IRAQ IS NOT A WAR BECAUSE THE U.S. HAS NO ENEMY
"... Bin Laden was a self-mythologized figure of no historic standing until George W. Bush designated him America's equal by defining 9/11 as an act of war to be met with war, instead of a crime to be met with criminal justice. But this over-reaction, so satisfying at the time to the wounded American psyche, turned into the war for which the other party simply did not show up. Which is, of course, why we are blasting a substitute Iraq to smithereens. Iraq is not a war, because, though we have savage assault, we have no enemy. The war on terrorism is not a war because, though we have an enemy, the muscle-bound Pentagon offers no authentic means of assault...."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/01/30/is_america_actually_in_a_state_of_war/
Sunday, January 29, 2006
1/3 IRAQ VETS HAVE MENTAL DISORDERS
"About 40,000 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have been found to show symptoms of mental health disorders, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) representative said... In addition, 14,000 of the veterans diagnosed with PTSD were also treated for drug dependencies -- although the mix of drugs differs somewhat from the Vietnam era -- and 11,000 were treated for depression..."
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=Cq9MO0eidDxmTAxjHCxrYB29WC21LBNrHBgG
"... Societies that think that aggressive war is some macho game and that the price is well worth it just have a lot of homeless and limbless people after a while..."
http://www.juancole.com/2006/01/over-30-killed-in-guerrilla-violence.html
"About 40,000 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have been found to show symptoms of mental health disorders, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) representative said... In addition, 14,000 of the veterans diagnosed with PTSD were also treated for drug dependencies -- although the mix of drugs differs somewhat from the Vietnam era -- and 11,000 were treated for depression..."
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=Cq9MO0eidDxmTAxjHCxrYB29WC21LBNrHBgG
"... Societies that think that aggressive war is some macho game and that the price is well worth it just have a lot of homeless and limbless people after a while..."
http://www.juancole.com/2006/01/over-30-killed-in-guerrilla-violence.html
Saturday, January 28, 2006
U.S. DETAINING WIVES
"U.S. forces in Iraq, in two instances described in military documents, took custody of the wives of men believed to be insurgents in an apparent attempt to pressure the suspects into giving themselves up.... the documents were among thousands obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union from the government under court order through the Freedom of Information Act... "This is not an acceptable tactic... seizing a wife to try to catch a husband..."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27217263.htm
"U.S. forces in Iraq, in two instances described in military documents, took custody of the wives of men believed to be insurgents in an apparent attempt to pressure the suspects into giving themselves up.... the documents were among thousands obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union from the government under court order through the Freedom of Information Act... "This is not an acceptable tactic... seizing a wife to try to catch a husband..."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27217263.htm
MIDEAST ELECTIONS TURN DEMOCRACY AGAINST U.S.
"... (concerning) the administration's campaign for greater democracy in the Middle East. Elections in Iran, Iraq, Egypt and now the Palestinian territories have resulted in the defeat of secular and moderate parties and the rise of Islamic parties hostile to U.S. interests."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701562.html
"... (concerning) the administration's campaign for greater democracy in the Middle East. Elections in Iran, Iraq, Egypt and now the Palestinian territories have resulted in the defeat of secular and moderate parties and the rise of Islamic parties hostile to U.S. interests."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701562.html
Friday, January 27, 2006
U.S. DOES NOT INTEND TO REBUILD IRAQ
"Iraqis... are looking at the debris of a country where reconstruction has come to a standstill... Baghdad had been receiving 12 to 13 hours of electricity a day on average over recent months. Over the past few weeks they say supply has fallen to just a few hours a day... Many Iraqis thought the United States would improve their situation when the occupation began in April 2003, but those expectations are long over. Iraqis complain that the situation in Baghdad now is worse than it ever was under Saddam. ... Bush has declared that he would seek no more money for Iraq's reconstruction..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0123-02.htm
"Iraqis... are looking at the debris of a country where reconstruction has come to a standstill... Baghdad had been receiving 12 to 13 hours of electricity a day on average over recent months. Over the past few weeks they say supply has fallen to just a few hours a day... Many Iraqis thought the United States would improve their situation when the occupation began in April 2003, but those expectations are long over. Iraqis complain that the situation in Baghdad now is worse than it ever was under Saddam. ... Bush has declared that he would seek no more money for Iraq's reconstruction..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0123-02.htm
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
POLICE PUNISHED FOR BOMBINGS, AND STOP REPORTING THEM
"... the Interior Ministry has decided to punish police officers if there is an explosion in the vicinity of their checkpoint. The logic goes something like this: If the police don’t find the bomb first, they aren’t doing their jobs. So what’s the result of this new dictate... Police report fewer bombings, because police don’t want to be punished.... The official number of bombings decreases - but, as usual, the reality in the streets of Iraq is much different."
