Rumsfeld op-ed: Birth of a free press is victory for Iraqis

[Barrett808]

Birth of a free press is victory for Iraqis
May 16, 2006
BY DONALD H. RUMSFELD

In the early months of 2003, as the coalition offered Saddam Hussein's regime a final opportunity to comply with the United Nations Security Council, an Iraqi nicknamed "Baghdad Bob" served as a spokesman for Iraq's Information Ministry. He was not exactly a poster child for accuracy.

When coalition troops took control of Baghdad's airport, this spokesman was on television denying they were there, saying such reports were "lies" or "a Hollywood movie." Even when shown video footage of U.S. soldiers on Saddam's parade grounds, just around the corner from where he was standing, "Baghdad Bob" said, "There is nothing going on." So outlandish were his assertions that he became a ridiculous celebrity of sorts. Some enterprising folks even set up a Web site and sold CDs with some of his statements.

Of course, reporters' experiences with Iraq's regime were usually not amusing. Iraqi journalists had to be members of the ruling Baath party as well as an organization called the Journalists' Union, chaired by one of Saddam's sons. Any reporting considered insulting to Saddam was punishable by death. On occasion, journalists' tongues were cut out. In 2000, in what must have been a bitter joke to the Iraqi people, Uday Hussein -- a butcher and tyrant and one of Saddam's sons -- was "elected" Journalist of the Century.

Even in a region of the world known for tightly controlled societies, Iraq consistently ranked as one of the most oppressive when it came to the press. That included foreign journalists as well. A CNN executive much later admitted that he had downplayed the crimes of Saddam's regime to avoid getting kicked out of the country.

(more)

http://www.suntimes.com/output/otherviews/cst-edt-ref16.html

Funny how he doesn't mention all the Iraqi journalists killed recently.

[katinmn]

1. And this is the guy that paid to place fake news stories in Iraq

I guess it depends on what your definition of "free" is.

Maybe he should say Iraq is getting "American-style" press.

[cliss]

9. Yes, does he think we've forgotten that?

Just because Rumsfailed has dementia, doesn't mean the rest of us have.

While we're on the subject, how about when L. Paul Bremer shut down the newspaper in Baghdad which caused a huge uprising? Rumsfailed at the time said it was "fomenting violence".

So maybe a "free" press isn't so free if you have to pay for your stories, eh Don?

[katinmn]

10. and Rummy's plan to "take out" Al Jazeera by bombing it

Thank God the Brits leaked that plan and denounced it!

[GOPBasher]

2. So what should I make of the death of our free press? n/t

[MikeNearMcChord]

3. Free Press, what is a "free press?

You see I live in Bush's America, we have a corporate press, but what is a free press?
Can we have one too?:+

[Son Of Spy]

4. Our own spin

Of course we get to sweeten the pot with Alhurrah.....

" Alhurra, a network with 150 reporters based in Springfield, is the U.S. government's largest and most expensive effort to sway foreign opinion over the airwaves since the creation of Voice of America in 1942.

The 24-hour channel, which started operating in February, airs two daily hour-long newscasts, and sports, cooking, fashion, technology and entertainment programs, including a version of "Inside the Actors Studio" dubbed in Arabic. It also carries political talk shows and magazine-type news programs, including one about the U.S. presidential election.

Its programs are produced in a two-story building that once housed local NewsChannel 8. It is staffed by a handful of journalists recruited from Arabic stations and newspapers and dozens of employees scurrying around in jeans and running shoes or kitten heels. A mixture of Arabic and English fills the newsroom as journalists answer phones and click away on their computers.

Congress last year approved $62 million to pay for Alhurra's first year. In November 2003, Congress committed $40 million more to launch a sister station in April aimed solely at Iraq. The operation is overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent federal agency that is also in charge of Voice of America. The U.S. government launched Alhurra after deciding that existing Arab news channels displayed anti-American bias. The aim is to promote a more positive U.S. image to Arabs.

Khalid Disher, 24, who owns a shop in the Mansoor neighborhood of Baghdad, likes Alhurra. "Their news covers everything, the good news and the bad ones. They cover all of Iraq. As a new channel, it is a very good start."

Others are suspicious. "I know that this channel is funded by the U.S. Congress," said Atheer Abdul-Sattar, 24, who owns a sports-equipment store in Mansoor. "The Americans want their interests to be achieved. They will direct the kind of shows or ideas they want the Iraqis to believe."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33564-20...

:grr: illegal codesmilie_remote(':grr:')

[catnhatnh]

5. Shock and Awe.....

That is my reaction to the RAW GALL................

[Geoff R. Casavant]

6. Possibly he's forgotten

That the whole Fallujah revolt some time ago started with shutting down a newspaper that was critical of the US.

[Barrett808]

7. I believe you're thinking of the Sadrist uprising in Najaf

But yes, shutting down one of the al-Sadr mouthpieces and arresting one of his boys got Najaf largely destroyed.

Fallujah started with mercs cowboying around town and abusing the local population. That got them burned alive and strung up on a bridge.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

8. I'm going on my fuzzy memory

So I'll gladly accept your statement, especially since we agree on the main point.

Peace.