Thank God [But See Update]

by tristero

Fortunately, saner heads than those at the top of the Bush administration have ordered a halt to the walling-in of a Sunni ghetto in Baghdad. We can only hope that that puts an end to it. Truly one of the most hare-brained and dangerous blunders I know of during the Bush/Iraq war.

While many of the commenters to my previous posts got it, a disconcerting number truly didn’t see the danger, which, I must say, is patently obvious if you place yourself in a Sunni’s shoes for a minute or two.

I think what we’re talking about here is a classic example of framing. Had the reports from Baghdad used the word “ghetto” – which, by the way, doesn’t necessarily imply a poor ethnic population – the problems would have been apparent to everyone. But instead, the neighborhood was described as an “enclave” and comparisons to Belfast were invoked.

Folks, paranoid rule number one for living in a fascist state: Never accept Their frames. Always make your own.

[UPDATE: Apparently, even in the face of mass protests, it is unclear whether Bush will continue to wall-in Sunnis in their ghetto. Incredible.]