The truth is out there, under the shifting sands

By Richard Ackland
March 28 2003

It is funny how the mission has ever so subtly shifted.

No longer is this war pitched primarily as a campaign to rid Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction. Now, quite clearly it is a humanitarian war to save the wretched citizens of Iraq. Numbers of well-scrubbed and articulate Iraqis opposed to Saddam have been appearing in the media giving credence to the humanitarian necessity to bomb the place to smithereens for the good of its people.

Of course, it is perfectly understandable to refocus the message. One such is the strategy of "embedding" Western journalists with the American forces so that the imagery that goes back home can be better managed. The media have become an important component of the psychological battle against Iraq. Those covering the war who are not in bed are known as "unilaterals".

Into the frame has marched the Al-Jazeera news network, based in Qatar, also the home of the coalition command. Its representatives are embedded and unilateral, and it has greater access behind the lines than the Western media. It pays no attention to what Rumsfeld and his generals decree are appropriate images to be broadcast. Consequently, it has run footage of the most bloody and distressing scenes: a large number of bodies after the US blew up the Ansar al-Islam terrorist outfit in northern Iraq; an emergency room soaked with blood; and civilian casualties in Basra, including decapitated children. It has also run American POWs and dead US soldiers.

According to an article on the website of the US magazine Reason: "Al-Jazeera is remarkably consistent in its presentation of horrific, chaotic and disturbing imagery, regardless of its potential for swaying audience opinion. [It] is presenting a coherent and convincing picture and that picture is of an American war effort going disastrously wrong."

As a result, CNN has had to lift its game because it is being scooped by Al-Jazeera. You can forget any semblance of journalism from Mr Murdoch's Fox News because it is so far embedded that its performance is positively unhygienic. But CNN is starting to show images dangerously close to the limit as far as the US military is concerned.

Both CNN and Al-Jazeera showed at the same time the Apache helicopter that had been shot down by the farmer with an ancient rifle.

Embedding is only a fruitful military strategy if the campaign goes according to the script, and the mob cheers the nightly pictures of steady, spectacular triumph.

Meanwhile, the disinformation rolls on.

The Guardian has conveniently assembled a collected sample of "confused" reporting:

---Baghdad was subject to a massive "shock and awe" assault on day one. In fact, the bombing on the first night was comparatively light.
---Coalition forces have captured the strategically important town of Umm Qasr. No, they hadn't.
---Basra would not be taken by the coalition forces, because it would involve street fighting and be a big danger to civilians. Basra is now a target.
---Saddam's government is in disarray and is collapsing. It seems to be coping remarkably well.
---Saddam is dead or being carried about on a stretcher. No, he's not.

justinian@lawpress.com.au