Iraq

Whistleblowers Treated Like Terrorists

by Sheldon Rampton — August 27, 2007 - 9:53pm

"One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted. Or worse," reports Deborah Hastings.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, August 26, 2007

Republican Lobby Firm BGR Undercuts Iraqi Leader al-Maliki

by Diane Farsetta — August 23, 2007 - 2:40pm

"Republican lobbyists with close ties to the Bush administration are aiding and supporting the efforts of an Iraqi opposition leader who is calling for the ouster of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki," reports IraqSlogger.

Main Source: 
IraqSlogger, August 23, 2007

The Pro-War Lobby's Latest Addition is Freedom's Watch

by John Stauber — August 22, 2007 - 8:27pm
  • Topics: Right Wing, Iraq, Front Groups, Pundits, Terrorism, Lobbying, Politics, Propaganda, War / Peace

    • The business of pro-war propaganda is booming as "Freedom's Watch" joins Vets for Freedom, Move America Forward and other pro-war advocates for a stepped up war in Iraq in line with the Bush/Cheney Global War on Terror.

    Ari Fleischer, former White House PR flack who jumped ship into the private sector shortly after the 2003 US invasion, is the public face and a founding board member of Freedom's Watch, which is being rolled out this week with emotional advertisements featuring wounded veterans imploring Americans to keep the money flowing for the occupation.

    One such advertisement is up on YouTube. Once again the war in Iraq is being falsely linked to and justified by the terror attacks of 9/11, one of the Bush Administration's Big Lies that was was used to mislead America into war. In the Freedom's Watch advertisment on YouTube a war vet with prosthetic legs beseeches:

    Iraq: The "Gift" That Keeps On Bleeding

    by John Stauber — August 20, 2007 - 10:24pm
  • Topics: Left Wing, Iraq, U.S. Congress, Politics, War / Peace

    • Shortly after the November 2006 election the Democracy Alliance, an exclusive group of about 100 Democratic Party millionaire activists, met in Miami, Florida. Members and their guests heard their keynote speaker and liberal legend Mario Cuomo analyze the Democratic Party in the wake of its stunning electoral victories that had given Democrats control of the US Congress. Cuomo criticized the Democratic Party for lacking vision, big ideas and a winning political argument. His recipe for future Democratic victories was simple: "You seize the biggest idea you can, the biggest idea you can understand. And this is what moves elections."

    Cuomo then dared to voice an inconvenient truth: "Now it's 2006 and we're all rejoicing. Why? Because of Iraq. A GIFT. A gift to the Democrats. A lot of whom voted for the war anyway." The former New York governor challenged his partisan audience, "If Iraq is not an issue, then what issues do we have to talk about? … Where does that leave you? It leaves you in the same position you were in in 2004 – without an issue. Because you have no big idea."

    American Legion and VFW Launch Pro-War Lobby & PR Campaigns

    by John Stauber — August 16, 2007 - 9:22am

    The Boston Globe reports "the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation's oldest and most influential veterans' organizations, have broken their relative silence on the merits of the Iraq war, joining some of the staunchest war supporters to lobby Congress and the public...

    Main Source: 
    Boston Globe, August 16, 2007

    Petraeus as Puppet

    by Sheldon Rampton — August 15, 2007 - 7:12pm

    In recent months, President Bush has deflected questions about progress in Iraq with statements like, "I'm going to wait for .

    Main Source: 
    Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2007

    SourceWatch Tracks the Pro-War Lobby and Vets for Freedom

    by John Stauber — August 15, 2007 - 9:37am
  • Topics: Citizen Journalism, Right Wing, Iraq, Front Groups, Terrorism, Third Party Technique, U.S. Congress, Lobbying, Public Relations, War / Peace

    • SourceWatch citizen journalist Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a dogged and prolific investigator of the pro-war lobby. AI began digging into the pro-war front group Vets for Freedom in June 2006. AI's research exposing the neoconservative agenda and Republican operatives behind VFF has been used by scores of journalists. Just do a Google search for "Vets for Freedom" and you'll find AI's work in our SourceWatch article right at the top of your returns, next to the VFF's own website.

    Pro-war funding appears plentiful for VFF as it gears up to lobby Congress in September. Here's some of the latest from AI and the VFF article on SourceWatch:

    Cheney Says the Q Word

    by Sheldon Rampton — August 15, 2007 - 12:59am

    "It's not the first time that citizen 'investigative journalists' have uncovered some embarrassing, or telling, nugget from the past that apparently remained buried for years," writes Editor and Publisher magazine.

    Main Source: 
    Editor and Publisher, August 13, 2007

    Vets for Freedom and VoteVets Are "Valuable Public Relations Tools" for Politicians

    by John Stauber — August 14, 2007 - 9:07am

    The Associated Press examines two dueling partisan lobby groups composed of military veterans, "valuable public relations tools" for politicians in the debate over the war in Iraq. VoteVets "has spent about $850,000 this year on political ads. ... Its board of advisers includes ...

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, August 14, 2007

    Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary Grows

    by Bob Burton — August 14, 2007 - 5:06am

    A lawsuit against airservices company Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., has been re-filed to include two more victims of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's extraordinary rendition program. In December 2002, Bisher al-Rawi was kidnapped from Gambia and flown to a secret U.S. prison in Afghanistan and then the Bagram airbase.

    Main Source: 
    Chicago Tribune, August 2, 2007
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