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Friday, July 08, 2005
So I dial up AOL and the top news headlines are, alternating:
Queen Visits Attack Survivors
and
Italian Troops to Leave Iraq
In the second story, we learned that Italy will start pulling out troops this fall unless... unless conditions are such that they decide they won't. So sayeth Berlusconi, the PM.
Ummm... Haven't we read this story before?
Oh, yeah. We read it after the Sgrena flap. We've read it when Italians were taken prisoner. And we're read it when Berlusconi's domestic fortunes made it harder for him to take the heat for Iraq.
Like Big Brother's astonishing update, the AOL story is only news today if you're willing to forget that it was news last week. Oh my goodness, the headlines tell us, now Italy is leaving! This is an astonishing new blow... Except that it's a far from astonishing and relatively old blow for those who pay attention. All that's new is that Berlusconi said it at the G8, as opposed to in Rome.
I'm sure I'm just a paranoid who's overreacting. But it's interesting that instead of headlining "Blair steadfast against terror" - real news considering what his country's been through and that the intent of the attacks was to shake him - AOL Time Warner is instead running what is essentially the follow-up to an old story, but one which suggests renewed weakening in support for the war.
I think it's pretty clear whose side they're on.
posted by gbarto at 9:25 PM
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