Submitted by Laura Miller on
A new study says the "Bush administration persistently manipulates scientific data to serve its ideology and protect the interests of its political supporters," the New York Times writes.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"Attorney General John Ashcroft is hitting the road to rally support for the Victory Act, which would further expand his powers to go after Al Qaeda and narcoterrorists," the New York Daily News reports. Ashcroft's 10-day tour will visit 20-states promoting his Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act. Critics say expanding Ashcroft's powers would further erode civil liberites.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Maverick ex-soldier David Hackworth believed the Bush administration's claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction until recently, but now he's steamed. "A whole bunch of folks here in the USA and around this beat-up globe are all worked up over George W. Bush's 16 shifty words in his 'Let's Do Saddam' State of the Union speech when they should be taking a harder look at the president's judgment on the most critical matter to a state: war," Hackworth writes. "Don't have heartburn over those 16 words.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"After several troops made some highly publicized negative comments to the media about the war effort in Iraq, the Pentagon has taken steps to keep the frustrations of both soldiers and their families out of reports," PR Week reports. "According to a story in the July 25 edition of Stars and Stripes, the military appears to be curtailing its much-touted embedded-journalist program, which has allowed reporters almost unfettered access to military units throughout the war and occupation.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
After much speculation, Ambassador to Morocco Margaret Tutwiler is finally returning to Washington to take Charlotte Beers' old post as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. Ad queen Beers stepped down among much criticisms in March. The Washington Post's Al Kamen writes that Tutwiler, who served as assistant secretary of state for public affairs for the elder Bush, "was most happy with her Morocco assignment -- apparently even with an occasional terrorist bomb going off -- and was said to be ambivalent about coming back.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
The Bush and Blair governments, straining to answer critics of the Iraq invasion, are pushing a new campaign. "The 'big impact' plan is designed to overwhelm and silence critics who have sought to put pressure on Tony Blair and George Bush," the Independent's Andrew Buncombe writes. "At the same time both men are working to lower the burden of proof - from finding weapons to finding evidence that there were programs to develop them, even if they lay dormant since the 1980s." Key to this new effort is former U.N.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Just in from the been there, done that department: "With anti-American sentiment rising worldwide, Bush administration officials say they are stepping up efforts to market America throughout the world," reports Michelle Orris. "Polls indicate that international opinion of the United States has plummeted in the last year, and worldwide sympathy for the United States after Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has all but dissipated."
Submitted by John Stauber on
Columnists for the Washington Times write that "the Pentagon adopted a new strategy in its search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. It is called the 'big impact' plan. The plan calls for gathering and holding on to all the information now being collected about the weapons. Rather than releasing its findings piecemeal, defense officials will release a comprehensive report on the arms, perhaps six months from now.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
The New Republic has interviewed an official who has read the 28 pages that the Bush administration is withholding from the recent congressional report on September 11. According to the official, the still-classified section of the report documents connections between the 9-11 terrorist attack and "the very top levels of the Saudi royal family. ... This week, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal flew to Washington for a hastily convened meeting with President Bush.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Americans' suspicion of official U.S. propaganda has a long history, observes John Brown, a former Foreign Service Officer. Brown traces this tradition to the public backlash against the campaign mounted by the Woodrow Wilson administration to promote support for U.S. entry into World War I.
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