WAR ON IRAK
Guardian: Forces enter demilitarised zone
Allied forces today moved into the demilitarised zone straddling the Iraq-Kuwait border in preparation for the imminent attack on Iraq, Kuwaiti security sources cited by Reuters said.
Convoys of British and US tanks and fighting vehicles have been snaking through sandstorms in the Kuwaiti desert, making their way towards the Iraq border.
Only a few hours remain before the US ultimatum to the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, to flee the country reaches its deadline at 0115 GMT early tomorrow. Baghdad has unequivocally rejected it.
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
WAR ON IRAK
Spiegel: Lauschangriff auf deutsche und französische EU-Büros
In deutschen und französischen EU-Büros wurden elektronische "Wanzen" gefunden. Für den Lauschangriff, den die Europäische Union bereits bestätigt hat, sollen nach Informationen einer französischen Zeitung die USA verantwortlich sein.
Brüssel - EU-Sprecher Dominique-George Marro bestätigte am Mittwoch den Wanzenfund und erklärte, Ermittlungen seien eingeleitet worden. Es gebe aber noch keine Hinweise, wer die Wanzen in den Brüsseler Büros angebracht habe. Marro bestätige damit teilweise einen Bericht der französischen Zeitung "Le Figaro".
Das Gebäude, in dem die Wanzen gefunden wurden, soll ab Donnerstag Schauplatz eines Gipfeltreffens der europäischen Staatschefs sein. Auch in Räumen anderer Staaten seien Abhöranlagen entdeckt worden. Marro sprach von "Abweichungen in den Telefonanlagen". Sie seien bei einer Sicherheitsüberprüfung vor wenigen Tagen aufgefallen.
Sollten sich die Vorwürfe bestätigen, wäre es innerhalb kurzer Zeit der zweite peinliche Abhörskandal, in den die USA verwickelt sind. Erst vor zwei Wochen veröffentlichte eine britische Zeitung ein internes Dossier eines US-Geheimdienstes, das besagt, die USA überwachten in großem Stil die Vertreter zahlreicher Staaten bei den Vereinten Nationen in New York.
Spiegel: Lauschangriff auf deutsche und französische EU-Büros
In deutschen und französischen EU-Büros wurden elektronische "Wanzen" gefunden. Für den Lauschangriff, den die Europäische Union bereits bestätigt hat, sollen nach Informationen einer französischen Zeitung die USA verantwortlich sein.
Brüssel - EU-Sprecher Dominique-George Marro bestätigte am Mittwoch den Wanzenfund und erklärte, Ermittlungen seien eingeleitet worden. Es gebe aber noch keine Hinweise, wer die Wanzen in den Brüsseler Büros angebracht habe. Marro bestätige damit teilweise einen Bericht der französischen Zeitung "Le Figaro".
Das Gebäude, in dem die Wanzen gefunden wurden, soll ab Donnerstag Schauplatz eines Gipfeltreffens der europäischen Staatschefs sein. Auch in Räumen anderer Staaten seien Abhöranlagen entdeckt worden. Marro sprach von "Abweichungen in den Telefonanlagen". Sie seien bei einer Sicherheitsüberprüfung vor wenigen Tagen aufgefallen.
Sollten sich die Vorwürfe bestätigen, wäre es innerhalb kurzer Zeit der zweite peinliche Abhörskandal, in den die USA verwickelt sind. Erst vor zwei Wochen veröffentlichte eine britische Zeitung ein internes Dossier eines US-Geheimdienstes, das besagt, die USA überwachten in großem Stil die Vertreter zahlreicher Staaten bei den Vereinten Nationen in New York.
WAR ON IRAK
Spiegel: USA wollen muslimische Asylanten einsperren
Washington - Nach einer neuen Anordnung des Ministeriums von Tom Ridge werden künftig Asylsuchende in den USA in Gewahrsam genommen - wenn sie aus einem der 33 vorwiegend muslimischen Länder stammen, die auf einer geheimen Liste stehen. Die vorübergehende Verhaftungsanweisung ist Teil der "Operation Liberty Shield" (Operation Schutzschild der Freiheit), die am Dienstag in Kraft getreten ist und verschiedene Sicherheitsmaßnahmen innerhalb der USA umfasst.
Die Operation Freiheitsschild nehme den Opfern von Menschenrechtsverletzungen eben die Freiheit, die sie in den USA suchten, sagte William F. Schulz, Geschäftsführer von Amnesty International USA. "Eine Operation 'Freiheitsschild' zu nennen, die Asylsuchenden die Freiheit verweigert, hat Orwellsche Züge." Kritik kam auch von Edward M. Kennedy, der für die Demokraten im Senat sitzt. "Programme, die bestimmte Bevölkerungsgruppen nach Religion, Volkszugehörigkeit oder nationaler Abstammung aussondern, sind falsch, kurzsichtig und gaukeln nur eine Illusion von Sicherheit vor", so Kennedy.
"Welcome To The 4th Reich"
Spiegel: USA wollen muslimische Asylanten einsperren
Washington - Nach einer neuen Anordnung des Ministeriums von Tom Ridge werden künftig Asylsuchende in den USA in Gewahrsam genommen - wenn sie aus einem der 33 vorwiegend muslimischen Länder stammen, die auf einer geheimen Liste stehen. Die vorübergehende Verhaftungsanweisung ist Teil der "Operation Liberty Shield" (Operation Schutzschild der Freiheit), die am Dienstag in Kraft getreten ist und verschiedene Sicherheitsmaßnahmen innerhalb der USA umfasst.
