brotherly love

today, president bush came to my own city, philadelphia, to toot the horn of the war machine once again. it makes me sad.

''I would say 30,000 more or less have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis,'' the president said. ''We've lost about 2,140 of our own troops in Iraq.''
''Success will help the image of the United States,'' Bush said. ''Look, I recognize we got an image issue, particularly when you've got Arabic television stations -- that are constantly just pounding America, saying `America is fighting Islam,' `Americans can't stand Muslims,' `This is a war against a religion.'''
''We've got to, obviously, do a better job of reminding people that ours is not a nation that rejects religion. Ours is a nation that accepts people of all faiths, and that the great strength of America is the capacity for people to worship freely.
''It's difficult. I mean, their propaganda machine is pretty darn intense, so we're constantly sending out messages. We're constantly trying to reassure people. ......''

so, basically, he says it is a propaganda war. really warms the heart, doesn't it? word to bush from kg - you are NOT welcome here!

[more on the u.s. propaganda war here]