http://onthescene.msnbc.com/baghdad/2006/01/punishment_for_.html
"... the Interior Ministry has decided to punish police officers if there is an explosion in the vicinity of their checkpoint. The logic goes something like this: If the police don’t find the bomb first, they aren’t doing their jobs. So what’s the result of this new dictate... Police report fewer bombings, because police don’t want to be punished.... The official number of bombings decreases - but, as usual, the reality in the streets of Iraq is much different."
http://onthescene.msnbc.com/baghdad/2006/01/punishment_for_.html
Monday, January 23, 2006
MAHDI ARMY SIDES WITH IRAN
"... Muqtada Sadr, the... militant young cleric, said on Sunday that the Mahdi Army, which is now a big part of the Iraqi government to be, says that his forces will fight alongside Iran’s if Iran is attacked by the United States over its nuclear program..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0123-26.htm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iran_Iraq_Sadr.html
"... Muqtada Sadr, the... militant young cleric, said on Sunday that the Mahdi Army, which is now a big part of the Iraqi government to be, says that his forces will fight alongside Iran’s if Iran is attacked by the United States over its nuclear program..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0123-26.htm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iran_Iraq_Sadr.html
Saturday, January 21, 2006
IRAQ NEEDS $20 BILLION FOR ELECTRICITY
"Iraq needs 20 billion dollars over the next five years to solve a chronic electricity crisis... the Iraqi electricity minister said... Total power production is lower than before the March 2003 US-led invasion, at about 3,700 megawatts, because of insurgent attacks and other reconstruction problems.. The United States earmarked 4.7 billion dollars for the neglected electricity sector in 2003, but much of the money has gone and there is little to show for it..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=15507
"Iraq needs 20 billion dollars over the next five years to solve a chronic electricity crisis... the Iraqi electricity minister said... Total power production is lower than before the March 2003 US-led invasion, at about 3,700 megawatts, because of insurgent attacks and other reconstruction problems.. The United States earmarked 4.7 billion dollars for the neglected electricity sector in 2003, but much of the money has gone and there is little to show for it..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=15507
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
MONTHLY COST OF WAR = $5.8 BILLION
"... Last year, the U.S. military's top generals revealed that the Pentagon is spending more than $5.8 billion a month on the war in Iraq, a 50 percent increase above the $4 billion-a-month benchmark the Pentagon used to estimate the cost of the war. The U.S. Army spends $4.7 million a month, the Air Force spends $800 million a month transporting soldiers and flying combat missions and the Marine Corps spends $300 million a month, the four service chiefs informed the House Armed Services Committee..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10495
"... Last year, the U.S. military's top generals revealed that the Pentagon is spending more than $5.8 billion a month on the war in Iraq, a 50 percent increase above the $4 billion-a-month benchmark the Pentagon used to estimate the cost of the war. The U.S. Army spends $4.7 million a month, the Air Force spends $800 million a month transporting soldiers and flying combat missions and the Marine Corps spends $300 million a month, the four service chiefs informed the House Armed Services Committee..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10495
DEMOCRACY BRINGS BLEAK DAYS
"Iraqis see dismal days ahead in the face of rising violence and the decision by the U.S. administration not to seek any further funds for reconstruction... "It is obvious that the situation is much worse than it used to be," retired army general Ahmed Abdul Aziz told IPS. "Can you walk free in the streets? Did you receive your food ration last month? It is essential for most Iraqis to receive the food ration just to feed their families. When you go to the hospital, do you find medicines? The answer is no medicines, no services, no sheets or pillows, no beds, no nursing, and no ambulances to carry you from your house."
http://domino.ips.org/ips%5Ceng.nsf/vwWebMainView/163194899DD9DC9CC12570F2004B1642/?OpenDocument
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0110-11.htm
"Iraqis see dismal days ahead in the face of rising violence and the decision by the U.S. administration not to seek any further funds for reconstruction... "It is obvious that the situation is much worse than it used to be," retired army general Ahmed Abdul Aziz told IPS. "Can you walk free in the streets? Did you receive your food ration last month? It is essential for most Iraqis to receive the food ration just to feed their families. When you go to the hospital, do you find medicines? The answer is no medicines, no services, no sheets or pillows, no beds, no nursing, and no ambulances to carry you from your house."