Die Operation Freiheitsschild nehme den Opfern von Menschenrechtsverletzungen eben die Freiheit, die sie in den USA suchten, sagte William F. Schulz, Geschäftsführer von Amnesty International USA. "Eine Operation 'Freiheitsschild' zu nennen, die Asylsuchenden die Freiheit verweigert, hat Orwellsche Züge." Kritik kam auch von Edward M. Kennedy, der für die Demokraten im Senat sitzt. "Programme, die bestimmte Bevölkerungsgruppen nach Religion, Volkszugehörigkeit oder nationaler Abstammung aussondern, sind falsch, kurzsichtig und gaukeln nur eine Illusion von Sicherheit vor", so Kennedy.
"Welcome To The 4th Reich"
WAR ON IRAK: DER KRIEG HAT BEGONNEN
Times Online: First shots fired at sea as allied battle plan unfolds
THE first shots of the war have been fired, killing at least one Iraqi during a suspected operation to mine the waters off Kuwait. But that opening skirmish is about to be dwarfed by the most formidable military assault in modern warfare: 250,000 British and American troops — backed by more than 1,000 aircraft, 400 tanks and a 110-strong armada — are poised to unleash their awesome power on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq the moment the order is given.
The first clash occurred in the mouth of the Khawr al-Zubayr river, a few miles south of the port of Umm Qasr, when a Kuwaiti gunboat challenged a flotilla of about 25 Iraqi dhows. The boats failed to respond and the Kuwaitis opened fire. It was unclear whether the dhows had laid any mines.
Times Online: First shots fired at sea as allied battle plan unfolds
THE first shots of the war have been fired, killing at least one Iraqi during a suspected operation to mine the waters off Kuwait. But that opening skirmish is about to be dwarfed by the most formidable military assault in modern warfare: 250,000 British and American troops — backed by more than 1,000 aircraft, 400 tanks and a 110-strong armada — are poised to unleash their awesome power on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq the moment the order is given.
The first clash occurred in the mouth of the Khawr al-Zubayr river, a few miles south of the port of Umm Qasr, when a Kuwaiti gunboat challenged a flotilla of about 25 Iraqi dhows. The boats failed to respond and the Kuwaitis opened fire. It was unclear whether the dhows had laid any mines.
WAR ON IRAK
Guardian: Taking diplomacy to the wire
Leaked transcripts of telegrams from Spain's UN ambassador offer a behind-the-scenes insight into what happened at one of the most crucial points in the institution's recent history, writes Giles Tremlett
Monday March 17, 2003
So what has been happening behind the closed doors of the United Nations security council in New York during what some consider to be its final outing as a place for meaningful decision-making about what happens in the world?
With efforts to build UN consensus on Iraq dead in the water, Spanish officials have conveniently leaked documents that show what happened last week as the UN ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, tried to persuade the waverers on the security council to back a slightly toned down second resolution that would add greater legitimacy to war.
The documents - telegrams sent from Spanish UN ambassador, Inocencio Arias, to his boss, the foreign minister, Ana Palacio - showed that Britain was virtually alone among its allies in its attempts to salvage the UN route.
They painted a picture of a hyperactive security council whose members were gripped by a fevered nervousness as the Iraq drama was played out. The documents will, if the doomsayers are correct, provide historians with a useful view of what actually happened when the UN security council finally reached one of the most crucial points in its history.....
Guardian: Taking diplomacy to the wire
Leaked transcripts of telegrams from Spain's UN ambassador offer a behind-the-scenes insight into what happened at one of the most crucial points in the institution's recent history, writes Giles Tremlett
Monday March 17, 2003
So what has been happening behind the closed doors of the United Nations security council in New York during what some consider to be its final outing as a place for meaningful decision-making about what happens in the world?
With efforts to build UN consensus on Iraq dead in the water, Spanish officials have conveniently leaked documents that show what happened last week as the UN ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, tried to persuade the waverers on the security council to back a slightly toned down second resolution that would add greater legitimacy to war.
The documents - telegrams sent from Spanish UN ambassador, Inocencio Arias, to his boss, the foreign minister, Ana Palacio - showed that Britain was virtually alone among its allies in its attempts to salvage the UN route.
They painted a picture of a hyperactive security council whose members were gripped by a fevered nervousness as the Iraq drama was played out. The documents will, if the doomsayers are correct, provide historians with a useful view of what actually happened when the UN security council finally reached one of the most crucial points in its history.....
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Palestine Chronicle: Florida US Senate Candidate Calls on Bush to Extradite, Execute Killers of Rachel Corrie
NEW YORK - Nationally syndicated conservative radio columnist Andy Martin demanded today that President Bush seek the extradition and criminal prosecution of the Israeli soldiers who killed an American college student Sunday in Occupied Gaza. Martin predicts that anti-Semitism will result if Bush allows Israelis to murder American peace volunteers.
"For over two years the homicidal psychopaths in the Sharon regime have been murdering Palestinians. President Bush clapped his hands and encouraged this slaughter. Now Israeli storm troopers have deliberately and wantonly murdered a peace-loving young American. She becomes a martyr to the blood lust of Ariel Sharon. I demand-the whole world demands-that Bush extradite these Israeli killers and seek their execution in the United States. Federal law mandates that Bush act.
"During the past week there has been a firestorm of protest concerning the ill-advised and inaccurate remarks of Rep. James Moran (see Andy Martin's statement dated March 16, 2003 on this topic, available by request). Ariel Sharon has responded to a sensitive moment by assassinating an American student. Israeli terrorism is no less a threat to world peace than any other form of terrorism. Bush has encouraged Israeli murderers; now he has American blood on his hands. I say bring the while Israeli junta to Alexandra, Virginia and put them on trial," says Martin.
