SPIEGEL ONLINE's Perverse Iraq Photo Gallery

To mark the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War, SPIEGEL ONLINE has spewed forth a flurry of articles as predictable as they are shrill. The most recent installment is a piece complete with a 50-photo picture gallery entitled: "The Pictures of the Iraq Catastrophe: Panorama of the Perverse".

What makes this gallery truly perverse is its total omission of Saddam Hussein's twenty-four year reign of war and terror - a period that could - in fact - accurately be labelled "Iraq's Catastrophe." This conspicuous omission - the fact that German media elites once again fail to remind German readers of the horror of modern-day dictatorship while bashing ideological enemies in the United States - reminds us that they have learned far less about confronting despotism than they would have us all believe.   

SPIEGEL ONLINE Again Speaks with Two Tongues

Interestingly enough, there is a similar photo gallery on the SPIEGEL ONLINE English site that does show Saddam's victims. It also shows more about Saddam's capture and fewer Rambo-style images of US troops. Why the different presentation in German versus English? Why won't SPIEGEL ONLINE acknowledge Saddam's victims to its German readers? Why are US troops presented more negatively in German?

Finally - there is almost never any historic perspective when it comes to US military losses. Every loss is one too many, but there were single days in the Second World War in which the United States lost more men that it loses on average in a year of war in Iraq (roughly 800 to 900). And yet - the far left media continues to insist that America can't sustain such losses - and far too seldom is their credibility called into question for doing so.

Endnote: Somehow there is not nearly the level enthusiasm at SPIEGEL ONLINE when it comes to reporting how another greedy European conglomerate admitted its guilt in greasing the bloody palms of the Saddam regime for a little profit in the UN Oil-for-Food scandal. Of course - there's nothing terribly perverse about that...right?   

Comments

[Carl Spackler]

Well, it's been something like 58 years now since the Chinese Communists rolled into Tibet. You know, Tibet as in 'Free Tibet' bumper stickers. The Dali Lama. Time for the Europeans to show the US how it's really done.

(insert sounds of crickets, here)

[GringoTex]

Might that have something to do with US troops fighting Germany in WW2 ? Don’t want to stir up such memories.

The Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War resulted in an estimated 5700-7500 deaths, the equivalent of around 57,000- 75,000 killed today for a three day battle. Adding in wounded, that would be 32,000-34,000: in excess of 300,000 in today’s figure. Bear in mind that in 1863, a much higher proportion of the wounded later perished from their wounds, as contrasted with the higher levels of medical care today.

Granted, these are figures from both sides, but as I had family on both sides who perished in the Civil War, I will go that route. The proportion of Americans who had family fighting on both sides is higher than a lot of people would assume. President Lincoln's wife had brothers who fought on the side of the Confederacy. That's why it is called a CIVIL WAR.