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Psychological warfare?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hey I was just thinking as I saw someone in Iraq, do you think the prisoner abuse scandal is a set up to try and put fear into the Iraqis; that the Americans aren't 'soft'?

Strange train of thought but all the same...

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: Psychological warfare?
    Originally posted by TheShyBoyInTheCorner
    Hey I was just thinking as I saw someone in Iraq, do you think the prisoner abuse scandal is a set up to try and put fear into the Iraqis; that the Americans aren't 'soft'?

    Strange train of thought but all the same...
    no. this has caused huge damage and will continue to do so. most iraqi prisoners will now be able to say ..'up yours screw' ...with near impunity.
    this will alow groups and individuals to make it up on the spot so as to cause an endless stream of accusation against the yanks ...who's fault ...the yanks.
    this war is one big fuck up and getting more fucked up by the day.
    dores anyone out there actualy support any aspect of this madness any longer?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: Re: Psychological warfare?
    Originally posted by morrocan roll
    this war is one big fuck up and getting more fucked up by the day.
    dores anyone out there actualy support any aspect of this madness any longer?

    I actually support at least the 'attempt' to help form a new government that is chosen by the Iraqis. It would be funny however, if after 4 years or whatever in office they voted another tyrant into power :razz: (well not funny, but ironic?)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: Re: Re: Psychological warfare?
    Originally posted by TheShyBoyInTheCorner
    I actually support at least the 'attempt' to help form a new government that is chosen by the Iraqis. It would be funny however, if after 4 years or whatever in office they voted another tyrant into power :razz: (well not funny, but ironic?)
    the attempt to force another people by brute force and death ...into our lifestyle of consume.
    how do you give someone democracy ...how do you give someone anything at all while holding a gun at their head?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Anybody here heard of Zimbardo's prison experiment? This whole malarky can be explained fairly well through the experiment.

    Basically Zimbardo did psychological assessments of several middle class white male students in North America, checking that they have a calm and relatively good natured personality and then put them in to two groups. One group would be the prisoners and the other would be the guards. They were given clothing to play the role and were reduced to numbers instead of their names and personal identity. Anyway, a prison-style set up was put underneath a local university.

    Anyway all went well for a few days, a sort of culture formed, a bonding between the guards and the prisoners until one day one of the prisoners started acting up. It started small and the prisoner was punished for example, by having his blanket took away. Then because of the punishment the prisoner rebelled some more and other prisoners started to join in. And as the prisoners rebelled more thus did the punishments increase until they resulted in acts of violence (bearing in mind these were originally nice, mild mannered men) towards each other. Eventually the experiment was put to a halt.

    So we can apply this to the prisoner abuse. The officers were subjected to deindividuation (having their identity taken away... if the word is right) and from that sprung a sort of diffusion of individual responsibility and also perhaps a group arousal and peer pressure.

    Just a thought...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've heard about it MoonRat, what was the scary thing was that the guards started to see the prisoners as "deserving it"; even more worryingly, the overseers of the experiment allowed the beatings to continue because THEY felt that the prisoners "deserved it".

    ShyBoy, they will elect a tyrant, eventually, unless we veto their choices. They will do it to rebel against the cultuiral imperialism of the United States as much as anything.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And if we veto their choices, where then will any legitimacy remain for the claims of "exporting democracy"?

    Sooner or later even those subscribing to all the lies of the "coalition of the bought and bullied" will be forced to recognise this whole charade for the neo-colonialist conquest it always was intended to be.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Clandestine
    And if we veto their choices, where then will any legitimacy remain for the claims of "exporting democracy"?

    Sooner or later even those subscribing to all the lies of the "coalition of the bought and bullied" will be forced to recognise this whole charade for the neo-colonialist conquest it always was intended to be.

    I'm glad you spotted what I was hinting at;)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We had no business being there in the first place so the long and short of it is that WE are in the wrong, not those Iraqis resisting us. They did not attack us, nor threaten to, nor did have the capacity to do so even if they had so threatened.

    So anything that befalls our forces is our fault for turning their whole nation upside down to begin with.

    Bring the soldiers home....no more US casualties, simple as!
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