Sometimes a Headline is Only a Headline
Reuters has given up the ghost.
They just put out a story with the following headline:
“Rockets Hit Iraq Hotels, Poland Hails Arms Success.” (Emphasis mine.)
Okay, gang, let’s assume we’re all casual news and political observers, instead of hard core news and political junkies. What would we think if we saw that headline?
Maybe that Polish troops had won a skirmish? Or perhaps that they had returned home from Iraq, and were hailing the good job they felt they had done?
In point of fact, however, the portion the headline in which reference is made to “Poland Hails Arms Success” is the way in which Reuters chose to lead this story:
“Poland said its troops in Iraq had stopped old artillery shells from Saddam’s era containing the deadly nerve agent cyclosarin falling into the hands of militants by buying the weapons after tip-offs.” (Emphasis mine.)
“Arms success,” huh?
And “cyclosarin,” of course, actually refers to the commonly-known nerve weapon Sarin.
And “militants” is a nice, morally-relativistic way in which to describe al-Qaeda terrorists, no?
Oh, right. George Bush is standing for re-election in only four months.
Note: the article is here.
UPDATE: According to eagle-eyed and large-brained commentator, ras, cyclosarin is a deadly, more potent variant of the nerve agent Sarin gas. Move along, then. Nothing at all to see here. Aren’t there more pictures of Iraqi NCO’s with panties on their heads we can show to the electorate?
-- Jayson