Palestine Chronicle: Florida US Senate Candidate Calls on Bush to Extradite, Execute Killers of Rachel Corrie
NEW YORK - Nationally syndicated conservative radio columnist Andy Martin demanded today that President Bush seek the extradition and criminal prosecution of the Israeli soldiers who killed an American college student Sunday in Occupied Gaza. Martin predicts that anti-Semitism will result if Bush allows Israelis to murder American peace volunteers.
"For over two years the homicidal psychopaths in the Sharon regime have been murdering Palestinians. President Bush clapped his hands and encouraged this slaughter. Now Israeli storm troopers have deliberately and wantonly murdered a peace-loving young American. She becomes a martyr to the blood lust of Ariel Sharon. I demand-the whole world demands-that Bush extradite these Israeli killers and seek their execution in the United States. Federal law mandates that Bush act.
"During the past week there has been a firestorm of protest concerning the ill-advised and inaccurate remarks of Rep. James Moran (see Andy Martin's statement dated March 16, 2003 on this topic, available by request). Ariel Sharon has responded to a sensitive moment by assassinating an American student. Israeli terrorism is no less a threat to world peace than any other form of terrorism. Bush has encouraged Israeli murderers; now he has American blood on his hands. I say bring the while Israeli junta to Alexandra, Virginia and put them on trial," says Martin.
WAR ON IRAK
Independent: Robert Fisk: In vain, I looked for signs of the storm to come. Baghdad is a city sleepwalking to war
For Baghdad, it is night number 1,001, the very last few hours of fantasy. As UN inspectors prepared to leave the city in the early hours of this morning, Saddam Hussein has appointed his own son, Qusay, to lead the defence of the city of the Caliphs against the American invasion. Yet at the Armed Forces club yesterday, I found the defenders playing football. Iraqi television prepares Baghdad people for the bombardment to come with music from the Hollywood film, Gladiator. But the Iraqis went on with their work of disarming the soon-to-be invaded nation, observing the destruction of two more Al-Samoud missiles.
The UN inspectors, only hours from packing, even turned up to observe this very last bit of the disarmament which the Americans had so fervently demanded and in which they have now totally lost interest. With the inspectors gone, there is nothing to stop the Anglo-American air forces commencing their bombardment of the cities of Iraq.
So is Baghdad to be Stalingrad, as Saddam tells us? It doesn't feel like it. The roads are open, checkpoints often unmanned, the city's soldiery dragging on cigarettes outside the United Nations headquarters. From the banks of the Tigris river – a muddy, warm sewage-swamped version of Stalingrad's Volga – I watched yesterday evening the fishermen casting their lines for the fish that Baghdadis eat after sunset. The Security Council resolution withdrawn? Tony Blair calls an emergency meeting of the Cabinet? George Bush to address the American people? Baghdad, it seems, is sleep-walking its way into history.
Independent: Robert Fisk: In vain, I looked for signs of the storm to come. Baghdad is a city sleepwalking to war
For Baghdad, it is night number 1,001, the very last few hours of fantasy. As UN inspectors prepared to leave the city in the early hours of this morning, Saddam Hussein has appointed his own son, Qusay, to lead the defence of the city of the Caliphs against the American invasion. Yet at the Armed Forces club yesterday, I found the defenders playing football. Iraqi television prepares Baghdad people for the bombardment to come with music from the Hollywood film, Gladiator. But the Iraqis went on with their work of disarming the soon-to-be invaded nation, observing the destruction of two more Al-Samoud missiles.
The UN inspectors, only hours from packing, even turned up to observe this very last bit of the disarmament which the Americans had so fervently demanded and in which they have now totally lost interest. With the inspectors gone, there is nothing to stop the Anglo-American air forces commencing their bombardment of the cities of Iraq.
So is Baghdad to be Stalingrad, as Saddam tells us? It doesn't feel like it. The roads are open, checkpoints often unmanned, the city's soldiery dragging on cigarettes outside the United Nations headquarters. From the banks of the Tigris river – a muddy, warm sewage-swamped version of Stalingrad's Volga – I watched yesterday evening the fishermen casting their lines for the fish that Baghdadis eat after sunset. The Security Council resolution withdrawn? Tony Blair calls an emergency meeting of the Cabinet? George Bush to address the American people? Baghdad, it seems, is sleep-walking its way into history.
WAR ON IRAK
WSWS.ORG: The Bush administration repudiates international law
The 15-minute speech delivered Monday night by President Bush, which
all
but declared war against Iraq, consisted entirely of distortions,
half-truths and outright lies. A thorough refutation of this speech
would
require a line-by-line analysis, because there was not a single
sentence
that was based on an honest presentation of facts. Even his first
sentence—“My fellow citizens, events in Iraq have now reached the final
days of decision”—was a lie. In fact, the decision to which he
referred—the invasion of Iraq—was taken months ago.
WSWS.ORG: The Bush administration repudiates international law
The 15-minute speech delivered Monday night by President Bush, which
all
but declared war against Iraq, consisted entirely of distortions,
half-truths and outright lies. A thorough refutation of this speech
would
require a line-by-line analysis, because there was not a single
sentence
that was based on an honest presentation of facts. Even his first
sentence—“My fellow citizens, events in Iraq have now reached the final
days of decision”—was a lie. In fact, the decision to which he
referred—the invasion of Iraq—was taken months ago.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Guardian: Rachel's war
This weekend 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a bulldozer as she tried to prevent the Israeli army destroying homes in the Gaza Strip. In a remarkable series of emails to her family, she explained why she was risking her life
February 7 2003
Hi friends and family, and others,
I have been in Palestine for two weeks and one hour now, and I still have very few words to describe what I see. It is most difficult for me to think about what's going on here when I sit down to write back to the United States. Something about the virtual portal into luxury. I don't know if many of the children here have ever existed without tank-shell holes in their walls and the towers of an occupying army surveying them constantly from the near horizons. I think, although I'm not entirely sure, that even the smallest of these children understand that life is not like this everywhere. An eight-year-old was shot and killed by an Israeli tank two days before I got here, and many of the children murmur his name to me - Ali - or point at the posters of him on the walls. The children also love to get me to practice my limited Arabic by asking me, "Kaif Sharon?" "Kaif Bush?" and they laugh when I say, "Bush Majnoon", "Sharon Majnoon" back in my limited arabic. (How is Sharon? How is Bush? Bush is crazy. Sharon is crazy.) Of course this isn't quite what I believe, and some of the adults who have the English correct me: "Bush mish Majnoon" ... Bush is a businessman. Today I tried to learn to say, "Bush is a tool", but I don't think it translated quite right. But anyway, there are eight-year-olds here much more aware of the workings of the global power structure than I was just a few years ago......
