Iraq

Pro-War PR Front, Move America Forward, Caravanning to DC

by John Stauber — July 20, 2007 - 7:56am
  • Topics: Astroturf, Iraq, Front Groups, Terrorism, Public Relations, War / Peace

    • The pro-war front group Move America Forward has announced that it will caravan across the United States September 3 - 17 on a trip to DC to lobby for the war in Iraq.

    Bush's Pro-War Front Group, 'Vets for Freedom', Rallies with Republican Senators

    by John Stauber — July 17, 2007 - 10:28am
  • Topics: Astroturf, Activism, Iraq, Front Groups, Lobbying, U.S. Government, War / Peace

    • Vets for Freedom (VFF), the well-funded pro-war lobby group, is cranking-up its PR campaign on behalf of President Bush's war in Iraq with a news conference held July 17th in the US Capitol. A slate of pro-war Republican Senators including Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham, along with former Democratic (now independent) Senator Joe Lieberman, all participated with Pete Hegseth and other VFF lobbyists.

    In June 2006, I reported that:

    Citizen journalists on SourceWatch have been investigating and exposing the many Republican connections and the partisan pro-war political agenda behind Vets for Freedom,

    IraqSlogger Watches the Media

    by Sheldon Rampton — July 11, 2007 - 11:11am

    Veteran Iraq war correspondent Chris Albritton has begun writing a regular MediaWatch column for the recently-launched news website, IraqSlogger.com. Recent columns have examined the amount of U.S.

    From Bank to Tank: Wolfowitz Lands Back at AEI

    by Bob Burton — July 5, 2007 - 3:13pm

    One of the architects of the war in Iraq for the Bush Administration and former World Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz, has landed a role as a Visiting Scholar at the conservative think tank, the American Enterprise Institute.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, July 3, 2007

    No Slammer for Scooter

    by Sheldon Rampton — July 3, 2007 - 12:05am

    Following the news that President Bush has commuted the 2 1/2-year prison sentence of I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, Brad DeLong is highlighting a column written two weeks ago by Jeff Lomonaco, which predicted this outcome.

    Main Source: 
    Brad DeLong's Semi-daily Journal, July 3, 2007

    You Say Iraqi, I Say Al Qaeda

    by Sheldon Rampton — June 29, 2007 - 12:13am

    Glenn Greenwald and Joshua Micah Marshall are calling out the mainstream media for uncritically parroting the Bush administration's new strategy of referring to Iraqi insurgents as "Al Qaeda." Greenwald writes, "What is so amazing about this new rhetorical development — not only from our military, but also from our 'journalists' — is that, for years, it was too shameless and false even for the Bush administration to use.

    Main Source: 
    Salon.com, June 23, 2007

    What We Still Don't Know

    by Sheldon Rampton — June 26, 2007 - 9:50am

    According to a new poll by Newsweek, "Even today, more than four years into the war in Iraq, as many as four in 10 Americans (41 percent) still believe Saddam Hussein's regime was directly involved in financing, planning or carrying out the terrorist attacks on 9/11, even though no evidence has surfaced to support a connection. A majority of Americans were similarly unable to pick Saudi Arabia in a multiple-choice question about the country where most of the 9/11 hijackers were born. Just 43 percent got it right -- and a full 20 percent thought most came from Iraq."

    Main Source: 
    Newsweek, June 23, 2007

    The Pentagon Gets Its Own Tony Snow

    by Diane Farsetta — June 19, 2007 - 2:14pm

    Citing an unnamed "senior administration official," The Politico reports that Geoff Morrell, "previously a White House correspondent for ABC News, has been hired as the Defense Department's on-camera briefer. ... The official said that a working journalist was chosen by Defense Secretary Robert M.

    Main Source: 
    The Politico, June 18, 2007

    Military PR To Recruit Bodies, Hearts and Minds

    by Diane Farsetta — June 12, 2007 - 3:24pm

    "Army Strong, as the Army's latest recruiting campaign is called ... has a definite emphasis on electronic communications, from opportunities to chat live on the Web site with soldiers ... to interactive sections showing what boot camp is like, the different specialties the Army trains people for, and more," writes PR Week.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week, June 4, 2007

    Giving the (Purple) Finger to Democracy

    by John Stauber — June 7, 2007 - 6:48am

    In the U.S., fewer than half of eligible voters do vote, elections are determined by big money, sitting politicians almost always win re-election, and opinion surveys show a frightening willingness to sacrifice fundamental human rights for governmental promises of security. It's not surprising, then, that U.S.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, June 7, 2007
    Syndicate content