Iraq

Networks Largely Ignore War's Long-Term Impact

"Media have been quick to declare the U.S. war against Iraq a success, but
in-depth investigative reporting about the war's likely health and
environmental consequences has been scarce," media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting writes. "Two important issues getting
shortchanged in the press are the U.S.'s controversial use of cluster
bombs
and depleted uranium weapons.

INC Seeks Enhanced Credibility

"Burson-Marsteller is working to enhance the credibility of the Iraqi National Congress as it seeks to establish
itself as a legitimate force in postinvasion Iraq," writes The Holmes Report, a PR trade publication. "B-M has been working with the Congress, led by highprofile
Iraqi exile Ahmed Chalabi, since 1999, under a state department contract.

Counterterrorism and Risk Management Expert Takes Over In Iraq

A former State Department counterterrorism expert and crisis consulting CEO will step into the fray in Baghdad. Reuters reports L. Paul Bremer is replacing retired general Jay Garner as the top U.S. civilian official in postwar Iraq. Between 1986-89, Bremer served as President Ronald Reagan's ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism, "a post that made him responsible for crafting U.S. policies to combat terrorism." After leaving the State Department, Bremer worked at Kissinger Associates, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's consulting firm.

Selling the 9/11 President - Image Is Everything

"In a city where image is everything ... the White House has created an indelible, and formidable, image by having Bush land aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln to deliver a speech signaling the end of the military phase of the war with Iraq. ... The attention the event generated was a political consultant's dream, said Michael Deaver, who was President Ronald Reagan's White House image guru. ... Paul Begala, a former Clinton aide, called the flight a 'tax-subsidized commercial.' ...

Celebrity Speaks Out On Celebrities Speaking Out

"I'm so public about this because I've been asked to do so and because I painfully felt that the anti-war movement was being ignored," comedian and anti-war activist Janeane Garofalo told The Progressive's Elizabeth DiNovella. "It became abundantly clear that no one was getting on TV talking about this. ... I can't stand watching history roll right over us.

Two Different Languages

MSNBC correspondent Ashleigh Banfield was reprimanded by her network following a speech she gave at Kansas State University about U.S. news coverage of the war in Iraq. Too bad, because it was a pretty good speech. Banfield criticized the "glorious, wonderful picture" that the media painted of the war, saying it "wasn't journalism." But she also provided valuable insights into the "two different languages" with which the combatants on opposing sides of conflicts see the world.

How Bush Spun Iraq: It's Not Lies, It's Empahsis

Paul Krugman notes that, " 'We were not lying,' a Bush administration official told ABC News. 'But it was just a matter of emphasis.' ... Does it matter that we were misled into war? Some people say that it doesn't: we won, and the Iraqi people have been freed. But we ought to ask some hard questions - not just about Iraq, but about ourselves. ... Thanks to this pattern of loud assertions and muted or suppressed retractions, the American public probably believes that we went to war to avert an immediate threat --just as it believes that Saddam had something to do with Sept. 11.'

News By The Grace Of God

"The U.S. government this week launched its Arabic language satellite TV
news station for Muslim Iraq. It is being produced in a studio -- Grace Digital Media -- controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel," Washington D.C.-based journalists Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman report. According to its web site, Grace News Network is "dedicated to transmitting the evidence of God's presence in the world today. ...

Former Iraqi TV Anchors Criticize U.S. Produced News

Former television announcers from Iraqi state television have criticized the U.S. news broadcasts into the country. The New York Times reports that TV anchors, technicians, and others are trying to get Iraqi produced programming back on the air. "The anchors said that one of the reasons prompting them to return to work was what they considered the poor quality of nightly television broadcasts that the United States has started beaming into Iraq. ...

Road To War Paved With Disinformation and Falsehood

"The case for invading Iraq to remove its weapons of mass destruction was based on selective use of intelligence, exaggeration, use of sources known to be discredited and outright fabrication," The Independent writes. "A high-level UK source said last night that intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic were furious that briefings they gave political leaders were distorted in the rush to war with Iraq. Quoting an editorial in a Middle East newspaper which said, 'Washington has to prove its case.

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