CHECK IT
Guardian: Rachel's war
This weekend 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a bulldozer as she tried to prevent the Israeli army destroying homes in the Gaza Strip. In a remarkable series of emails to her family, she explained why she was risking her life
February 7 2003
Hi friends and family, and others,
I have been in Palestine for two weeks and one hour now, and I still have very few words to describe what I see. It is most difficult for me to think about what's going on here when I sit down to write back to the United States. Something about the virtual portal into luxury. I don't know if many of the children here have ever existed without tank-shell holes in their walls and the towers of an occupying army surveying them constantly from the near horizons. I think, although I'm not entirely sure, that even the smallest of these children understand that life is not like this everywhere. An eight-year-old was shot and killed by an Israeli tank two days before I got here, and many of the children murmur his name to me - Ali - or point at the posters of him on the walls. The children also love to get me to practice my limited Arabic by asking me, "Kaif Sharon?" "Kaif Bush?" and they laugh when I say, "Bush Majnoon", "Sharon Majnoon" back in my limited arabic. (How is Sharon? How is Bush? Bush is crazy. Sharon is crazy.) Of course this isn't quite what I believe, and some of the adults who have the English correct me: "Bush mish Majnoon" ... Bush is a businessman. Today I tried to learn to say, "Bush is a tool", but I don't think it translated quite right. But anyway, there are eight-year-olds here much more aware of the workings of the global power structure than I was just a few years ago......
CHECK IT
WAR ON IRAK
ZNET/International Tribune: No to War by Noam Chomsky
The most powerful state in history has proclaimed that it intends to control the world by force, the dimension in which it reigns supreme.
President Bush and his cohorts evidently believe that the means of violence in their hands are so extraordinary that they can dismiss anyone who stands in their way.
The consequences could be catastrophic in Iraq and around the world. The United States may reap a whirlwind of terrorist retaliation -- and step up the possibility of nuclear Armageddon.
Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and company are committed to an "imperial ambition," as G. John Ikenberry wrote in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs -- "a unipolar world in which the United States has no peer competitor" and in which "no state or coalition could ever challenge it as global leader, protector and enforcer."
That ambition surely includes much expanded control over Persian Gulf resources and military bases to impose a preferred form of order in the region.
Even before the administration began beating the war drums against Iraq, there were plenty of warnings that U.S. adventurism would lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as terror, for deterrence or revenge.
Right now, Washington is teaching the world a dangerous lesson: If you want to defend yourself from us, you had better mimic North Korea and pose a credible threat. Otherwise we will demolish you.
There is good reason to believe that the war with Iraq is intended, in part, to demonstrate what lies ahead when the empire decides to strike a blow -- though "war" is hardly the proper term, given the gross mismatch of forces.
A flood of propaganda warns that if we do not stop Saddam Hussein today he will destroy us tomorrow.
Last October, when Congress granted the president the authority to go to war, it was "to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq."
But no country in Iraq's neighborhood seems overly concerned about Saddam, much as they may hate the murderous tyrant.
Perhaps that is because the neighbors know that Iraq's people are at the edge of survival. Iraq has become one of the weakest states in the region. As a report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences points out, Iraq's economy and military expenditures are a fraction of some of its neighbors'.
ZNET: Action, not speculation Cynthia Peters interviews Noam Chomsky
ZNET/International Tribune: No to War by Noam Chomsky
The most powerful state in history has proclaimed that it intends to control the world by force, the dimension in which it reigns supreme.
President Bush and his cohorts evidently believe that the means of violence in their hands are so extraordinary that they can dismiss anyone who stands in their way.
The consequences could be catastrophic in Iraq and around the world. The United States may reap a whirlwind of terrorist retaliation -- and step up the possibility of nuclear Armageddon.
Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and company are committed to an "imperial ambition," as G. John Ikenberry wrote in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs -- "a unipolar world in which the United States has no peer competitor" and in which "no state or coalition could ever challenge it as global leader, protector and enforcer."
That ambition surely includes much expanded control over Persian Gulf resources and military bases to impose a preferred form of order in the region.
Even before the administration began beating the war drums against Iraq, there were plenty of warnings that U.S. adventurism would lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as terror, for deterrence or revenge.
Right now, Washington is teaching the world a dangerous lesson: If you want to defend yourself from us, you had better mimic North Korea and pose a credible threat. Otherwise we will demolish you.
There is good reason to believe that the war with Iraq is intended, in part, to demonstrate what lies ahead when the empire decides to strike a blow -- though "war" is hardly the proper term, given the gross mismatch of forces.
A flood of propaganda warns that if we do not stop Saddam Hussein today he will destroy us tomorrow.
Last October, when Congress granted the president the authority to go to war, it was "to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq."
But no country in Iraq's neighborhood seems overly concerned about Saddam, much as they may hate the murderous tyrant.
Perhaps that is because the neighbors know that Iraq's people are at the edge of survival. Iraq has become one of the weakest states in the region. As a report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences points out, Iraq's economy and military expenditures are a fraction of some of its neighbors'.
