U.S. Government

Bush Faces Increasingly Poor Image Overseas

"The messages from U.S. embassies around the globe have become urgent and disturbing," reports the Washington Post. "Many people in the world increasingly think President Bush is a greater threat to world peace than Iraqi President Saddam Hussein."

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Can a PR Front Group Run Iraq?

PR Watch has previously written about the origins of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) as a PR front group created by the Rendon Group, which has nevertheless become the Bush administration's preferred source for "intelligence" about Iraq. Now an internal fight is bubbling over INC's plan to actually become the government of Iraq after a U.S. invasion.

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Homeland Security's "Get Ready Now" Gets PR Help

"Ruder Finn designed the Dept. of Homeland Security's www.ready.gov website and brochure that provides tips on how to prepare against a biological, radiation or nuclear attack," O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. "Ruder Finn wants to be 'clear and accurate' in giving tips to cope with terror attacks. 'We worked with the Ad Council on its Smokey the Bear campaign, and AC staffers recommended us for the Homeland Security work,' said [Ruder Finn senior VP Scott] Schneider.

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U.S. Fanzine for Young Arabs

The latest plan from U.S. State Department propagandist Charlotte Beers is a "consumer lifestyle" magazine to be published in Arabic. The magazine "will avoid politics and instead focus on topics of common interest to American and Arab cultures, including education, careers, family, technology, music and health. ... The magazine, according to a State Department official, is meant to foster dialogue with young Arabs and dispel some of the 'misperceptions' they may have about the United States.

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Patriot Act II

One sequel that's not receiving much media attention is the "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003," a follow up to the "USA Patriot Act of 2001." The Center for Public Integrity obtained a copy of the draft legislation that had been secretly prepared by the Justice Department.

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Lying Us Into War

"President George W. Bush and his foreign-policy team have systematically and knowingly deceived the American people in order to gain support for an unprovoked attack on Iraq," writes writer and college communications instructor Dennis Hans, who tallies 15 "techniques of deceit" that Bush has used "to deceive the very people most inclined to trust him."

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The Truth Behind Powell's "Poison Factory"

"If Colin Powell were to visit the shabby military compound at the foot of a large snow-covered mountain, he might be in for an unpleasant surprise," reports Luke Harding. "The US Secretary of State last week confidently described the compound in north-eastern Iraq - run by an Islamic terrorist group Ansar al-Islam - as a 'terrorist chemicals and poisons factory.' Yesterday, however, it emerged that the terrorist factory was nothing of the kind - more a dilapidated collection of concrete outbuildings at the foot of a grassy sloping hill.

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A Skeptic's Battle Cry: 'Remember Nayirah!'

The Wisconsin State Journal advocates a US attack on Iraq, but WSJ columnist George Hesselberg remembers 'Nayirah.' He recently wrote a column suggesting "perhaps we should question some of the evidence being gathered to justify an invasion of Iraq. The column was not appreciated by several readers, including ... Teddy Fedkenheuer, of Baraboo: 'To either accuse or blame an American President of lying to the American people ... is un-American. ... You are also implying that his stand on Iraq is also 'smoke and mirrors.' I find that offensive.' ...

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