Saturday, January 14, 2012

Lie raises doubt about war efforts



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Military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir has egg on his face after he was caught out in a lie. If he was a civilian, Chirchir would be under investigation for issuing false and alarming statements— in this case, circulating photos purporting to show a Kenyan suspected to be an al Shabaab recruit being stoned to death in Mogadishu.
He would by now, most likely be facing a misdemeanour charge. Under military rules and regulations, Chirchir's tweet is considered conduct unbecoming an officer and might even be something for a court martial to decide. Chirchir doesn't explain the use of the photos but goes on to warn of possible similar executions today. That he could post wrong photos to support his reports of the execution of a Kenyan al Shabaab recruit raises doubts about the information that he, as the military spokesman, has been feeding Kenyans about the progress of the military operation in Somalia.
If he can lie about such a simple thing, what value should be placed on the progress reports that the military has been giving Kenyans about the 'operation.' The lie has tainted the 'successes' that the military has been claiming in Somalia. It may reaffirm skeptics fears that much of the information being given by the military is 'mere propaganda." It is a blow in the military's efforts in getting the peoples' support for the military operation which continues to divert huge sums of taxpayers funds without any explanation or accountability.
Quote of the day: “The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously,” Hubert H. Humphrey, the 38th US Vice President under Lyndon B. Johnson (1965-69) and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1968 presidential election defeated by Republican nominee, Richard Nixon died on January 13, 1978.

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