Bangladesh, Jan. 19 -- The movie Wag the Dog was released a generation ago, one month before a presidential scandal which invited comparisons between that film and the reality of that time. Now, 23 years later, we find ourselves in the midst of yet another presidential scandal; one which has made this movie once again relevant to our times.
The premise, which hits uncomfortably close to home, is about a war fabricated to deflect attention from a president's indiscretions. War is described as "show business" with all the trappings: slogans, nicknames, theme songs, and even merchandising to show solidarity; all orchestrated by a media intent on projecting a party's "alternate reality" on an unsuspecting public.
However war, whether fabricat...