ZNET: Action, not speculation Cynthia Peters interviews Noam Chomsky
WAR ON IRAK: UK
Spiegel: Blair kommt mit blauem Auge davon
Im Unterhaus votierten 139 Abgeordnete der Labour Party gegen den Krieg ihres Premierministers. Es war die größte Rebellion, die ein Labour-Premier jemals hinnehmen musste, doch Tony Blair und seine Regierung waren heilfroh, dass es nicht schlimmer kam. Als nächstes steht dem Premierminister eine Belagerung des Regierungsviertels durch außerparlamentarische Kriegsgegner ins Haus.
Spiegel: Blair kommt mit blauem Auge davon
Im Unterhaus votierten 139 Abgeordnete der Labour Party gegen den Krieg ihres Premierministers. Es war die größte Rebellion, die ein Labour-Premier jemals hinnehmen musste, doch Tony Blair und seine Regierung waren heilfroh, dass es nicht schlimmer kam. Als nächstes steht dem Premierminister eine Belagerung des Regierungsviertels durch außerparlamentarische Kriegsgegner ins Haus.
SITE OF THE DAY
CHECK: DISINFOPEDIA
Disinfopedia Main Page
From Disinfopedia, the encyclopedia of propaganda.
Welcome to Disinfopedia, a collaborative project to produce a directory of public relations firms, think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. We are already working on 277 articles.
Anyone, including you, can edit any article right now. See the Disinfopedia FAQ for more background information about the project. Read the help page and experiment in the sandbox to learn how you can use and contribute to the Disinfopedia.
The content of Disinfopedia is covered by the GNU Free Documentation License, which means that it is free and will remain so forever. See Disinfopedia:Copyrights for the details and open content and free content for background.
Propaganda and the Current War Crisis
As the United States moves closer to a unilateral declaration of war with Iraq, public understanding of war propaganda has become a matter of vital concern. For up-to-date analysis, we hope you will use (and contribute to) our essay titled "Weapons of mass deception."
CHECK: DISINFOPEDIA
Disinfopedia Main Page
From Disinfopedia, the encyclopedia of propaganda.
Welcome to Disinfopedia, a collaborative project to produce a directory of public relations firms, think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. We are already working on 277 articles.
Anyone, including you, can edit any article right now. See the Disinfopedia FAQ for more background information about the project. Read the help page and experiment in the sandbox to learn how you can use and contribute to the Disinfopedia.
The content of Disinfopedia is covered by the GNU Free Documentation License, which means that it is free and will remain so forever. See Disinfopedia:Copyrights for the details and open content and free content for background.
Propaganda and the Current War Crisis
As the United States moves closer to a unilateral declaration of war with Iraq, public understanding of war propaganda has become a matter of vital concern. For up-to-date analysis, we hope you will use (and contribute to) our essay titled "Weapons of mass deception."
IRAK: MEDIA WATCH
New York Times: MTV Refuses Antiwar Commercial
"MTV has refused to accept a commercial opposing a war in Iraq,
citing a policy against advocacy spots that it says protects the
channel from having to run ads from any cash-rich interest group
whose cause may be loathsome. ... 'It is irresponsible for news
organizations not to accept ads that are controversial on serious
issues, assuming they are not scurrilous or in bad taste,' said
Alex Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press,
Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. 'In the world we live in,
with the kind of media concentration we have, the only way that
unpopular beliefs can be aired sometimes is if the monopoly vehicle
agrees to accept an ad.' ... Broadcast operations with blanket
no-advocacy policies include CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox Broadcasting,
along with cable channels like CNN and MTV, a Viacom subsidiary.
The policy at CBS protects the integrity of its news department,
the public discourse and local sensibilities around the country,
said Martin Franks, executive vice president. ... 'On the CBS
television network,' he added, 'we think that informed discussion
comes from our news programming.' "
New York Times: MTV Refuses Antiwar Commercial
"MTV has refused to accept a commercial opposing a war in Iraq,
citing a policy against advocacy spots that it says protects the
channel from having to run ads from any cash-rich interest group
whose cause may be loathsome. ... 'It is irresponsible for news
organizations not to accept ads that are controversial on serious
issues, assuming they are not scurrilous or in bad taste,' said
Alex Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press,
Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. 'In the world we live in,
with the kind of media concentration we have, the only way that
unpopular beliefs can be aired sometimes is if the monopoly vehicle
agrees to accept an ad.' ... Broadcast operations with blanket
no-advocacy policies include CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox Broadcasting,
along with cable channels like CNN and MTV, a Viacom subsidiary.
The policy at CBS protects the integrity of its news department,
the public discourse and local sensibilities around the country,
said Martin Franks, executive vice president. ... 'On the CBS
television network,' he added, 'we think that informed discussion
comes from our news programming.' "
BOYCOTT BRAND AMERICA
Adbusters: BOYCOTT BRAND AMERICA
How to Boycott a Global Bully
In the face of intense opposition at home and abroad, the US government is determined to fight a war that will be felt around the world. It's a slap in the face to democracy, a cold shoulder to liberty - and it's time to make a visible statement against American power gone wrong.
Here is the one and only rule for the Brand America Boycott: this action belongs to you. You decide what brands and products stand as symbols of America's new empire-building project, and you decide how you'll make your statement. Above all else, this is a culture jam - personal, spontaneous, unpredictable.
Some people are planning a total Made-in-America boycott. Some will boycott oil for the duration of the war. Others are planning public activism against the greatest symbols of the Brand America warriors: McDonald's, Philip Morris, Exxon Mobil, Texaco, the major automakers, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Starbucks, Nike, Disneyland, the Hollywood cinemas. Media activists can launch TV Turnoff campaigns against Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and MTV. The limits to your participation are the limits of imagination, and the brainstorming has already begun.
