Propaganda

New, Improved Mercenaries

by Sheldon Rampton — June 21, 2004 - 11:00pm

"A private British firm that won a $293 million contract from the Pentagon for coordinating security in Iraq is headed by a retired British commando with a reputation for illicit arms deals in Africa and for commanding a murderous military unit in Northern Ireland," reports Charles M. Sennott. The firm is owned by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer, a former British military officer.

Main Source: 
Boston Globe, June 22, 2004

War Is Still Sell

by Diane Farsetta — June 16, 2004 - 11:00pm

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States reported, "We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated." Will Bush administration officials and other Republican politicians now stop saying there's a connection?

Main Source: 
Reuters, June 17, 2004

Utterly Out of Favor

by Diane Farsetta — May 19, 2004 - 11:00pm

"In dawn raids today, American troops surrounded Ahmed Chalabi's headquarters and home in Baghdad, put a gun to his head, arrested two of his aides, and seized documents," Andrew Cockburn writes. "Only five months ago, Chalabi was a guest of honor sitting right behind Laura Bush at the State of the Union.

Main Source: 
CounterPunch, May 20, 2004

No More Money for Chalabi

by Sheldon Rampton — May 17, 2004 - 11:00pm

"The United States government has decided to halt monthly $335,000 payments to the Iraqi National Congress, the group headed by Ahmad Chalabi," reports Richard A. Oppel, Jr. The INC, which has received at least $27 million in U.S. financing during the past four years, played a crucial role in the Bush administration's campaign to sell the war in Iraq.

Main Source: 
New York Times, May 18, 2004

Murder as Propaganda

by Sheldon Rampton — May 12, 2004 - 11:00pm

Matthew Stannard reports that the "nightmare video of an American civilian captured in Iraq being decapitated by his captors was anything but a random act of terrorism, experts say -- it was a press release, carefully designed for a global audience." Its purpose was recruit new terrorists and to frighten Americans, especially nongovernmental groups and civilian contractors working in Iraq who provide a sizable armed "auxiliary" to the U.S. military and the Coalition Provisional Authority.

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San Francisco Chronicle, May 13, 2004

Real Atrocities and Faked Photos

by Sheldon Rampton — May 4, 2004 - 11:00pm

The photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib are bad enough, considering that possibly 25 prisoners have died while in American custody. However, some faked photos are also circulating, including pictures of an alleged rape by soldiers that were actually taken from a porno site. Independent journalist Chris Albritton debunks the fakes and criticizes a cavalier attitude toward the truth that "seems to have taken hold in anti-war journalism as well.

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Back to Iraq, May 5, 2004

How Chalabi Conned the Neocons

by Sheldon Rampton — May 3, 2004 - 11:00pm

"Ahmed Chalabi is a treacherous, spineless turncoat. He had one set of friends before he was in power, and now he's got another," says L. Marc Zell, a former law partner of Douglas Feith, now the undersecretary of defense for policy, and a former friend and supporter of Chalabi and his aspirations to lead Iraq.

Main Source: 
Salon.com, May 4, 2004

Battle of the Photographs

by Sheldon Rampton — May 2, 2004 - 11:00pm

"The Bush administration, despite the savvy of its spinmeisters and Hollywood-trained publicists, has lost the war of images abroad," writes Juan Cole. "Although it has had more success in managing war images at home, cracks have increasingly opened up on the domestic front as well." Recent examples have included the publication of photos of flag-draped coffins bearing U.S.

Main Source: 
AlterNet, May 3, 2004

US-Funded INC Faces GAO Probe For Propagandizing

by Laura Miller — April 26, 2004 - 11:00pm

The controversial Iraqi National Congress will be the subject of a probe by Congress' General Accounting Office for using U.S. taxpayer money to convince U.S. citizens to support an Iraq invasion, according to Knight Ridder reporters Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay.

Main Source: 
Democracy Now! April 27, 2004

The Battle for Hearts and Minds

by Sheldon Rampton — April 12, 2004 - 11:00pm

"Impartial information is increasingly hard to come by in Iraq," reports Fiona O'Brien. "As fighting has intensified on the ground, U.S. authorities have stepped up a separate battle for public opinion, tightly controlling the flow of information to journalists whose ability to move freely in Iraq has been limited by increasing danger." Although U.S. military officials refuse to discuss Iraqi civilian casualties, other reports suggest that hundreds have died in the past week in Fallujah alone.

Main Source: 
Reuters, April 12, 2004; and Democracy Now! April 13, 2004
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