U.S. Government

The Battle for Hearts and Minds

by Sheldon Rampton — November 9, 2001 - 12:00am

The United States is engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity and presidential speeches designed to rally support for the war, which has begun to slip internationally. Even in Britain, America's most reliable ally, support for war has fallen from around three-quarters to two-thirds. And in the Muslim world, observes the Economist, "The burden of proof has shifted: America is being asked to prove it is not waging war against Islam."

Main Source: 
The Economist (London), November 9, 2001

Was the FBI Told to "Back Off" the bin Ladens?

by Sheldon Rampton — November 6, 2001 - 12:00am

Special agents in the United States probing relatives of Saudi-born terror suspect Osama bin Laden before September 11 were told to back off soon after George W. Bush became President, according to Newsnight, the BBC's current affairs program. The US strategic interest in Saudi Arabia, which has the world's biggest oil reserves, may have blunted its inquiries into individuals with suspected terrorist connections.

Main Source: 
British Broadcasting Corporation, November 6, 2001

Pentagon Spending Spree

by Sheldon Rampton — November 1, 2001 - 12:00am

Despite repeated assertions by President Bush and his top advisers that their global campaign against terrorism will be a "new kind of war," the biggest recipients of the new weapons spending sparked by the September 11 attacks will be the usual suspects: big defense contractors like Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The "wartime opportunists" are "on high alert," writes William Hartung.

Main Source: 
Multinational Monitor, November 2001

Sunshine Needed on Bioweapons Research

by Sheldon Rampton — October 30, 2001 - 12:00am

Congress is on the verge of passing a new law (H.R. 3160) that would block public access to information about the US biological defense program under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Secrecy will do little to protect public safety, since extensive information has already been widely published about bioweapons agents, most of which are naturally-occurring. The Sunshine Project explains the public relations agenda behind the drive for secrecy, which may have more to do with protecting corporate reputations than public safety.

Main Source: 
Sunshine Project news release, October 30, 2001

US, Britain Launch PR Offensive

by Sheldon Rampton — October 30, 2001 - 12:00am

While US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tells US television that Afghanistan is "not a quagmire," British Prime Minister Tony Blair's chief spin doctor, Alistair Campbell, has been talking with his White House counterpart, Karen Hughes, about how to maintain public support for a protracted campaign.

Main Source: 
Financial Review, October 30, 2001

U.S. Losing PR War

by Sheldon Rampton — October 27, 2001 - 11:00pm

The Bush administration has belatedly deployed its forces for a propaganda war to win over the Arab public. But the campaign, intended to convince doubters that the American attacks on Afghanistan are justified and its Middle East policy is evenhanded, has so far proved ineffectual. Thousands of words from American officials, it appears, have proved no match for the last week's news, which produced a barrage of pictures of wounded Afghan children and of Israeli tanks rolling into Palestinian villages.

Main Source: 
New York Times, October 28, 2001

Terror Law a Loss for Freedom

by Sheldon Rampton — October 25, 2001 - 11:00pm

"Rare are the moments in American history when a Congress has surrendered so many cherished freedoms in a single trip to the altar of immediate fear," writes John Nichols regarding the ambitiously named Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act which was recently approved by Congress. In addition to authorizing unprecedented levels of surveillance and incarceration of both U.S.

Main Source: 
"The Online Beat," The Nation, October 26, 2001

The Battle for the Disenfranchised Majority

by Sheldon Rampton — October 25, 2001 - 11:00pm

"In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the United States finds itself embroiled in two different battles," writes Princeton University history professor Nicholas Guyatt. "The first, waged on the plains and in the mountains of Afghanistan, pits the world's richest nation (and most powerful military) against one of the world's poorest. It's not hard to predict that the United States will probably win this war, although its task in finding a legitimate replacement for the Taliban may be much harder.The second battle, however, is of an altogether different order of magnitude. Since the attacks of Sept.

Main Source: 
Moscow Times, October 26, 2001

Farewell to Democracy in Pakistan

by Sheldon Rampton — October 25, 2001 - 11:00pm

The dictatorship that governs Pakistan was held in contempt by the West prior to September 11, first for its repression of democracy at home and second for its ties with terrorists. Now that it has become our ally against Afghanistan, however, the song has changed. "It may be a good thing that Pakistan is ruled by a friendly military dictator," says Newsweek magazine, "rather than what could well be a hostile democracy." As Robert Fisk points out, "This, of course, is the very policy that dictates Washington's relations with the Arab world.

Main Source: 
The Independent (UK), October 26, 2001

PBS Discriminates Against Alternative Views

by Laura Miller — October 24, 2001 - 2:18pm

Jerold M. Starr, executive director of Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting, takes an in-depth look at the Public Broadcasting Service in a series of article for TomPaine.com. In part three, Starr writes, "It is times like these that Americans need a truly independent public broadcasting service. In fact, PBS was launched in 1967 for the express purpose of compensating for the 'limitations' of advertiser-driven media and balancing the voices of those in power with those of 'groups not normally heard.' Tragically, while PBS stands in for this ideal, in practice it falls well short."

Main Source: 
TomPaine.com
Syndicate content