When the bombs start falling, the boycott begins. Within days, we'll launch the first days of action - targeted boycotts to make a visible statement against the symbols of American power that we live with day to day. Imagine a global action against American oil corporations, or a day when McDonald's restaurants stand empty from Tokyo to Toronto, from Berlin to Chicago. Imagine a 24-hour blackout of America's "big five" media cheerleaders.
Most importantly, keep in touch and let the world know how you're getting involved in the Brand America Boycott. We'll post regular updates and spread the word. It's a consumer strike against a corrupted American dream. One final warning: be prepared to change the world!
SIGN THE PLEDGE NOW
Adbusters: BOYCOTT BRAND AMERICA
How to Boycott a Global Bully
In the face of intense opposition at home and abroad, the US government is determined to fight a war that will be felt around the world. It's a slap in the face to democracy, a cold shoulder to liberty - and it's time to make a visible statement against American power gone wrong.
Here is the one and only rule for the Brand America Boycott: this action belongs to you. You decide what brands and products stand as symbols of America's new empire-building project, and you decide how you'll make your statement. Above all else, this is a culture jam - personal, spontaneous, unpredictable.
Some people are planning a total Made-in-America boycott. Some will boycott oil for the duration of the war. Others are planning public activism against the greatest symbols of the Brand America warriors: McDonald's, Philip Morris, Exxon Mobil, Texaco, the major automakers, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Starbucks, Nike, Disneyland, the Hollywood cinemas. Media activists can launch TV Turnoff campaigns against Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and MTV. The limits to your participation are the limits of imagination, and the brainstorming has already begun.
When the bombs start falling, the boycott begins. Within days, we'll launch the first days of action - targeted boycotts to make a visible statement against the symbols of American power that we live with day to day. Imagine a global action against American oil corporations, or a day when McDonald's restaurants stand empty from Tokyo to Toronto, from Berlin to Chicago. Imagine a 24-hour blackout of America's "big five" media cheerleaders.
Most importantly, keep in touch and let the world know how you're getting involved in the Brand America Boycott. We'll post regular updates and spread the word. It's a consumer strike against a corrupted American dream. One final warning: be prepared to change the world!
SIGN THE PLEDGE NOW
IRAK: PROGPAGANDA WATCH
Tompaine.com: Credibility Bomb
The "powerful odor of mendacity" (to borrow Tennessee Williams’ phrase) hung over George Bush’s primetime virtual declaration of war Monday night.
When Bush proclaimed that "The Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised," that was a lie. What are the "most lethal weapons ever devised?" Why, nuclear weapons, of course. That Iraq possesses nukes, or is even close to making them, is something for which Bush has been unable to provide any evidence that would withstand scrutiny. The United Nations’ inspectors have found none. And that which the administration has produced turned out to be fraudulent -- like the centerpiece documents about Nigerian uranium shipments to Iraq, which were childish forgeries
Bush asserted that Iraq "has aided, trained, and harbored terrorists, including operatives of Al Qaeda." The last part of that was a lie. Pieces of the crucial document of U.S. "proof" that Saddam Hussein has aided his ideological enemy Al Qaeda -- a cut-and-paste British report assembled by Tony Blair’s public relations strategist, and recommended heartily as the fundament for this assertion by Colin Powell in his prosecutor’s brief at the United Nations -- turned out to have been plagiarized from a paper by a graduate student, based on data a decade old, and augmented by more plagiarizing from press cuttings.....
By asserting the United States' right to invade whomever it likes whenever it likes, Bush’s speech brought the world to the most dangerous moment in its history since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. A first-strike on Iraq, unprovoked by any aggressive act on Saddam’s part, will start a new nuclear arms race by countries that have nothing further to lose by creating a nuclear deterrent to the unchecked imperial power of Washington.
Tompaine.com: Credibility Bomb
The "powerful odor of mendacity" (to borrow Tennessee Williams’ phrase) hung over George Bush’s primetime virtual declaration of war Monday night.
When Bush proclaimed that "The Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised," that was a lie. What are the "most lethal weapons ever devised?" Why, nuclear weapons, of course. That Iraq possesses nukes, or is even close to making them, is something for which Bush has been unable to provide any evidence that would withstand scrutiny. The United Nations’ inspectors have found none. And that which the administration has produced turned out to be fraudulent -- like the centerpiece documents about Nigerian uranium shipments to Iraq, which were childish forgeries
Bush asserted that Iraq "has aided, trained, and harbored terrorists, including operatives of Al Qaeda." The last part of that was a lie. Pieces of the crucial document of U.S. "proof" that Saddam Hussein has aided his ideological enemy Al Qaeda -- a cut-and-paste British report assembled by Tony Blair’s public relations strategist, and recommended heartily as the fundament for this assertion by Colin Powell in his prosecutor’s brief at the United Nations -- turned out to have been plagiarized from a paper by a graduate student, based on data a decade old, and augmented by more plagiarizing from press cuttings.....
By asserting the United States' right to invade whomever it likes whenever it likes, Bush’s speech brought the world to the most dangerous moment in its history since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. A first-strike on Iraq, unprovoked by any aggressive act on Saddam’s part, will start a new nuclear arms race by countries that have nothing further to lose by creating a nuclear deterrent to the unchecked imperial power of Washington.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
WAR ON IRAK
CNN: U.S.: Iraqi forces may have mustard, VX gases
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iraqi Republican Guard military units south of Baghdad may now have chemical munitions filled with a form of VX nerve agent as well as mustard gas, U.S. military officials Tuesday told CNN.
Officials base the possibility on intelligence reports that include the monitoring of Iraqi military communications.
