2003 Invasion of Iraq

This article covers invasion specifics. For general information see: Iraq War, Post-invasion Iraq.

Media coverage

:Main article: 2003 invasion of Iraq media coverage

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Media coverage of this war was different in certain ways from that of the Persian Gulf War. Victoria Clarke, the Assistant Defense Secretary (formerly with Hill and Knowlton, the PR firm infamous for promoting the false baby-incubator story during the first Persian Gulf War)http://www.fair.org/extra/0305/militainment.html devised the Pentagon's policy of "embedding" reporters with military units. Viewers in the United States were able to watch U.S. tanks rolling into Baghdad live on television, with a split screen image of the Iraqi Minister of Information claiming that U.S. forces were not in the city. Many foreign observers of the media and especially the television coverage in the USA felt that it was excessively partisan and in some cases "gung-ho."

Related Topics:
Persian Gulf War - Gung-ho

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Critics of the war, especially those on the political left argued that media organizations should be neutral, and not be "expected" to support the military of their country. In Europe in particular such critics have long argued that the American press and news media are unquestioningly pro-Bush. The fact that American news programs accepted the administration's war terminology like "Operation Iraqi Freedom" uncritically, and that many American reporters wore US flags in their lapels, were seen as inappropriate behavior.

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European coverage was more critical of the invasion, and tended to put a greater emphasis on coalition setbacks and losses and civilian deaths than the US media http://www.usatoday.com/educate/iraq/war30-article.htm http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030330-100840-3847r. Supporters of the war, especially American conservatives often characterized European media coverage as anti-American and "left-wing." During an interview with UK news company ITN, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was asked if he would like to apologise for taking his country into the war. Blair responded saying "I don't believe I did anything wrong".

Related Topics:
Conservative - Interview - ITN - British - Prime Minister - Tony Blair

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Arab media coverage of the conflict was criticized as biased towards the old Iraqi regime. For example, the Chicago Tribune on April 10, 2003 reported that the defeat sent a shockwave of incredulity across the Middle East, and quoted a Damascus housewife who believed that jubilant Iraqis were being paid to act that way in front of the cameras http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/iraq/chi-0304100327apr10,0,5748785.story.

Related Topics:
Chicago Tribune - April 10 - 2003 - Damascus

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Another difference was the wide and independent coverage on the World Wide Web, demonstrating that for web-surfers in rich countries and the elites in poorer countries, the Internet had become mature as a medium, giving about half a billion people access to different versions of events.

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First-hand reports by Iraqis, however, were spotty during the war itself, since internet penetration in Iraq was already very weak (with an estimate of 12,000 users in Iraq in 2002). The deliberate destruction of Iraqi telecommunication facilities by US forces made Internet communication even more difficult. The web did offer some first-hand reports from bloggers such as Salam Pax, and additional information was available on soldier blogs.

Related Topics:
Bloggers - Salam Pax - Soldier blog

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Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network, which was formed in 1996, gained worldwide attention for its coverage of the war. Their broadcasts were popular in much of the Arab world, but also to some degree in Western nations, with major American networks such as CNN and MSNBC re-broadcasting some of their coverage. Al-Jazeera was well-known for their graphic footage of civilian deaths, which American news media branded as overly sensationalistic. The English website of Al-Jazeera was brought down during the middle of the Iraq war by Internet vandals.

Related Topics:
Al-Jazeera - Qatar - CNN - MSNBC

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In August of 2004, Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi had al-Jazeera's Baghdad offices closed, and temporarily banned the station from broadcasting in Iraq. A couple of weeks later, the ban was made indefinite, and Iraqi security officers raided the station, sealing it off. Al-Jazeera called the raid "reminiscent of the way certain other regimes have behaved."http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1298039,00.html

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Military leaders shut off the BBC connection to HMS Ark Royal after grumbling among sailors that it was biased in favor of Iraqi reports. http://media.guardian.co.uk/iraqandthemedia/story/0,12823,932307,00.html By contrast, a study by Justin Lewis at Cardiff University found that the BBC reports had been somewhat sanitized, and did not question pro-war assumptions.

