Americans Are Voting Again

Reports that the Army reached its recruiting goals for June are showing up in all the major papers around the country. The Center for Media and Democracy highlights the practice of the current administration to strategically present information in such a way as to sway public opinion, particularly in matters relating to the war in Iraq. The victory claim announced as success in reaching June recruiting goals is certainly a case in point. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga at Daily Kos “does the math” here and demonstrates the rhetorical turns taken in making the claim. Follow the numbers through May media reports and you’ll find that recruitment goals were lowered in May from an originally defined 8,050 – already more than 1,700 a month fewer than needed to meet the annual “replacement” minimums for the war we’ve engaged in Iraq, to a goal at that time of 6,700 recruits. Claiming to have met recruiting goals by enlisting 6,000 young people in June hardly tells the story like it is: Americans are voting again, this time with the lives of their children.

(via kottke.org) Google maps provides an Iraq War Casualties geographic visual of the number of young men and women who have died so far in the war. It is worth the look/see.

update: An interesting conversation has been taking place at Alice's blog somewhat along these lines. Comments from Dr. B were particularly powerful reflections on the (un)readiness of young people when faced with the practiced techniques of recruiters under the pressure of a numbers crunch. ...worth the read.


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