Iraq

Show Me The Weapons

Submitted by Laura Miller on

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are asking the White House for more information behind its charges that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Reuters reports, "Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, said his panel would hold hearings on the issue, possibly along with the Senate Intelligence Committee, because 'the situation is becoming one where the credibility of the administration and Congress is being challenged.' Rep.

No
Main Source: 
Reuters, June 2, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq
Propaganda
U.S. Government

War on Iraq Reads Like One Big 'Wag the Dog' Tale

Submitted by John Stauber on

Columnist Paul Krugman compares the war on Iraq to the 1997 movie Wag the Dog, saying that "if you don't think it bears a resemblance to recent events, you're in denial" because "much of the supposed justification for the war turns out to have been fictional. The war was justified to the public by links between Saddam and Al Qaeda, and Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. No evidence of the Qaeda link has ever surfaced, and no W.M.D.'s that could have posed any threat to the U.S. or its allies have been found. ...

No
Main Source: 
May 30, 2003, New York Times
Topics: 
Iraq
Propaganda
U.S. Government

The Unseen War

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"Before arriving in Doha, I had spent hours watching CNN back home, and I was sadly reminded of the network's steady decline in recent years," writes Michael Massing. "Paula Zahn looked and talked like a cheerleader for the US forces; Aaron Brown kept reaching for the profound remark without ever finding it; Wolf Blitzer politely interviewed Washington's high and mighty, seldom asking a pointed question. None of them, however, appeared on the broadcasts I saw in Doha.

No
Main Source: 
New York Review of Books, May 29, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq
Journalism
International

Status Report on Iraq War Myths

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

In the wake of the war in Iraq, a number of questions have arisen about events during the war and Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Qaeda. Brendan Nyhan and Bryan Keefer sift through the evidence to date and attempt to separate spin from reality regarding events including the looting of Iraq's National Museum and the capture and rescue of Private Jessica Lynch.

No
Main Source: 
Spinsanity, May 28, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq
Rhetoric

APCO Paving Way For Contracts To Rebuild Iraq

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"APCO Worldwide, a Grey Global Group unit, has set up an Iraq reconstruction task force with a personnel roster of ex-government heavyweights to guide clients through the process of pursuing contracts," trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. "Marc Ginsberg, former special coordinator for Middle East and Mediterranean trade and economic policy and ambassador to Morocco who is a senior VP at APCO, is heading the team. The rebuilding advisement team includes Former Sen.

No
Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily, May 23, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq
Public Relations

Thought Crime in New Mexico

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

Several high school teachers in New Mexico have been suspended or fired after refusing to enforce pro-war views in their classrooms. Geoff Barrett, a teacher at Albuquerque's Highland High School, was suspended after refusing to remove student-made artwork expressing views on the recent U.S. war against Iraq.

No
Main Source: 
Albuquerque Tribune, May 20, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq
Democracy
Education
Human Rights

Defense Contractor 'Re-establishes' Iraq's Media

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"US efforts to re-establish Iraq's media hit a milestone last week as defense contractor Scientific Applications International (SAI) rolled out the country's first post-Saddam newspaper and original TV news program," PR Week reports. "The 30-minute nightly news show, staffed by Iraqi journalists formerly in exile, reportedly addresses concerns about electricity, water, and lawlessness in the region. The twice-weekly newspaper, al Sabah ("the Dawn"), began printing on Thursday with an initial run

No
Main Source: 
PR Week, May 19, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq
Media

Who Is the US Trying to Fool?

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"The situation in Iraq, even by friendly accounts, seems to be deteriorating," writes William Pfaff, "and unfriendly accounts in both the British and the French press are scathing." According to the international relief organization CARE, millions of people in Iraq are at risk as water and sewage systems crumble. "Many people do not have access to safe drinking water, and human waste is backing up and out of the drains in many parts of Baghdad," said CARE's Nick Southern.

No
Main Source: 
International Herald Tribune, May 17, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq

Two Wars In Iraq

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"There must have been two wars in Iraq. There was the war I saw and wrote about as a print journalist embedded with a tank company of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized). Then there was the war that many Americans saw, or wanted to see, on TV," writes Ron Martz , a former Marine and military-affairs reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I saw and wrote about a war that was confusing and chaotic, as are all wars. It was a war in which plans and missions changed almost daily - and on one occasion changed three times in an hour.

No
Main Source: 
Editor & Publisher, May 15, 2003
Topics: 
Iraq
Journalism

Pages

Subscribe to Iraq