Iraq

Bush Seeks Scapegoats for 'Mission Accomplished' Stunt

by John Stauber — October 28, 2003 - 11:00pm

As the propaganda that led America to attack Iraq continues to fall apart, President Bush is looking for scapegoats for his own PR stunts. "The triumphal 'Mission Accomplished' banner was the pride of the White House advance team, the image makers who set the stage for the president's close-ups.

Main Source:

New York Times, October 22, 2003

From Election Flack to War Flack and Back Again

by Sheldon Rampton — October 21, 2003 - 10:00pm

White House advisor Karl Rove has selected Jim Wilkinson, the 33-year-old Texan who headed communications and press relations for the U.S. Central Command in Qatar during the Iraq invasion, as communications director for the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.

Main Source:

Salon.com, October 22, 2003

Curtains for Coffins

by Sheldon Rampton — October 20, 2003 - 10:00pm

"Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets," writes Dana Milbank.

Main Source:

Washington Post, October 21, 2003

50 Lies To Tell the Public

by Sheldon Rampton — October 16, 2003 - 10:00pm

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner, a war gamer who has taught strategy and military operations at the National War College, has produced an analysis which suggests that the White House and Pentagon made up or distorted more than 50 news stories related to the war in Iraq. "It was not bad intelligence," Gardiner says. "It was much more. It was an orchestrated effort. It began before the war, was a major effort during the war and continues as post-conflict distortions. ... It was not just the Pentagon.

Main Source:

U.S. News & World Report, October 20, 2003

Painting a Smiley Face on Iraq

by Sheldon Rampton — October 16, 2003 - 10:00pm

"The U.S. government has launched a 'good news' offensive in Iraq, and a couple of Baghdad street kids, peddlers of soda pop, have been recruited for the first wave of attack," reports Charles J. Hanley. "On a two-day visit, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans said thousands of new businesses have sprung up here since the war, and gave an example of new entrepreneurship: two boys he spotted by the road selling soft drinks to Baghdad's parched drivers." As in past wars, "the government has unleashed a flood of news releases promoting the U.S.

Main Source:

Washington Post, October 17, 2003

"Nayirah" Handler Hypes Iraqi's Book on Lynch Rescue

by John Stauber — October 14, 2003 - 10:00pm

Iraq

Expect lots of media hype soon over the first Jessica Lynch-related book by Iraqi Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief. According to some reports he told U.S. Marines the location of the captured Private Lynch. He and his family were then HREF="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,85479,00.html" target="_blank">granted U.S. asylum. Along with the chance for U.S.

Main Source:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/17/1530239

Mind Games and Word Games

by Sheldon Rampton — October 12, 2003 - 11:31pm

The NATO Review has published an essay by Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Collins, the chief of PSYOPS (psychological operations) in NATO's Operations Division at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. Titled "Mind Games," the essay examines the use of "perception-management operations before, during and after Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Main Source:

NATO Review, Summer 2003

Moran Fondly Remembered

by Sheldon Rampton — October 12, 2003 - 10:00pm

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has aired a glowing memorial to Paul Moran, its cameraman who was killed in March by a suicide bomber while filming the war in Iraq. The broadcast features fond recollections from Moran's colleagues, friends and family, while glossing over and rationalizing Moran's work for the Rendon Group, the secretive PR firm that has worked behind the scenes to promote the U.S. foreign interventions in Iraq and elsewhere.

Main Source:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, October 13, 2003

Letters Home From a Ghostwriter

by Sheldon Rampton — October 10, 2003 - 10:00pm

"Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours," reports Ledyard King. "And all the letters are the same." A newspaper in Olympia, Washington noticed the pattern after receiving identically-worded letters from two different soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment.

Main Source:

The Olympian (WA), October 11, 2003

White House Buffs Image (Again)

by Laura Miller — October 9, 2003 - 10:00pm

Faced with falling poll numbers and domestic unease with the Iraq situation, the White House is again attempting to polish its image. "The Bush administration is undertaking a campaign to regenerate public support for its policies in Iraq, dispatching officials across the country to promote White House strategy and build momentum for its $87 billion proposal to rebuild the war-torn nation," Capitol Hill Blue reports.

Main Source:

Capitol Hill Blue, October 10, 2003