing a bit) "an act of violence against a civilian population for political means"
So general air strikes (being totally indescriminate about their target) are a terrorist act in themselves. It's only a matter of time before a section of the public are howling for carpet bombs.
Isn't that just a little scary.

Shortfatdyke

08:50 / 24.09.01

no it isn't. it's VERY scary.

i spent some of last week 'cyberfighting' with a woman on another board who was posting stuff up like, 'bomb the cunts' (i.e. every afghan deserved to die) and saying that every non-english person (or 'fucker' as she put it) should be shipped out the country forthwith. the fight against stupidity will go on forever, methinks, and at every level.

slam_meister

08:50 / 24.09.01

Now that's scary
did you see the reports of the "northern alliance"?
so called "guerillas"
aren't they just terrorists "we" like?

The Damned Yankee

10:01 / 24.09.01

In RAW's book, Everything Is Under Control there's an entry headed "Language as a Conspiracy". Essentially it's a dissection of a doctrine put forth by Hunter S. Thompson as to how it's impossible for true lack of bias to exist in the media. For example, when a small force of dirty fighters is referred to as "terrorists" as opposed to "guerillas", even the simplest of news stories can be skewed against them.

The news here is simply another arm of the warmongering PR machine.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

15:20 / 26.09.01

Yet if we support the Northern Alliance and they take over Afghanistan then this will put Pakistan in a very tricky position, the Northern Alliance are friendly with India, together they could box Pakistan in, the rulers of Pakistan are nervous and have nuclear weapons...

Kit-Cat Club

15:29 / 26.09.01

And so do the Indians, and they've been fighting for several years over Kashmir anyway. Mind you, I think it's more likely to cause conflict in Pakistan itself first, as it seems to be priests who are most vocal in support of the Taliban, rather than the government itself.

Does anyone know whether the exiled king of Afghanistan has any support from the Northern Alliance?

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