Yet Another Mission Impossible

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"Few would debate that the U.S.-led coalition needs some potent PR in Iraq," writes Clayton Collins. But one architect of the post-9/11 Brand America campaign called the large, ongoing, U.S.-funded PR campaign "to sell democracy" in Iraq "mission impossible." Nevertheless, the British PR company Bell Pottinger, along with its Iraqi and Dubai partner firms, continues to run TV ads in Iraq, to highlight "milestones and accomplishments." The Air Force major overseeing the PR campaign said the goal is to "promote discussion among Iraqis about their future and how they can get involved." In one ad, "an elderly Iraqi man sits at a desk, carefully folding pieces of paper that suggest ballots. 'I choose to live in peace,' says a voice-over... 'I choose justice and stability... I, an Iraqi, choose one Iraq.'"