Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"While the administration of President George W. Bush is aggressively positioning itself as the world leader in the war on terrorism, some families of the Sept. 11 victims say that the facts increasingly contradict that script," reports Eric Boehlert. "The White House long opposed the formation of a blue-ribbon Sept. 11 commission, some say, and even now that panel is underfunded and struggling to build momentum.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"The Pentagon may make it official policy to include journalists with U.S. military units headed for battle," the Associated Press's Matt Kelley reports. During a panel discussion on media coverage of the Iraq war, outgoing Pentagon spokesperson Victoria Clarke said that Pentagon officials were pleased with the results of embedding journalists with troops. Clarke said she would like to see more reporters accompany U.S. troops in the future, AP reports. "Transparency works," Clarke said. "The good news gets out.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Senator Carl Levin, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has publicly challenged the CIA's handling of information about alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. "Why did the CIA say that they had provided detailed information to the UN inspectors on all of the high and medium suspect sites with the UN, when they had not?" Levin asked. "Did the CIA act in this way in order not to undermine administration policy? Was there another explanation for this? ...
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"At the request of Congress, the State Department is launching an inquiry into its campaign to polish America's image in Muslim countries over the past two years," PR Week writes.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Five days before the war began in Iraq, Rand Beers resigned his White House job as special assistant to the president for combating terrorism. "The administration wasn't matching its deeds to its words in the war on terrorism. They're making us less secure, not more secure," Beers told reporter Laura Blumenfeld. "As an insider, I saw the things that weren't being done.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Victoria "Torie" Clarke is resigning from her position as Department of Defense assistant secretary for public affairs. Clarke says she's leaving her top spot as Pentagon spin doctor for personal reasons.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Derrick Z. Jackson examines the "numbing prattle" from US military officials "about the precision of our weaponry, precaution to avoid needless carnage, and promises to investigate possible mistakes." During the war, officials said pledged investigations into civilian casualties, but are now admitting that the "investigations" were never conducted. A recent Associated Press report counted more than 3,000 civilian deaths.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"President Bush's recent claim that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq highlights two disturbing trends in rhetoric from the White House," observes Bryan Keefer. The first "is the Bush administration's record of factual misstatements and distortions.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"The US army has launched a glossy patriotic magazine to rally its 3rd
Infantry Division, whose troops face hostile action in the badlands of
western Iraq a full two months after Saddam Hussein's ouster," Agence France-Press reports. "Called the 'Liberator', the 16-page in-house publication carries rousing reports from the field to win over homesick troops who might be doubting the rationale for the US presence more than six months after they first arrived
in Kuwait to train for the invasion."
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"Journalists and government officials complained last week that the Bush administration has virtually abandoned its public affairs operation in Baghdad," PR Week reports. "Moroccan ambassador Margaret Tutwiler was sent to oversee the operation in April after major hostilities ended. But according to administration sources, she returned to Morocco within a month.
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