Yeah, I've heard how the military planted stories in Iraqi papers. It's one of the amazing things about the lack of planning of the current activity. The military NEEDS a massive English and Arabic PR machine going. English to maintain US supprt and to generate international support to the extent possible. Arabic to get the general Iraqi population on their side and against the groups that are blowing up the grocery markets.
And we see and hear virtually nothing. I'm not a military person, and I can see the need. Why doesn't the military?
So you want a press controlled by a PR effort? Explain yourself.
Actually I recall hearing that one popular TV show in Iraq was one which interrogated captured insurgents, and showed them the death and damage that they had caused and asked them for explanation. So there may be something going on in Arabic, but seems there should be more, and there should be more English PR coming out. It can't be that hard to take 50 journalists to each and every mass grave discovered, to interview Iraqis that were abused under Saddam, etc. etc. EVERY DAY. Yet there seems to be nada.
There have been many reports in the media of mass graves. But again, what many warned and the adminitration missed is the unleashing of another brand of hell, which is today's hell, far more likely to get the press...it's the drip/drip of daily death, bombing, destruction and no end in sight, in fact projections of worse to come. ....it can't be controlled no matter how much "good will" or propaganda is injected in the press and in spite of the weddings, the shopping trips, etc...
Al |
