WILLisms.com: Quotational Therapy: Part 59 -- Rumsfeld On Churchill.

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Quotational Therapy: Part 59 -- Rumsfeld On Churchill.

Rumsfeld On Churchill-

I was reading a book last night, Winston Churchill, and he said the problem is not winning the war but persuading people to let them -- let him win the war, he said.

Source:
Department of Defense News Briefing.

The most dreaded enemy for any General, President, Prime Minister, or Secretary of Defense running a military operation in our modern media era is... the modern media era. The United States can and will win in Iraq, and do it within a reasonable time frame (1-3 years), but only if we allow ourselves to win.

For those who want to see democracy flourish in the Middle East, the most significant impediment is not Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or the Saudi royal family. It's the media. This isn't to say that we should begin censoring the media. Not at all. Our freedom is what makes us... us.

But I would be willing to wager a lot of money that the frequency and intensity of terrorist attacks would fall dramatically without any media presence in Iraq. It's happened on a micro-level, within Iraq itself. Journalists leave a town, the town settles down. Over and over.

Think about it. Clearly, the terrorists in Iraq have a strategy of making high profile attacks as close to the hotels of Western journalists as possible. It's just so obvious that the attacks are geared toward media coverage of the situation in Iraq.

Imagine if Churchill had to deal with today's media during World War II?

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Previous Quotational Therapy Session:

Ronald Reagan.

The right quote can be therapeutic, so tune in to WILLisms.com for quotational therapy every Monday and Friday.

Posted by Will Franklin · 18 November 2005 04:11 PM

Comments

President Bush could really start using some Churchillian language these days. Simple gestures (such as when Churchill simply took pictures with firemen putting out fires from the Blitz during WWII) would really help to stir public support. He should stand by our troops more often, perhaps actually bring out some of America's patriotism. President Bush has a lot to learn from Winston Churchill.

Posted by: Kevin W at November 18, 2005 04:34 PM

Phil: Everyone responded to your same post over at Dr.Sanity's blog. It probably won't convince anyone here either.
Until the its citizens lessen the demands of entitlements in health, welfare, and education, we are going to have an increasing federal deficit. When the Dems don't tackle with seriousness the coming implosion caused by Social Security and Medicare costs and their drain on younger working people who could be providing for their own retirement years, then no one can take that emotional argument seriously.

Posted by: onlineanalyst at November 19, 2005 02:12 PM

Phil's back again, huh?

Well, anyway, it's amazing how much the media stirs up trouble, just to have something to report. It creates a viscious cycle that puts the media in league with the terrorists and attracts attacks as wherever they're covering the attacks. I got a new word for the MSM: bait.

Posted by: the paperboy at November 19, 2005 05:54 PM