The United States also has indications of sabotage against oil fields in the southern Iraqi region of Rumailah, where at least one oil well has been spilling crude into the desert for over 24 hours. The United States believes the spill is deliberate, and that it is an effort to create a physical obstacle in the desert to hinder the movement of U.S. troops.
"Das tönt für mich wie die schwarze Propaganda von 1991 als die Amerikaner behauptet haben das 250'000 Irakische Soldaten an der Saudi-Arabischen Grenze stünden was später als Lüge entlarvt wurde"
CNN: U.S.: Iraqi forces may have mustard, VX gases
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iraqi Republican Guard military units south of Baghdad may now have chemical munitions filled with a form of VX nerve agent as well as mustard gas, U.S. military officials Tuesday told CNN.
Officials base the possibility on intelligence reports that include the monitoring of Iraqi military communications.
The United States also has indications of sabotage against oil fields in the southern Iraqi region of Rumailah, where at least one oil well has been spilling crude into the desert for over 24 hours. The United States believes the spill is deliberate, and that it is an effort to create a physical obstacle in the desert to hinder the movement of U.S. troops.
"Das tönt für mich wie die schwarze Propaganda von 1991 als die Amerikaner behauptet haben das 250'000 Irakische Soldaten an der Saudi-Arabischen Grenze stünden was später als Lüge entlarvt wurde"
WAR ON IRAK
Spiegel: Die Alliierten kommen - auch wenn Saddam geht
Für den Irak gibt es keinen Ausweg mehr. Der Krieg wird kommen, selbst dann, wenn Saddam Hussein das Land doch noch verlassen sollte, erklärte der Sprecher des Weißen Hauses, Arie Fleischer. Die Amerikaner und Briten wollen auf jeden Fall in irakisches Territorium einmarschieren.
Spiegel: Die Alliierten kommen - auch wenn Saddam geht
Für den Irak gibt es keinen Ausweg mehr. Der Krieg wird kommen, selbst dann, wenn Saddam Hussein das Land doch noch verlassen sollte, erklärte der Sprecher des Weißen Hauses, Arie Fleischer. Die Amerikaner und Briten wollen auf jeden Fall in irakisches Territorium einmarschieren.
WAR ON IRAK
From the Wilderness: Rolling Start -- The Idiot Prince Will Have His War
© Copyright 2003, From The Wilderness Publications, www.copvcia.com. All Rights Reserved. May be reprinted, distributed or posted on an Internet web site for non-profit purposes only.
(FTW asked retired U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff to re-examine what we can expect on the battlefield when the United States begins its invasion. The former instructor of military science at West Point describes a scenario that is vastly different from what was expected last September before the Bush administration encountered effective economic and political opposition. Now denied the luxuries of a multi-front invasion from Turkey and Saudi Arabia the U.S. war strategy has changed. The bottom line is that a great many more innocent civilians are going to be killed. And the first and possibly crippling breakdown of U.S. plans will happen in Kurdestan. - MCR)
(FTW) -- The full-scale, unilateral US invasion of Iraq appears - to many - to be imminent as this is written. In just hours President Bush is expected to give Saddam Hussein a 72-hour ultimatum to leave the country or else the bombs start falling. I have a reservation or two left about that, based partly on hope, but partly on the even riskier assumption that this administration realizes that it has miscalculated and that the consequences of invasion may now outweigh the risks - from their standpoint - of no invasion.
The Bush regime seems to have a clear understanding of what desperate straits they were in well before 9-11. The empire is in decline, and this means Americans will have to reconcile themselves to a new world in which their profligate lifestyle becomes a thing of the past. Americans do not understand that this is an irremediable situation. That is why we are witnessing the beginning of what is possibly the most dangerous period in human history.
If the administration decides miraculously in the next few days not to invade, the most unthinkable risks will recede significantly. But this Junta has repeatedly displayed a reckless adventurist streak that alarms even their own political allies, and it appears that the hotter heads will prevail.....
Last September retired Marine General Paul Van Riper was selected to play the Opposing Forces (OPFOR) Commander named Saddam Hussein for a 3-week-long, computer simulated invasion of Iraq, called Operation Millennium Challenge.
He defeated the entire multi-billion-dollar US electronic warfare intelligence apparatus by sending messages via motorcycle-mounted couriers to organize the preemptive destruction of sixteen US ships, using pleasure vessels. At that point, the exercise controllers repeatedly intervened and told him what to do; move these defenders off the beach. Stop giving out commands from mosque loudspeakers. Turn on your radar so our planes can see you. Because every time Van Riper was left to his own devices, he was defeating the US.
While all this is surely amusing, does it really mean the Iraqis will defeat the US during an invasion?
Certainly not. It will, however, make it far more expensive, slow, difficult, and deadly for Iraqis.....
We have had our course charted now, and the military option is all the US ruling class really has to maintain its dominance. After Iraq, there will certainly be increased asymmetric warfare, "terrorism," if you will, directed at Americans, American institutions, American targets. And when the rest of the world recognizes how thinly spread the US military is, thinly spread physically, but also economically because it is not a sustainable institution in its current incarnation, rebellions will occur. They have already started. Then the response of the weakening US will be to lash out, often with totally unforeseeable consequences, just as the consequences of this impending invasion are unforeseeable.
From the Wilderness: Rolling Start -- The Idiot Prince Will Have His War
© Copyright 2003, From The Wilderness Publications, www.copvcia.com. All Rights Reserved. May be reprinted, distributed or posted on an Internet web site for non-profit purposes only.
