Iraq

Coming Clean at the Times

by Sheldon Rampton — May 29, 2004 - 10:00pm

The New York Times, which published a mea culpa on May 26 for its flawed reporting that helped promote war fever against Iraq, has now published a second, harder-hitting self-criticism by Times ombudsman Daniel Okrent. "The failure was not individual, but institutional," Okrent writes. "War requires an extra standard of care, not a lesser one.

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New York Times, May 30, 2004

It's About Times ...

by Diane Farsetta — May 25, 2004 - 10:00pm

Declaring "it is past time" to shine "the bright light of hindsight ... on ourselves," The New York Times assessed its pre-war and early invasion Iraq coverage as "in most cases ...

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New York Times, May 26, 2004

As the Coalition Crumbles

by Diane Farsetta — May 23, 2004 - 10:00pm

A leaked internal British Foreign Office memo warns: "Heavy-handed U.S. military tactics in Fallujah and Najaf ...

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The Independent (UK), May 24, 2004

Utterly Out of Favor

by Diane Farsetta — May 19, 2004 - 10:00pm

"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.

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CounterPunch, May 20, 2004

No More Money for Chalabi

by Sheldon Rampton — May 17, 2004 - 10:00pm

"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.

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New York Times, May 18, 2004

USA Today Cracks First

by Sheldon Rampton — May 12, 2004 - 10:00pm

USA Today has become the first major U.S. newspaper to publish a call for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, with USA Today's founder Al Neuharth editorializing that the war is "the biggest military mess miscreated in the Oval Office and miscarried by the Pentagon in my 80-year lifetime." In addition, Neuharth advises President Bush to take a cue from Lyndon B. Johnson and announce that he will not run for re-election.

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USA Today, May 13, 2004

Yet Another Mission Impossible

by Diane Farsetta — May 12, 2004 - 10:00pm

"Few would debate that the U.S.-led coalition needs some potent PR in Iraq," writes Clayton Collins.

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Christian Science Monitor, May 13, 2004

False Dichotomies

by Diane Farsetta — May 10, 2004 - 10:00pm

U.S. prisoners of war during the first Gulf War "are criticizing the Bush administration for fighting their compensation claims while planning to compensate the Iraqi victims of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison," reports The Hill.

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The Hill, May 11, 2004

The Power of Pictures

by Sheldon Rampton — May 6, 2004 - 10:00pm

"By many accounts, the horrible treatment of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers and mercenaries has been going on ever since the end of the invasion," notes Dan Gillmor. "The Red Cross warned U.S. officials a year ago. Yet it took those appalling photographs to turn this into the huge story that it's become.

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Dan Gillmor Journal, May 7, 2004
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