Iraq

The Propaganda of William Safire

by Sheldon Rampton — February 23, 2004 - 11:00pm

"Found: A Smoking Gun," declared the headline by New York Times columnist William Safire, which claimed that a "clear link" had recently been found between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. But what did Safire base his case-closed pronouncement upon? A New York Times story that had appeared a day earlier. But the original Times story reached the opposite conclusion from Safire, stating that the recent discover not evidence of a link between al Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam.

Main Source:

The Nation, February 24, 2004

Halliburton's 'Bizarre Media Strategy'

by John Stauber — February 23, 2004 - 7:48am

"The chief executive of the Halliburton Company, Dave Lesar,
never imagined that he would be the star of his own
television commercial. But there he is, on the airwaves in
Washington and Houston, assuring viewers that his company
has billions of dollars in contracts to rebuild Iraq and
feed American troops 'because of what we know, not who we
know.' The unnamed 'who' is, of course, Vice President Dick
Cheney, Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 to 2000. ... The advertising, Mr.

Main Source:

New York Times,. Febuary 23, 2004

"Weapons of Mass Deception" A New Phrase of 2003

by John Stauber — February 22, 2004 - 11:00pm

"If you are a 'metrosexual,' you might also be into 'manscaping.' If you're a 'flexitarian,' no doubt you've tried 'tofurkey. These are among the top words of 2003, so named by the American Dialect Society at its annual conference in Boston recently. To translate: 'metrosexual,' the winner of 'the word or phrase which most colored the nation's language,' is a fashion-conscious heterosexual male, preoccupied with money, clothes and style, and 'manscaping' is male body-shaving.

Main Source:

Detroit News via Seattle Times, February 23, 2004

Thanks, Suckers

by Sheldon Rampton — February 18, 2004 - 11:00pm

"We are heroes in error," says Ahmed Chalabi, whose Iraqi National Congress was the source for much of the now-discredited information that served as the Bush administration's justification for war. "As far as we're concerned we've been entirely successful," Chalabi said. "That tyrant Saddam is gone and the Americans are in Baghdad.

Main Source:

Telegraph (UK), February 19, 2004

Hypocritical NY Times Hyped WMD

by John Stauber — February 17, 2004 - 11:00pm

"The New York Times offered a sharp editorial Tuesday critiquing the indisputable role of the White House in distorting the intelligence on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, and in stampeding Congressional and public opinion by spinning worst-case scenarios -- 'inflating them drastically' -- to justify an immediate invasion last March to repel an alleged imminent threat to the United States.

Main Source:

Editor & Publisher, February 18, 2004

Majority Believe Bush Lied, Exaggerated, on WMDs

by John Stauber — February 12, 2004 - 11:00pm

"Most Americans believe President Bush either lied or deliberately exaggerated evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in order to justify war, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The survey results, which also show declining support for the war in Iraq and for Bush's leadership in general, indicate the public is increasingly questioning the president's truthfulness -- a concern for Bush's political advisers as his reelection bid gets underway.

Main Source:

Washington Post, February 13, 2004

Memo Sheds Light on Pre-War Media Duping

by John Stauber — February 11, 2004 - 11:00pm

The New York Times has obtained a June, 2002, memo written by the Iraqi National Congress, the CIA front group that has been tutored and advised by John Rendon's PR firm and instrumental in the propaganda campaign advocating war with Iraq.

Main Source:

New York Times, February 12, 2004

Now They Tell Us

by Sheldon Rampton — February 10, 2004 - 10:29pm

"In recent months, US news organizations have rushed to expose the Bush administration's pre-war failings on Iraq," notes Michael Massing. "Watching and reading all this," he says, "one is tempted to ask, where were you all before the war? Why didn't we learn more about these deceptions and concealments in the months when the administration was pressing its case for regime change -- when, in short, it might have made a difference? Some maintain that the many analysts who've spoken out since the end of the war were mute before it. But that's not true.

Main Source:

New York Review Of Books

A Hard Sell

by Diane Farsetta — February 5, 2004 - 11:00pm

"You've heard a lot of Halliburton lately. Criticism is okay. We can take it." Thus opens a new television ad, part of the oil and gas services company's first public PR campaign.

Main Source:

Washington Post, February 6, 2004

How Bush Produced Phony Intelligence on Iraq

by John Stauber — February 2, 2004 - 11:00pm

Our best selling book Weapons of Mass Deception was the first to expose the aggressive public relations campaign used to sell the American public on the war with Iraq. Recent revelations by David Kay inspired our publisher to put out a news release with this headline: "Chief U.S.

Main Source:

Mother Jones, January/February, 2004