Our Newest Credibility Gap: Tsunami Warnings

Did the U.S. have advanced warning of the tsunami hurtling toward the populated areas of the Indian Ocean and choose not to warn anyone? Were U.S. experiments in electromagnetic wave propagation responsible for the earthquake? Did a top secret U.S. nuclear weapon test trigger the movement of the tectonic plates?



Probably not.



While domestic media moves Americans deftly through the stages of grieving ... after this week's spate of hopeful survivor stories we seem to be well on our way to full reconciliation, just in time to shove the whole thing aside for the NFL playoffs ... international and alternative media have carried a rising tide of stories that the U.S. did not do all it could to warn those in the path of the tsunami.



But U.S. denials are being viewed with skepticism.



This is one of the costs of the Bush administration's years of deception and misinformation. From large to small, George W. Bush has pursued an aggressive policy of managing information to his own advantage and of misleading and lying when it furthers his own objectives:

lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein's imminent plan to attack the U.S., and Iraqi involvement in 9/11 have undermined trust in U.S. intelligence agencies and our government



the fictional account of soldier Jessica Lynch's bravery and the outright lies surrounding the "friendly fire" killing of NFL hero Pat Tillman have caused the world to question the valor of U.S. soldiers



last week's news that conservative talk-show host and commentator Armstrong Williams was paid by the Bush administration promote No Child Left Behind



George W. Bush's claim last summer that Fidel Castro "welcomes sex tourism"



last year's "surprise" increase in the cost of Bush's prescription drug program



the Pentagon spokesman last fall who told CNN that the invasion of Fallujah had begun when it would not begin for another three weeks

... the list just goes on an on.



Woodburydadd has a friend, raised in a small Midwestern town, whose mother always warned her, "Remember, in a small town the only thing you have is your reputation."



The United States of America would do well to remember that the world is a small town and that our reputation is the only thing we have. Given our track record, why wouldn't they believe that we had something to do with the tidal wave? Why would they trust anything we have to say?



Daily Times (Pakistan) - U.S. denies "foreknowledge" of Asian tsunami



Guardian (UK) - U.S. Island Base Given Warning



Dissident Voice (CA) - Tsunami Cover Up? NOAA and the Flood



Herald Tribune (FL) - Credibility at Stake: Eventually, misinformation is a disadvantage