[Vision2020] Nationalism In Iraq

[Tom Hansen]

Greetings Visionaires -

One thing that everybody must also take into consideration when viewing
these news stories on television is that Iraqi officials, both military and
government (these have become interchangeable), are watching and analyzing
the same news stories.

Do you seriously believe that our military/government officials are willing
to televise 100% accuracy.  I know I wouldn't want to put our troops at
serious risk.  It is my impression that our military/government officials
release certain items to the press, then monitor field communications
between certain Iraqi elements (the Republican Guard, for instance).

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-admin@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-admin@moscow.com]On
> Behalf Of Bob Hoffmann
> Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2003 9:01 AM
> To: vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Nationalism In Iraq
>
>
> At 12:18 PM 3/29/2003 -0800, you wrote:
> >Dana Lewis on MSNBC is reporting that (Iraqi civillian) men with bullet
> >holes in their
> >heads are being found.
>
> Editor & Publisher Magazine, one of the top trade magazines in the news
> business, has a story in their March 27 edition called "15
> Stories They've
> Already Bungled."  The article starts, "The war is only a week old and
> already the media has gotten at least 15 stories wrong or misreported a
> sliver of fact into a major event. Television news programs, of course,
> have been the prime culprits."  See
> http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/art
> icle_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1850208
>
> So is the MSNBC report a reflection of reality, or is it another bungled
> story?  If you are a skeptic, as I am, you are likely to think that the
> story should be viewed with caution until confirmed by overwhelming
> evidence, and at worst, a piece of propaganda fed to a naive U.S. media
> like the myth of Iraqi troops removing babies from incubators.
> If you take
> the pronouncements of the U.S. administration and media at their face
> value, then you believe the story, but you were also probably
> sucked in by
> the following fifteen bungled stories:
>
> 1. Saddam may well have been killed in the first night's surprise attack
> (March 20).
> 2. Even if he wasn't killed, Iraqi command and control was no doubt
> "decapitated" (March 22).
> 3. Umm Qasr has been taken (March 22).
> 4. Most Iraqis soldiers will not fight for Saddam and instead are
> surrendering in droves (March 22).
> 5. Iraqi citizens are greeting Americans as liberators (March 22).
> 6. An entire division of 8,000 Iraqi soldiers surrendered en masse near
> Basra (March 23).
> 7. Several Scud missiles, banned weapons, have been launched against U.S.
> forces in Kuwait (March 23).
> 8. Saddam's Fedayeen militia are few in number and do not pose a serious
> threat (March 23).
> 9. Basra has been taken (March 23).
> 10. Umm Qasr has been taken (March 23).
> 11. A captured chemical plant likely produced chemical weapons (March 23).
> 12. Nassiriya has been taken (March 23).
> 13. Umm Qasr has been taken (March 24).
> 14. The Iraqi government faces a "major rebellion" of anti-Saddam
> citizens
> in Basra (March 24).
> 15. A convoy of 1,000 Iraqi vehicles and Republican Guards are speeding
> south from Baghdad to engage U.S. troops (March 25).
>
>
> Bob Hoffmann
> 820 S. Logan St.
> Moscow, ID  83843
>
> Tel: 208 883-0642
>
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