IRAQ

Common Dreams: THE WAR, AS TOLD TO US

"Washington has constructed a simple, heroic narrative of freedom
and asked us to ignore the much messier human devastation and
tragedies of this war," novelist Diana Abu-Jaber writes in the
Washington Post of the U.S. war on Iraq. "There are angry outbursts
against America across the Middle East, and most Americans have
almost no idea why. ... Our news programming has been instrumental
in the marketing of this war. ... When I said on one radio show
that I've traveled throughout the Middle East as an American, with
American friends, and have felt nothing from the Arabs but
friendship and hospitality, I received an e-mail from one listener
who wrote, 'Don't you know that Arabs hate us? It's all over the
news.' Of course, if Arabs are systematically portrayed as an
essentially hate-filled people, that makes the marketing of a very
expensive war and occupation much easier to manage."