http://domino.ips.org/ips%5Ceng.nsf/vwWebMainView/163194899DD9DC9CC12570F2004B1642/?OpenDocument
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0110-11.htm
TOTAL COST OF WAR BETWEEN $1 TRILLION AND $2 TRILLION
"The real cost to the US of the Iraq war is likely to be between $1 trillion and $2 trillion... according to a report written by... Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor who won the Nobel prize for economics in 2001, and Linda Bilmes, a Harvard budget expert... Congress has appropriated $251bn for military operations, and the Congressional budget office has now estimated that... the Iraq war will cost over $230bn more in the next 10 years. According to Mr Stiglitz and Ms Bilmes... there are substantial future costs not included in the Congressional calculations."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5369059-103681,00.html
"... The figure is so large because... it includes costs that official estimates do not. The cost of the lifetime medical care for 16,000 injured American personnel... 20% of injured US personnel have brain injuries, 6% have had amputations and another 20% have other serious injuries... still others will have various health and mental problems in the future. There will be disability pay and health care costs to the US budget that will continue for several decades... figures also include the loss to the economy from injured people being unable to contribute as productively as they would other wise have done..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4595510.stm
"The real cost to the US of the Iraq war is likely to be between $1 trillion and $2 trillion... according to a report written by... Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor who won the Nobel prize for economics in 2001, and Linda Bilmes, a Harvard budget expert... Congress has appropriated $251bn for military operations, and the Congressional budget office has now estimated that... the Iraq war will cost over $230bn more in the next 10 years. According to Mr Stiglitz and Ms Bilmes... there are substantial future costs not included in the Congressional calculations."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5369059-103681,00.html
"... The figure is so large because... it includes costs that official estimates do not. The cost of the lifetime medical care for 16,000 injured American personnel... 20% of injured US personnel have brain injuries, 6% have had amputations and another 20% have other serious injuries... still others will have various health and mental problems in the future. There will be disability pay and health care costs to the US budget that will continue for several decades... figures also include the loss to the economy from injured people being unable to contribute as productively as they would other wise have done..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4595510.stm
IED PROBLEM INSOLUBLE
"... IEDs also create fear and uncertainty... Fear and uncertainty, of course, ultimately breed mistrust. That may be the most damaging aspect of the IEDs: they prey on American minds, making soldiers suspicious of the local population and ultimately isolating them. For... military theorists, the IED problem in Iraq is insoluble no matter how much time or money is spent. "If we can't engage the enemy," he says, "what do we do? The answer is, we lose."
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200601/explosives/2
"... IEDs also create fear and uncertainty... Fear and uncertainty, of course, ultimately breed mistrust. That may be the most damaging aspect of the IEDs: they prey on American minds, making soldiers suspicious of the local population and ultimately isolating them. For... military theorists, the IED problem in Iraq is insoluble no matter how much time or money is spent. "If we can't engage the enemy," he says, "what do we do? The answer is, we lose."
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200601/explosives/2
Monday, January 09, 2006
CIVIL WAR IN BAGHDAD
"I am an American currently working in Baghdad for a news organization... The current security situation here has gotten much worse since the elections.... there’s a high probability of all out civil war... Shiite death squads roam the city at night (in police and army uniform no less) dragging all the male members of a Sunni family out into the street and executing them in front of their women folk. Sunni insurgents (not in uniform) do the same to Shiite families in areas claimed as theirs..."
NO FUEL OR ELECTRICITY IN BAGHDAD
"... Sunni insurgents... are now determined to bring the new government to its knees by cutting off fuel supplies to Baghdad. The city’s supply of gasoline nearly dried up last week... Electricity in most Baghdad neighborhoods has now been further reduced to as low as 1 hour per day. The black market rate for fuel for generators has doubled again and in many areas even that has run out. At this rate the city will go dark by the end of the month. Iraqi troops are reluctant to escort fuel trucks into Baghdad and American troops have their hands full escorting their own convoys..."
--Juan Cole in Informed Comment, quoting a journalist
http://www.juancole.com/2006/01/17-us-troops-killed-in-iraq-baghdad.html
"I am an American currently working in Baghdad for a news organization... The current security situation here has gotten much worse since the elections.... there’s a high probability of all out civil war... Shiite death squads roam the city at night (in police and army uniform no less) dragging all the male members of a Sunni family out into the street and executing them in front of their women folk. Sunni insurgents (not in uniform) do the same to Shiite families in areas claimed as theirs..."
