Elonka wrote:
] crankymessiah wrote:
] ] ] The minister also said that coalition forces were
] ] ] throwing booby traps in the form of pens and pencils into
] ] ] Iraqi villages and townships.
] ] ]
] ] ] "The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning
] ] ] to the civilian population not to pick up any of those
] ] ] pencils because they are booby traps," he said, adding
] ] ] that the British and American forces were "immoral
] ] ] mercenaries" and "war criminals" for such behavior.
] ] ]
] ] ] "I am not talking about the American people and the
] ] ] British people," he said. "I am talking about those
] ] ] mercenaries. ... They have started throwing those
] ] ] pencils, but they are not pencils, they are booby traps
] ] ] to kill the children."
] ]
] ] I didn't quote the main parts of this article. I just wanted
]
] ] to quote this to see if anyone else thinks this is the most
] ] insanely bizarre bit of propoganda yet.
]
] That one goes up near the top of the list! As well as the
] accusation that our jets are flying low in a deliberate
] attempt to cause cracks in the holy tombs inside of the
] mosques?? I haven't decided yet if that's just complete
] schizophrenia, deliberate propaganda, or if there's an Edgar
] Allen Poe "Telltale Heart" aspect to it... Like maybe
] something is hidden in those tombs that they're worried will
] be found?

I think it's safe to say that both sides are equal in their ability to lie and proseletize. The Iraqis make the above claims (surely the pencil claim is by far the most creative. Perhaps a translation error?) and the US claims that they 'destroyed' the Republican Guard units around Bahgdad when in fact, they were shown merely retreating to more desirable positions closer to the suburbs. I basically don't believe either one.

RE: Iraqi official: U.S. lying about progress