Iraq

"In its letters to Private Lynch's family and officials at the medical center, obtained by The New York Times, CBS News combined its pitch for a two-hour documentary with many other projects envisioned by the other divisions of its corporate parent,
Viacom. In the process, CBS renewed concerns among critics about the independence of news divisions owned by media giants.

Derrick Z. Jackson examines the "numbing prattle" from US military officials "about the precision of our weaponry, precaution to avoid needless carnage, and promises to investigate possible mistakes." During the war, officials said pledged investigations into civilian casualties, but are now admitting that the "investigations" were never conducted. A recent Associated Press report counted more than 3,000 civilian deaths.

"The US army has launched a glossy patriotic magazine to rally its 3rd
Infantry Division, whose troops face hostile action in the badlands of
western Iraq a full two months after Saddam Hussein's ouster," Agence France-Press reports. "Called the 'Liberator', the 16-page in-house publication carries rousing reports from the field to win over homesick troops who might be doubting the rationale for the US presence more than six months after they first arrived
in Kuwait to train for the invasion."
Specialist Jacob Boyer said in the 5,000-copy launch edition, "Forget about weapons.

The Bush administration distorted intelligence and presented conjecture as evidence to justify a US invasion of Iraq, said Greg Thielmann, who served as director of the strategic, proliferation, and military issues office in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research during the months before the war. "What disturbs me deeply is what I think are the disingenuous statements made from the very top about what the intelligence did say," said Thielmann. "The area of distortion was greatest in the nuclear field."