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Belgian journalist Alain Hertoghe published a book accusing the French press in particular and the European press in general of not being objective in its coverage of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Hertoghe's book, La Guerre à Outrances (The War of Outrages), criticizes French press coverage of the war as being pessimistic of the U.S.-led coalition's chance of success and continually focusing on challenges faced during the invasion. Hertoghe also claims in his book that the European media became so wrapped up in its own particular biases against the United States that they fed disinformation to their readers and viewers and misled them as to the unfolding events. His selection of press articles to illustrate his point has been criticised as somewhat selective. Since being published, Hertoghe has been fired from his position at French newspaper La Croix. It was claimed that only one major French newspaper had published a review of his book.

Related Topics:
Alain Hertoghe - La Guerre à Outrances - La Croix

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International initiatives http://amor.cms.hu-berlin.de/~h0444e1w/massmail.htm have protested against U.S. media for downplaying and misinterpreting protests as anti-Americanism, and have accused them of foul language. There was a personal, insulting tone to some of the pro-war commentary in the U.S. and Britain; examples include commentator Christopher Hitchens calling Jacques Chirac "A balding Joan of Arc in drag" http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/10/1044725732463.html, the New York Post referring to France, Germany and Russia as the "Axis of weasels" http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044927597014.html, and New York Times columnist William Safire stating that "Chirac and his poodle Putin have severely damaged the United Nations" http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,245924,00.html.

Related Topics:
Christopher Hitchens - Axis of weasels - New York Times - William Safire

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Questions have also been raised about U.S. media coverage, given that in the U.S. a pre-war Washington Post poll showed that 69% of the population thought it "likely" or "very likely" that Iraq was involved in the planning of the 9/11 attacks, although no evidence of an Iraqi connection to the attack has ever been found. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32862-2003Sep5?language=printer

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Journalist Peter Arnett was fired by MSNBC and National Geographic after he declared in an interview with the Iraqi information ministry that he believed the U.S. strategy of "shock and awe" had failed. He also went on to tell Iraqi State TV that he had told "Americans about the determination of the Iraqi forces, the determination of the government, and the willingness to fight for their country," and that reports from Baghdad about civilian deaths had helped antiwar protesters undermine the Bush administration's strategy. The interview was given 10 days before the fall of Baghdad.

Related Topics:
Peter Arnett - MSNBC - National Geographic

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On 2 April 2003, in a speech given in New York City, British Home Secretary David Blunkett commented on what he believed to be sympathetic and corrupt reporting of Iraq by Arab news sources. He told the audience that "It's hard to get the true facts if the reporters of Al Jazeera are actually linked into, and are only there because they are provided with facilities and support from, the régime." http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/605fgcob.asp?pg=2 Ironically, his speech came only hours before Al Jazeera was ejected from Baghdad by the Iraqi government.

Related Topics:
2 April - 2003 - New York City - British Home Secretary - David Blunkett

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U.S. media coverage of other wars has included photographs of the flag-draped coffins of American military personnel killed in action. During the invasion and occupation of Iraq, however, the Bush administration prohibited release of such photographs, and, according to Senator Patrick Leahy, scheduled the return of wounded soldiers for after midnight so that the press would not see them. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1114-03.htm A number of Dover photographs were eventually released in response to a Freedom of Information request filed by blogger Russ Kick. The practice of transporting wounded soldiers to the US at night was documented by both the Drudge Report and Salon.com. http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2005/03/08/night_flights/ This ban was instituted in 2000 by the Clinton administration, and mirrors a similar ban put in place during the Gulf War http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/23/iraq/main613301.shtml, though it appears not to have been enforced as tightly during previous military operations.

Related Topics:
Senator - Patrick Leahy - Russ Kick - Drudge Report - Salon.com - Gulf War

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