WAR ON IRAK

Rense: US Information War - Analysis

It wasn't supposed to go like this, reporter Linda Diebel writes in today's Toronto Star. "On the weekend, these weren't supposed to be the television images of Operation Iraqi Freedom: frightened U.S. prisoners-of-war being held in Iraq; a grainy still of slain American soldiers lying on a floor; reporters explaining friendly fire incidents like the downing of a British warplane; and the stark image of a 101st Airborne soldier on the ground, taken prisoner by his own troops after grenades were tossed into officers' tents in Kuwait with deadly results.

"These grim, morale-destroying images weren't supposed to be there because the Bush administration thought it could control media war coverage."

In his decision to overrule Pentagon generals and "embed" 529 media personnel with advancing U.S. and British troops and put tough restrictions on their reporting, Bush urged White House spin-doctors to get out the news "in a coordinated way that reflects our efforts."

Despite their best efforts, they are.

Acting more like a Reichmarshall then Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld furiously warned it would be "unfortunate" for U.S. networks to air footage of American prisoners of war - even as the same images were being relentlessly beamed to the 95% of the world living outside U.S. borders.

Almost desperately, Rumsfeld repeatedly urged Americans not to believe what they were seeing with their own eyes. "The images on television tend to leave the impression that we're bombing Baghdad," he said. "The coalition forces are not bombing Baghdad."

At scripted press briefings at the White House, where America's top "journalists" read pre-approved questions, stern-faced government minders are shown on FOX News checking off each recited sentence on clipboards. But in Qatar, the U.S. Central Command has sought a wide mix of reporters, from Al-Jazeera and European networks to the Rolling Stone.

Big mistake.

In a detonation that stunned American viewers with its preview of questions to come, a reporter who neglected to identify himself for potential reprisals asked why the U.S. military was bombing the people it claimed to be liberating.

While Americans remain squeamish over viewing the results of their unprovoked attack on Iraq, in this information hyper-war Al Jazeera's candid cameras are already inflicting heavy casualties on U.S. credibility.

Just yesterday, Arab television footage of purported dead American GIs was followed by interviews with five U.S. prisoners after Pentagon officials confirmed at least 10 soldiers had been killed and up to 12 were missing following ambushes near the key southern city of Nasiriyah.

Despite repeatedly displaying dispirited Iraqi prisoners of war on American channels, Arab broadcasts showing American POWs are being denounced by Bush and coalition commanders as "violations of the Geneva Convention