Like many people I suppose, I always assumed Goebbels first articulated the propaganda technique we now call “the big lie.” According to this article, that isn’t the case. However, his definition is quite apt: “…the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.” This definition exactly fits the big lie being promulgated by Bush & Co and the media regarding the “success” of the US “surge” of troops in Iraq. In the face of all the bombings, killings, fighting and unmitigated violence that gets reported on a daily basis, the lie just gets repeated over and over. What is ridiculous is that anyone with a modicum of intelligence can believe this absurd claim.
Patrick Cockburn gives a more nuanced view of the situation in Iraq, in an interview over at Democracy Now:
“This month, we’re probably going to have 1,500, 1,600 civilians killed. So, you know, in a sense, things have got better. We’ve gone from 3,000 to 1,600. But, you know, we’ve gone from 100 percent bloodbath to 50 percent bloodbath, but it’s still a bloodbath, so I think it’s really ludicrous for Vice President Cheney or Senator McCain to say, you know, we’re on the verge of victory, things are good. ”