More WTF: "Reported Progress" Edition

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I wanted to bring you a couple more images from Ashley Gilbertson’s Whisky Tango Foxtrot.

With the passage of time, we become more brutally capable of differentiating “progress” from “reported progress.”  As well, these two shots expose what Iraq became after 43 got his hands on it — which was, and remains, a set.

One way to get underneath a massive photo op, a sick reality show, is to film the filming or photograph the photographing of it.  Ashley, in his curiosity (and evolving disgust), knew well to pull back.  (It also occurs to me that all good war photographers understand their ultimate client is posterity.)

Image 1 makes me think of Joseph Heller and Catch-22.  In its pathetic simplicity (love the water bottle!), it implies that the Donald show was the cheapest, most make-shift, anybody-can-do-it kind of affair.  And oh, the fantasy life of the Iraqi power station!

As Ashley summarizes:

Bill Roberts, a civilian public affairs officer for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, delivers remarks at the Qudas power plant.  The military called in the press to celebrate the opening of the plant and claimed it would return much of Iraq’s power to the electrical grid.  In fact, the plant was not yet finished because of a lack of spare parts.

And of course, who can forget those inspired national elections and the creative way in which Bush/Rove, playing form-over-substance once again, creatively gave us the finger.

In my introductory post to his book, I don’t believe I mentioned Ashley’s fresh and completely honest style of exposition.  I have to share his caption for image 2:

Wire photographers pose a soldier to photograph his ink-stained finger, signifying that he had voted in the December 2005 national elections.  The habitual practice of setting up pictures annoyed me, but when I saw a photographer climb a high post and direct hundreds of soldiers into a more dynamic composition, I was shocked.

“I was shocked.”  I love it.

BAG’s previous WTF post here.  Purchase WTF here.  WTF Central right here.



(Images from “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: A Photographer’s Chronicle of the Iraq War”.  © Ashley Gilbertson. Used by permission.)