NO FUEL OR ELECTRICITY IN BAGHDAD
"... Sunni insurgents... are now determined to bring the new government to its knees by cutting off fuel supplies to Baghdad. The city’s supply of gasoline nearly dried up last week... Electricity in most Baghdad neighborhoods has now been further reduced to as low as 1 hour per day. The black market rate for fuel for generators has doubled again and in many areas even that has run out. At this rate the city will go dark by the end of the month. Iraqi troops are reluctant to escort fuel trucks into Baghdad and American troops have their hands full escorting their own convoys..."
--Juan Cole in Informed Comment, quoting a journalist
http://www.juancole.com/2006/01/17-us-troops-killed-in-iraq-baghdad.html
IRAQI JOURNALIST INVESTIGATING U.S. CONTRACTS SEIZED
"American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist... firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children. Dr. Ali Fadhil... is working with Guardian Films on an investigation for (British) Channel 4's Dispatches programme into claims that tens of millions of dollars worth of Iraqi funds held by the Americans and British have been misused or misappropriated..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1682207,00.html
"American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist... firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children. Dr. Ali Fadhil... is working with Guardian Films on an investigation for (British) Channel 4's Dispatches programme into claims that tens of millions of dollars worth of Iraqi funds held by the Americans and British have been misused or misappropriated..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1682207,00.html
Sunday, January 08, 2006
IRAQ ON VERGE OF CIVIL WAR
“The country’s on the verge of a civil war.”
--Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, V Corps commander, addressing troops.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=33249&archive=true
“The country’s on the verge of a civil war.”
--Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, V Corps commander, addressing troops.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=33249&archive=true
Saturday, January 07, 2006
2005 OIL PRODUCTION LESS THAN 2002
"... The US Department of Energy reported in late 2002 that... Iraq could quickly double its production from the then-daily level of 2.5 million barrels to 5 million barrels or more. Yet current production is well under 2 million barrels a day..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HA06Ak01.html
"... The US Department of Energy reported in late 2002 that... Iraq could quickly double its production from the then-daily level of 2.5 million barrels to 5 million barrels or more. Yet current production is well under 2 million barrels a day..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HA06Ak01.html
Thursday, January 05, 2006
EVASION ON PERMANENT BASES IN IRAQ
"... when the president says: "When they [Iraqis] stand up, we will stand down," it cries out for an explicit definition of what "stand down" means in practice... Any attempt to find out whether the US is, or is not, constructing permanent military bases meets with frustration... If we are in fact constructing permanent bases, "leaving" simply means a reduction of forces and the permanent stationing of US brigades in Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0105-30.htm
"... when the president says: "When they [Iraqis] stand up, we will stand down," it cries out for an explicit definition of what "stand down" means in practice... Any attempt to find out whether the US is, or is not, constructing permanent military bases meets with frustration... If we are in fact constructing permanent bases, "leaving" simply means a reduction of forces and the permanent stationing of US brigades in Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0105-30.htm
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
28,000 U.S. TROOPS SEVERELY WOUNDED
"... A total of more than 28,000 soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom have already been treated at Landstuhl hospital... Doctors and nurses work around the clock at this hospital to meet the needs of U.S. soldiers who have been severely injured in Iraq, Afghanistan or other combat locations..."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10533819/
"... A total of more than 28,000 soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom have already been treated at Landstuhl hospital... Doctors and nurses work around the clock at this hospital to meet the needs of U.S. soldiers who have been severely injured in Iraq, Afghanistan or other combat locations..."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10533819/
DEMOCRACY IN MIDDLE EAST MEANS SOMETHING DIFFERENT
"... I want Bush to forget about Middle East democracy... Democracy does not necessarily promote peace and stability. On the contrary, democracies have a long tradition of promoting wars for loot... Something more than democracy is required for peace and prosperity, and that is a people committed to good rather than evil. Democracy in the Middle East means something quite different: Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq. The sooner President Bush changes the subject (from democracy), the better."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HA04Ak02.html
