Many of us remember then President George W. Bush declaring
victory in Iraq under a “Mission Accomplished” banner on the USS Abraham
Lincoln in San Diego on May 2, 2003 (see: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall/comment-page-14/?_r=0,
which is also this picture’s source.)
This week Vice President Pence decided to break protocol
and, according to various media, stare down the North Korean troops at the DMZ
(see: http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/new-video-shows-pence-stare-down-north-korean-troops-at-dmz,
which is also the photo source.) The picture is actually a still taken from the
CNN video.
Antics of one type or another across the DMZ have ranged
from the comical to the tragic and the Vice President’s face making is just one
of the latest. On April 29, 2016 Task & Purpose ran a story “North Korea
Whines About US Troop Faces At Its Border Guards” (see: http://taskandpurpose.com/north-korea-whines-us-troops-making-faces-border-guards/,
which is that photo source.)
Of course, one could also conclude that neither Mr. Bush nor
Mr. Pence were posing for our adversaries but were courting the American
Public.
Mr. Pence’s rebellious (if you could call it that) seems to
follow the pattern of the new Commander-in-Chief, that is act first and think
later. This time there doesn’t seem to be much of a downside. However, it is
fair to say that actions by Heads of State and other senior government leaders,
whether attended or not, can have significant impact due to the 7/24 news cycle
and social media.
Images can be taken out of context and used for purposes
quite opposite of their original intent. A little forethought can prevent our
adversaries from getting even more information ammunition.
No comments:
Post a Comment