Here's Rupert Murdoch today:
"The death toll, certainly of Americans there, by the terms of any previous war are quite minute," Mr Murdoch told reporters at a conference in Tokyo.Murdoch casually ignores the deaths of 655,000 Iraqis, hardly a "minute" figure at all unless you just don't give a shit.
"Of course no one likes any death toll, but the war now, at the moment, it's certainly trying to prevent a civil war and to prevent Iraqis killing each other."
Murdoch - whose News Corp empire includes the New York Post, Britain's most widely read newspaper, The Sun tabloid and The Australian - says while the United States has made mistakes in the war, its intentions are good.
"I believe it was right to go in there. I believe that certainly the execution that has followed that has included many mistakes," he said.
"But that's easy to say after the event. It's much easier to criticise the conduct of the war today in the media than it was in previous wars. I'm sure there were great mistakes made in the past, too.
"I think that one forgets that American foreign policy for the whole of the (20th) century saved the world from terrible things three times, for which they certainly got no thanks and for which they never had imperial ambitions at all."
He says the war today is waged to, err.. prevent a worsening of the war itself.
And he adopts the new neocon mantra: our intentions were good, blame Bush for the execution (but don't sack our Rummy).
He says it is not fair to "criticise the conduct of the war today in the media" because that is just too easy these days, even if the Murdoch media empire itself has had to be dragged out kicking and screaming before even whispering a breath of such criticism.
And finally, "one" must never forget the gallant bravery of US troops who saved the world time and time again last century (according to a certain version of history). Because that is really important right now.
War is good, according to Murdoch: it boosts circulation.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Michael Pascoe begs the ACCC please don’t let Murdoch take over the world:
News Ltd already dominates newspapers in this country to an extent that is only rivalled by the propaganda organs of totalitarian states...
Like just about every red-blooded champion of free enterprise, there’s nothing Rupert likes more than the chance of a monopoly.
