Iraq

Iraq Troop "Withdrawal" Propaganda

by Anne Landman — September 3, 2010 - 9:35am

The reported drawdown in American troops from Iraq has been portrayed as a "withdrawal of the U.S." from Iraq, but it is really just a pretend end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The removal of combat forces still leaves 50,000 so-called "military trainers" in the country, a huge number of American troops compared to eight years ago, when there weren't any in Iraq at all.

Main Source: 
Business Daily/Opinion and Analysis, September 3, 2010

Gen. Ray Odierno: "Troops staying in Iraq to prevent foreign interference"

by Steve Horn — August 9, 2010 - 6:22pm

Wars are always a time of heavy propaganda and prolific spin, and as Noam Chomsky says, this system of deception is can only be maintained by what he calls "

Main Source: 
Politico.com, August 8, 2010

Reading Between the Lies

by Chelsea Lawliss — August 4, 2010 - 2:12pm
  • Topics: Left Wing, Crisis Management, Iraq, Politics, Public Relations

    • Iraq's Ministry of Interior recently released a civilian casualty count for the month of July. Their report accounted for the lost lives of 535 Iraqis, making this past month the most violent since June 2008. This escalation in violence can be attributed in part to a situation which Jeremy Scahill, writer of the ground breaking novel, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army and correspondent for Democracy Now! explains as an unstable country. Iraq is as "unstable as it has ever been," Scahill says. "They [Iraqis] can't form a government. The vast majority of people don't have consistent access to potable water, to electricity, to gasoline... Iraq is a disaster right now."

    Former U.S. Soldiers Describe Indiscriminate Military Violence in Iraq

    by Anne Landman — August 4, 2010 - 1:08pm

    Three former American soldiers who served in Iraq are going public about the realities of the U.S. military occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they claim routine acts of excessive violence upon local citizens stem from the U.S. chain of command. Former Army Specialists Josh Stieber, Ray Corcoles and Ethan McCord say that they thought they were going to Iraq to help the Iraqi people and advance freedom and democracy.

    Main Source: 
    The Nation, August 16-23, 2010 edition

    It's the New, Improved Iraq War!

    by Anne Landman — February 21, 2010 - 2:11am

    The Pentagon is formally rebranding the Iraq war by changing its name from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to the sunnier "Operation New Dawn," to reflect the reduced role the American military is supposed to have in that country over the next year.

    Main Source: 
    AlterNet, February 20, 2010

    Do Contractors Count? Underestimating the War Dead

    by Anne Landman — October 9, 2009 - 1:56pm

    The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently released updated figures for the number of civilian contractors killed in American war zones since September 1, 2001. A minimum of 1,688 civilians have died, and there have been over 37,000 injuries reported among people working for U.S. contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan -- but the DOL acknowledges that the report is incomplete.

    Main Source: 
    ProPublica, October 9, 2009

    "Love IS Worth Fighting For" -- Lt. Dan Choi

    by Lisa Graves — October 4, 2009 - 8:29am
  • Topics: Iraq, Terrorism, Democracy, Gay / Lesbian, Human Rights

    • "Love is worth fighting for." That's how Lt. Dan Choi ended his remarks this weekend about his journey from West Point to Iraq to discharge under the continuing Pentagon policy of "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT). It really made me think about this deeply flawed policy I have opposed privately over the years. Because, as Lt. Choi distilled it so well, love is worth fighting for.

    He is one of only eight people in his graduating class at West Point who majored in Arabic, and so his story also brought home to me the gap between the rhetoric about the "global war on terror" (GWOT) and the reality, in a particular way. Since I left the government over four years ago, I have been speaking out about misplaced priorities involving terrorism, civil liberties, and human rights.

    An Army of One Viewpoint

    by Diane Farsetta — June 24, 2009 - 12:43pm

    U.S. Army officials have barred a reporter with the military newspaper Stars and Stripes "from embedding with a unit of the 1st Cavalry Division that is attempting to secure the violent city of Mosul" in Iraq. In the refusal letter to Stars and Stripes reporter Heath Druzin, an Army public affairs officer wrote that "Mr.

    Main Source: 
    Stars and Stripes, June 24, 2009

    Exporting U.S. PSYOP that Fools No One

    by Diane Farsetta — June 10, 2009 - 2:41pm

    U.S. military psychological operations (PSYOP) campaigns continue in Iraq, though many question their effectiveness. "They have a very crude tone and content, and the narrator sounds like Saddam's own propagandist," said political science professor As'ad AbuKhalil.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, June 7, 2009
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