War / Peace

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.

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. ...

The Electronic Intifada, a pro-Palestinian web site, has obtained and published a PR strategy document prepared for pro-Israel activists by Luntz Research Companies, which has provided similar polling and advice for Israel in the past.

"More than half of U.S. consumers say they would take into account whether a company is from a country that did not support the U.S. invasion of Iraq before buying stock, according to a Fleishman-Hillard/Wirthlin Worldwide poll of 1,000 adults," O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. "Consumers who advocate and have taken part in boycotts of goods made in those countries were found to be white, mid- to upper-income, conservative Republicans, according to the survey." There is some confusion, however, among those surveyed as to country of origin of many brands.