The Zarqawi Spin
I don’t pay super close attention to the American media. However, about a month ago, I started hearing all about this Zarqawi fella. He’s alleged to be a senior al Qaida associate of Osama bin Laden.
What’s interesting to me is that I seem to be hearing way more about Zarqawi than bin Laden. As of today:
- There are 10,400 news hits for Zarqawi (note the fantastic objectivity of the New York Post)
- There are 9,330 news hits for Osama bin Laden.
If I’m handling PR for the American military, and we figure we’re far likelier to catch Zarqawi than bin Laden, I’m going to start talking the former up: “Forget about that dude we can’t find–this is the guy who deserves our immediate attention.” It feels to me like they’re setting up for a win.
