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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
The dramatic rescue of Private Jessica Lynch became one of the big moments of the war, but her Iraqi doctors say the rescue was staged. "We were surprised. Why do this? There was no military, there were no soldiers in the hospital," said Dr Anmar Uday, who worked at the hospital. "It was like a Hollywood film. They cried 'go, go, go', with guns and blanks without bullets, blanks and the sound of explosions.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"Now that the feel-good, flag-waving part of war is over, the real culprits, the commercial-broadcast media, are going to pack up and leave," says longtime war correspondent Chris Hedges. "What they've done is a huge disservice to the nation. They have no sense of responsibility to continue reporting as the story gets more complicated and difficult to report." The result, he fears, is that "we'll see Iraq in terms of flare-ups and incidents, without any context or sense of what's happening or why. That makes it difficult for us to have informed judgments."
Submitted by Laura Miller on
When George W. Bush visited the Santa Clara production facility of United Defense last week, most reports focused on Bush's praise for the company and its products. What wasn't covered was that the maker of the Bradley fighting vehicle and the Hercules tank recovery vehicle is controlled by the Carlyle Group and that George H.W. Bush is a paid adviser to United Defense. The Corporate Crime Reporter writes that the White House denied any impropriety in Bush Jr.'s visit to the plant.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
With George W. Bush proudly proclaiming victory in Iraq, many worldwide continue to ask, "Where are the weapons of mass destruction?"
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