"... I want Bush to forget about Middle East democracy... Democracy does not necessarily promote peace and stability. On the contrary, democracies have a long tradition of promoting wars for loot... Something more than democracy is required for peace and prosperity, and that is a people committed to good rather than evil. Democracy in the Middle East means something quite different: Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq. The sooner President Bush changes the subject (from democracy), the better."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HA04Ak02.html
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
RECONSTRUCTION FUNDING TO END
"The Bush administration has scaled back its ambitions to rebuild Iraq from the devastation wrought by war and dictatorship and does not intend to seek new funds for reconstruction... administration officials say they will not seek reconstruction funds when the budget request is presented to Congress next month.... A decision not to renew the reconstruction programme would leave Iraq with the burden of tens of billions of dollars in unfinished projects, and an oil industry and electrical grid that have yet to return to pre-war production levels. The decision is a tacit admission of the failure of the US rebuilding effort... a retreat from a promise by Mr Bush in 2003 to provide Iraq with the best infrastructure in the region... (also) fewer than 30% of Iraqis were even aware of ongoing reconstruction projects, suggesting the US has failed to extract public relations benefit from any of the reconstruction projects it has completed."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1676913,00.html
"The Bush administration has scaled back its ambitions to rebuild Iraq from the devastation wrought by war and dictatorship and does not intend to seek new funds for reconstruction... administration officials say they will not seek reconstruction funds when the budget request is presented to Congress next month.... A decision not to renew the reconstruction programme would leave Iraq with the burden of tens of billions of dollars in unfinished projects, and an oil industry and electrical grid that have yet to return to pre-war production levels. The decision is a tacit admission of the failure of the US rebuilding effort... a retreat from a promise by Mr Bush in 2003 to provide Iraq with the best infrastructure in the region... (also) fewer than 30% of Iraqis were even aware of ongoing reconstruction projects, suggesting the US has failed to extract public relations benefit from any of the reconstruction projects it has completed."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1676913,00.html
Monday, January 02, 2006
IRAQ AND THE WAR ON TERROR
"... It's not so long ago... that Bush explained to us that all the Arabs would one day wish to have the freedoms of Iraq. I cannot think of an Arab today who would wish to contemplate such ill fortune... ... It also allowed al-Qa'ida's violence to embrace more Arab countries. Jordan was added to Egypt. Woe betide those of us who are now locked into the huge military machine that embraces the Middle East. Why, Iraqis sometimes ask me, are American forces - aerial or land - in Uzbekistan? And Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, in Turkey and Jordan (and Iraq) and in Kuwait and Qatar and Bahrain and Oman and Yemen and Egypt and Algeria (there is a US special forces unit based near Tamanrasset, co-operating with the same Algerian army that was involved in the massacre of civilians the 1990s)?
In fact, just look at the map and you can see the Americans in Greenland and Iceland and Britain and Germany and ex-Yugoslavia and Greece - where we join up with Turkey. How did this iron curtain from the ice cap to the borders of Sudan emerge? What is its purpose? These are the key questions that should engage anyone trying to understand the "war on terror".
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-20.htm
"... It's not so long ago... that Bush explained to us that all the Arabs would one day wish to have the freedoms of Iraq. I cannot think of an Arab today who would wish to contemplate such ill fortune... ... It also allowed al-Qa'ida's violence to embrace more Arab countries. Jordan was added to Egypt. Woe betide those of us who are now locked into the huge military machine that embraces the Middle East. Why, Iraqis sometimes ask me, are American forces - aerial or land - in Uzbekistan? And Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, in Turkey and Jordan (and Iraq) and in Kuwait and Qatar and Bahrain and Oman and Yemen and Egypt and Algeria (there is a US special forces unit based near Tamanrasset, co-operating with the same Algerian army that was involved in the massacre of civilians the 1990s)?
In fact, just look at the map and you can see the Americans in Greenland and Iceland and Britain and Germany and ex-Yugoslavia and Greece - where we join up with Turkey. How did this iron curtain from the ice cap to the borders of Sudan emerge? What is its purpose? These are the key questions that should engage anyone trying to understand the "war on terror".
