Iraq

Saving Private Arnett

by Sheldon Rampton — November 10, 2002 - 11:00pm

Former CNN correspondent Peter Arnett is angling to return to Iraq before the war starts this winter, writes Michael Wolff. This time, however, Arnett is freelancing for CameraPlanet, an indie news-production unit. Wolff sees Arnett as the last of a dying breed, as real war correspondents disappear and are replaced by famous talking heads like Geraldo Rivera or Christiane Amanpour.

Main Source: 
New York Magazine, November 11, 2002

Journalist Helen Thomas Condemns Bush

by Sheldon Rampton — November 5, 2002 - 11:00pm

Veteran journalist Helen Thomas is angered by the Bush administration's "bullying drumbeat" of war. "Where is the outrage?" she said in a talk at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Where is Congress? They're supine! Bush has held only six press conferences, the only forum in our society where a president can be questioned. I'm on the phone to [press secretary] Ari Fleischer every day, asking will he ever hold another one? The international world is wondering what happened to America's great heart and soul. ... I do not absolve the press. We've rolled over and played dead, too."

Main Source: 
MIT News Office, November 6, 2002

War Party Gears Up for Post-Election Campaign

by Laura Miller — November 3, 2002 - 11:00pm

"As soon as the results of Tuesday's mid-term elections are known, a small group of influential right-wing hawks with close ties to the offices of Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney will launch a new political campaign to rally public support for the invasion of Iraq," writes Jim Lobe.

Main Source: 
Inter Press Service News, November 4, 2002

Behind the Placards

by Sheldon Rampton — October 31, 2002 - 11:00pm

"If public-opinion polls are correct, 33 percent to 40 percent of the public opposes an Iraq war; even more are against a unilateral action. This means the burgeoning anti-war movement has a large recruiting pool," writes David Corn. Most Americans, however, won't agree with the agenda of the Workers World Party, which organized the recent anti-war demonstration in Washington.

Main Source: 
LA Weekly, November 1-7, 2002

Is Big Oil Lubricating the Drive to War?

by Sheldon Rampton — October 29, 2002 - 11:00pm

Jeremy Rifkin examines news coverage of the Bush Administration's war drive on Iraq. "One can't help but be surprised by the almost total silence on the question of the 'oil connection,'" he writes. "Is it possible that United States political leaders and reporters, columnists, editors and producers are so naive that they really believe there is no other White House agenda in the Middle East except the one that the administration is extolling? Do they really believe that oil plays no role in the strategic thinking of the inner circles at the White House? ...

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Orlando Sentinel, October 30, 2002

Political Intelligence

by Sheldon Rampton — October 23, 2002 - 10:00pm

"As the White House searches for every possible excuse to go to war with Iraq," writes James Bamford, "pressure has been building on the intelligence agencies to deliberately slant estimates to fit a political agenda.

Main Source: 
USA Today, October 24, 2002

Hill and Knowlton Can't Escape Its Big Lie

by Sheldon Rampton — October 22, 2002 - 10:00pm

The Hill & Knowlton PR firm is still spreading lies about its deceptive PR campaign to promote war with Iraq in 1990. H&K vice president Vivian Lines has written a letter to the Singapore Business Times, protesting its report on how the PR firm helped concoct a false story about Iraqi troops throwing babies out of incubators. Business Times columnist John Gee stands by his story, as does every independent observer who has looked into the matter.

Main Source: 
Business Times (Singapore), October 23, 2002

Representing the Right

by Laura Miller — October 13, 2002 - 10:00pm

What do former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former CIA director James Woolsey, White House advisor Richard Perle, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, American Enterprise Institute's Michael Ledeen, and dissident Iraqi nuclear scientist Dr. Khidir Hamza have in common? For one thing, they all have the PR expertise of Eleana Benador behind them.

Main Source: 
Alternet, October 14, 2002

For or Against War, How to Talk Like a Democrat

by John Stauber — October 9, 2002 - 10:00pm

A memorandum from top spinmeisters provides advice, based on opinion polls, as to how Democratic Party members of Congress can explain their votes on the resolution giving President Bush the green light to attack Iraq -- whether the Democrat voted for or against war.

Main Source: 
New York Times, October 10, 2002

Don't Blame the American People

by Sheldon Rampton — October 6, 2002 - 10:00pm

A recent opinion poll shows that many Americans have serious misgivings about the war fever that currently dominates Washington politics. "A majority of Americans say that the nation's economy is in its worst shape in nearly a decade and that President Bush and Congressional leaders are spending too much time talking about Iraq while neglecting problems at home," reports the New York Times. "The number of Americans who approved of the way Mr.

Main Source: 
New York Times, October 7, 2002
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