Iraq

Witch Hunts And PR Blunders In The UK

by Laura Miller — July 21, 2003 - 10:00pm

"In England, they shot the messenger," the Los Angeles Times' Robert Scheer writes, referring to the apparent suicide of British biological weapons expert David Kelly. The scientist, who worked for the British Ministry of Defense, found himself at the center of a battle between the British government and the BBC over a BBC report that the government "sexed up" a September 2002 intelligence dossier on Iraq's weapons.

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Alternet, July 22, 2003

Hyping A Hero

by Laura Miller — July 21, 2003 - 10:00pm

"Jessica Lynch, the wounded Army private whose ordeal in Iraq was hyped into a media fiction of U.S. heroism, was set for an emotional homecoming on Tuesday in a rural West Virginia community bristling with flags, yellow ribbons and TV news trucks," Reuters reports. "But when the 20-year-old supply clerk arrives by Blackhawk helicopter to the embrace of family and friends, media critics say the TV cameras will not show the return of an injured soldier so much as a reality-TV drama co-produced by U.S. government propaganda and credulous reporters.

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Reuters, July 22, 2003

The War of Spin

by Sheldon Rampton — July 19, 2003 - 10:00pm

David Kelly, the scientist whose suicide marked a tragic twist in the unfolding controversy over British intelligence dossiers that supported the war in Iraq, was "ripped apart in the middle" of a "war of spin," said an editor at the British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC has come under intense criticism for its reports alleging that top British officials "sexed up" the dossiers, and now it is being criticized on grounds that its reports may have contributed to Kelly's suicide. "Yes, we had a role in it," the editor said.

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Daily Telegraph, July 20, 2003

Kelly's Suicide

by Sheldon Rampton — July 18, 2003 - 10:00pm

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is under pressure following the apparent suicide of Iraq weapons expert David Kelly.

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BBC, July 19, 2003

Baghdad Bulletin

by Sheldon Rampton — July 18, 2003 - 9:20am

The Baghdad Bulletin, a struggling but lively English-language publication whose British publishers began working almost immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein, offers a range of stories and perspectives about conditions inside the country.

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http://www.baghdadbulletin.com/

Dead But Not Counted

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

According to Thursday's press and television reports, 33 U.S. soldiers have died in combat since President Bush declared an end to the major fighting in the war on May 2. Actually the numbers are much worse -- and rarely reported by the media. According to official military records, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq since May 2 is actually 85. This includes a staggering number of non-combat deaths. "Even if killed in a non-hostile action, these soldiers are no less dead, their families no less aggrieved," observes Greg Mitchell.

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Editor & Publisher, July 17, 2003

Shut Up and Fight

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

General John Abizaid, the new chief of U.S. Central Command, has issued a threat aimed at U.S. soldiers who complain publicly about the situation in Iraq. "Some U.S. troops in Iraq have complained publicly about the uncertainty of when they are returning home," write Will Dunham and Michael Georgy. "A group of soldiers aired their concerns on U.S. television on Wednesday, speaking of poor morale and disillusionment with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

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ABC News, July 17, 2003

Playing With a Full Deck

by Sheldon Rampton — July 14, 2003 - 10:00pm

"A high school teacher, fed up with the Bush administration's popular playing cards featuring Saddam Hussein, 'Chemical Ali' and other most-wanted Iraqis, is now selling her own deck, 'Operation Hidden Agenda,'" writes Kim Curtis. "Kathy Eder's 55 playing cards show pictures of President Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others along with quotes, mostly from journalists, questioning the rationale for the U.S.-led war.

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Associated Press, July 15, 2003

Rewriting History

by Sheldon Rampton — July 14, 2003 - 10:00pm

"We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in." George W. Bush uttered that amazing sentence yesterday to justify the war in Iraq, according to the Washington Post. "Now a presidential statement so frontally at variance with the universally acknowledged facts obviously presents a problem for the White House press corps," comments Joe Conason.

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Salon.com, July 15, 2003

Bush Misled Public and Military About War In Iraq

by Laura Miller — July 12, 2003 - 10:00pm

"That the Bush administration misled the public is quite clear; what has
been less clear is that it also misled the military," William O'Rourke writes for the Chicago Sun-Times. "If, all along, the
cause and the aims of the war had been stated honestly, the military
would have prepared for the war they found: one where the regime was
toppled quickly and the population did more lasting damage to the
country's institutions and infrastructure than our forces did."

Main Source:

Chicago Sun-Times, July 13, 2003