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-20.htm
U.S. SECRETLY PAYING FOR COVERT PROPAGANDA STORIES IN IRAQ NEWSPAPERS
January 2, 2006
"... The Lincoln Group... a Pentagon contractor... that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work..."
http://nytimes.com/2006/01/02/politics/02propaganda.html?hp&ex=1136264400&en=7aac55522b3865b9&ei=5094&partner=homepage
December 12, 2005
"... (The Lincoln Group) says it planted more than 1,000 articles in the Iraqi and Arab press and placed editorials on an Iraqi Web site, Pentagon documents show. For an expanded stealth persuasion effort into neighboring countries, Lincoln presented plans, since rejected, for an underground newspaper, television news shows and an anti-terrorist comedy based on "The Three Stooges."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/politics/11propaganda.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1134395879-Rp6fhySW4h6Aj4UtVeT1EA
December 3, 2005
"... Journalists in Iraq say they are shocked by revelations that the US military paid Iraqi newspapers and journalists to run positive articles about US activities in Iraq... the payments were made to members of the Baghdad Press Club, an organization set up by US army officers more than a year ago... the military also was paying Iraqi reporters up to 200 dollars a month to write sympathetic stories... "It is a scandal that the US administration would use methods like these which contradict all principles of the profession and seek to defraud public opinion," well-known Iraqi journalist and political analyst Ahmed Sabri said. "A newspaper should reflect the reality on the ground, not sponsored information aimed at improving the image of the The United States, which in reality has failed in Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1203-04.htm
November 30, 2005
"... the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq... The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country... The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington-based firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets... The military's effort to disseminate propaganda in the Iraqi media is taking place even as U.S. officials are pledging to promote democratic principles, political transparency and freedom of speech in a country emerging from decades of dictatorship and corruption."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story?coll=la-home-headlines
November 30, 2005
"Can Iraqis trust what they read in the newspapers?... The US military in Iraq has implicitly admitted that it is running a campaign to plant articles in Iraqi papers aimed at improving its image in the country... they were written by US soldiers, and translated into Arabic by a defence contractor which helps place them in Baghdad papers... the stories were then presented as unbiased accounts by independent journalists, rather than stemming from the US military..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4489696.stm
November 30, 2005
"... the Pentagon is paying millions more to the Lincoln Group for work that appears to violate fundamental principles of Western journalism. In addition to paying newspapers to print government propaganda, Lincoln has paid about a dozen Iraqi journalists each several hundred dollars a month..."
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/01propaganda.html?hp&ex=1133499600&en=3af8aaf9fa1cb0bc&ei=5094&partner=homepage
January 2, 2006
"... The Lincoln Group... a Pentagon contractor... that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work..."
http://nytimes.com/2006/01/02/politics/02propaganda.html?hp&ex=1136264400&en=7aac55522b3865b9&ei=5094&partner=homepage
December 12, 2005
"... (The Lincoln Group) says it planted more than 1,000 articles in the Iraqi and Arab press and placed editorials on an Iraqi Web site, Pentagon documents show. For an expanded stealth persuasion effort into neighboring countries, Lincoln presented plans, since rejected, for an underground newspaper, television news shows and an anti-terrorist comedy based on "The Three Stooges."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/politics/11propaganda.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1134395879-Rp6fhySW4h6Aj4UtVeT1EA
December 3, 2005
"... Journalists in Iraq say they are shocked by revelations that the US military paid Iraqi newspapers and journalists to run positive articles about US activities in Iraq... the payments were made to members of the Baghdad Press Club, an organization set up by US army officers more than a year ago... the military also was paying Iraqi reporters up to 200 dollars a month to write sympathetic stories... "It is a scandal that the US administration would use methods like these which contradict all principles of the profession and seek to defraud public opinion," well-known Iraqi journalist and political analyst Ahmed Sabri said. "A newspaper should reflect the reality on the ground, not sponsored information aimed at improving the image of the The United States, which in reality has failed in Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1203-04.htm
November 30, 2005
"... the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq... The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country... The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington-based firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets... The military's effort to disseminate propaganda in the Iraqi media is taking place even as U.S. officials are pledging to promote democratic principles, political transparency and freedom of speech in a country emerging from decades of dictatorship and corruption."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story?coll=la-home-headlines
November 30, 2005
"Can Iraqis trust what they read in the newspapers?... The US military in Iraq has implicitly admitted that it is running a campaign to plant articles in Iraqi papers aimed at improving its image in the country... they were written by US soldiers, and translated into Arabic by a defence contractor which helps place them in Baghdad papers... the stories were then presented as unbiased accounts by independent journalists, rather than stemming from the US military..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4489696.stm
November 30, 2005
"... the Pentagon is paying millions more to the Lincoln Group for work that appears to violate fundamental principles of Western journalism. In addition to paying newspapers to print government propaganda, Lincoln has paid about a dozen Iraqi journalists each several hundred dollars a month..."
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/01propaganda.html?hp&ex=1133499600&en=3af8aaf9fa1cb0bc&ei=5094&partner=homepage