April 29, 2006

Angry Veteran

And what a room the JIC floor was: a cross between the bridge of the Starship Enterprise and a cubicle farm. At the helm, on 24-hour watch, was the Deputy Director of Intelligence (DDI). And there I was, his faithful second in charge, the Assistant Deputy Director of Intelligence (ADDI). Monitors and projection equipment surrounded us. Down the rows of cubes full of analysts, the ceiling itself sprouted huge flat screen televisions. On the main wall, five or more feeds could be displayed.

What were we watching? Translated broadcasts of Al-Jezeera? Copies of tapes made by leading analysts and historians on our area of responsibility? Anything at all that would help the J2 get into the mind of the enemy and create an atmosphere of critical thinking?

No.

We were watching FOX news. FOX fucking news. We were in a permanent feedback loop. FOX news couldn't wave the flag fast enough and praise the military and the administration hard enough. We, in the fucking INTELLIGENCE CENTER, were watching news about how great we all were.

Once, I actually asked if we could change the channel to (*gasp*) PBS because they were interviewing Muqtada al-Sadr - a key figure at the time, and still today. People gave me shit for changing it to PBS. As if I were a communist for wanting to hear what one of the local leaders was saying - instead of just having sunshine blown up my ass by the spokesmodels on FOX.

3 comments:

The Scrutinator said...

They were monitoring the heart of the most important battle: the perception at home. Good for them. (I liked Angry Veteran's other suggestions, too, though.)

Cheers, mate! How's the new leaf turning?

DAVE BONES said...

I'm trying to work out if he is the guy who actually wrote this. Yeah, leaf turning is OK, 54 days, feels a bit pointless though though the guitar playing is a revelation.

Generation Xsquire said...

Dave,

Thanks for the additional exposure on your blog. If scrutinator liked that entry, he will really like my current post for it's link to a great Columbia Journalism Review article.

Thanks again.

AV