(FTW asked retired U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff to re-examine what we can expect on the battlefield when the United States begins its invasion. The former instructor of military science at West Point describes a scenario that is vastly different from what was expected last September before the Bush administration encountered effective economic and political opposition. Now denied the luxuries of a multi-front invasion from Turkey and Saudi Arabia the U.S. war strategy has changed. The bottom line is that a great many more innocent civilians are going to be killed. And the first and possibly crippling breakdown of U.S. plans will happen in Kurdestan. - MCR)
(FTW) -- The full-scale, unilateral US invasion of Iraq appears - to many - to be imminent as this is written. In just hours President Bush is expected to give Saddam Hussein a 72-hour ultimatum to leave the country or else the bombs start falling. I have a reservation or two left about that, based partly on hope, but partly on the even riskier assumption that this administration realizes that it has miscalculated and that the consequences of invasion may now outweigh the risks - from their standpoint - of no invasion.
The Bush regime seems to have a clear understanding of what desperate straits they were in well before 9-11. The empire is in decline, and this means Americans will have to reconcile themselves to a new world in which their profligate lifestyle becomes a thing of the past. Americans do not understand that this is an irremediable situation. That is why we are witnessing the beginning of what is possibly the most dangerous period in human history.
If the administration decides miraculously in the next few days not to invade, the most unthinkable risks will recede significantly. But this Junta has repeatedly displayed a reckless adventurist streak that alarms even their own political allies, and it appears that the hotter heads will prevail.....
Last September retired Marine General Paul Van Riper was selected to play the Opposing Forces (OPFOR) Commander named Saddam Hussein for a 3-week-long, computer simulated invasion of Iraq, called Operation Millennium Challenge.
He defeated the entire multi-billion-dollar US electronic warfare intelligence apparatus by sending messages via motorcycle-mounted couriers to organize the preemptive destruction of sixteen US ships, using pleasure vessels. At that point, the exercise controllers repeatedly intervened and told him what to do; move these defenders off the beach. Stop giving out commands from mosque loudspeakers. Turn on your radar so our planes can see you. Because every time Van Riper was left to his own devices, he was defeating the US.
While all this is surely amusing, does it really mean the Iraqis will defeat the US during an invasion?
Certainly not. It will, however, make it far more expensive, slow, difficult, and deadly for Iraqis.....
We have had our course charted now, and the military option is all the US ruling class really has to maintain its dominance. After Iraq, there will certainly be increased asymmetric warfare, "terrorism," if you will, directed at Americans, American institutions, American targets. And when the rest of the world recognizes how thinly spread the US military is, thinly spread physically, but also economically because it is not a sustainable institution in its current incarnation, rebellions will occur. They have already started. Then the response of the weakening US will be to lash out, often with totally unforeseeable consequences, just as the consequences of this impending invasion are unforeseeable.
WAR ON IRAK
Rense: Letter From Michael Moore To George W. Bush
George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC
Dear Governor Bush:
So, today is what you call "the moment of truth," the day that "France and the rest of world have to show their cards on the table." I'm glad to hear that this day has finally arrived. Because, I gotta tell ya, having survived 440 days of your lying and conniving, I wasn't sure if I could take much more. So I'm glad to hear that today is Truth Day, 'cause I got a few truths I would like to share with you:
1. There is virtually NO ONE in America (talk radio nutters and Fox News aside) who is gung-ho to go to war. Trust me on this one. Walk out of the White House and on to any street in America and try to find five people who are PASSIONATE about wanting to kill Iraqis. YOU WON'T FIND THEM! Why? 'Cause NO Iraqis have ever come here and killed any of us! No Iraqi has even threatened to do that. You see, this is how we average Americans think: If a certain so-and-so is not perceived as a threat to our lives, then, believe it or not, we don't want to kill him! Funny how that works!
2. The majority of Americans -- the ones who never elected you -- are not fooled by your weapons of mass distraction. We know what the real issues are that affect our daily lives -- and none of them begin with I or end in Q. Here's what threatens us: two and a half million jobs lost since you took office, the stock market having become a cruel joke, no one knowing if their retirement funds are going to be there, gas now costs almost two dollars -- the list goes on and on. Bombing Iraq will not make any of this go away. Only you need to go away for things to improve.
3. As Bill Maher said last week, how bad do you have to suck to lose a popularity contest with Saddam Hussein? The whole world is against you, Mr. Bush. Count your fellow Americans among them.....
CHECK IT
Rense: Letter From Michael Moore To George W. Bush
George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC
Dear Governor Bush:
So, today is what you call "the moment of truth," the day that "France and the rest of world have to show their cards on the table." I'm glad to hear that this day has finally arrived. Because, I gotta tell ya, having survived 440 days of your lying and conniving, I wasn't sure if I could take much more. So I'm glad to hear that today is Truth Day, 'cause I got a few truths I would like to share with you:
1. There is virtually NO ONE in America (talk radio nutters and Fox News aside) who is gung-ho to go to war. Trust me on this one. Walk out of the White House and on to any street in America and try to find five people who are PASSIONATE about wanting to kill Iraqis. YOU WON'T FIND THEM! Why? 'Cause NO Iraqis have ever come here and killed any of us! No Iraqi has even threatened to do that. You see, this is how we average Americans think: If a certain so-and-so is not perceived as a threat to our lives, then, believe it or not, we don't want to kill him! Funny how that works!
2. The majority of Americans -- the ones who never elected you -- are not fooled by your weapons of mass distraction. We know what the real issues are that affect our daily lives -- and none of them begin with I or end in Q. Here's what threatens us: two and a half million jobs lost since you took office, the stock market having become a cruel joke, no one knowing if their retirement funds are going to be there, gas now costs almost two dollars -- the list goes on and on. Bombing Iraq will not make any of this go away. Only you need to go away for things to improve.
3. As Bill Maher said last week, how bad do you have to suck to lose a popularity contest with Saddam Hussein? The whole world is against you, Mr. Bush. Count your fellow Americans among them.....
CHECK IT
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