How the AP helped stoke civil war in Iraq

American Thinker ^ | January 22, 2007 | James Lewis

[neverdem]

The Associated Press is among the large news organizations whose reporting in Iraq has been challenged by bloggers. Beyond the specifics of any one incident, a certain pattern and practice of news gathering has made for systematic bias. The end result is propaganda.

Michelle Malkin has a new report on the "Jamil Hussein" fiasco at the Associated Press. "Jamil Hussein" is the alleged Iraqi Police captain who has been cited 61 times by AP, recently as a source for an atrocity story that now looks mighty dubious.

What has been lost in the debate about "Who is Jamil Hussein?" is the substance of his Iraqi atrocity stories peddled by the AP. The most recent ones have been denied by the US military, which has much better sources than the Associated Press. They have also not been confirmed by other news outlets. Whether "Jamil Hussein" was a cover name, an AP fabrication, or a real person is not as important as the content of his apparent disinformation. What was the purpose of the lie about six Iraqis being deliberately burned to death by terrorists? What about the other 60 AP stories that cited "Hussein"? How many lent credibility to other atrocity tales?

Two hypotheses spring to mind. One is that "Jamil Hussein" was benefiting from being an AP source. He was smart enough to know that AP wanted horror stories, and that's what he gave them. Maybe he was paid. Maybe he liked instant fame. But 61 citations as an AP source suggests an ongoing relationship, one with a clear and sustained purpose.

A more sinister interpretation is that "Jamil Hussein" was a political plant, whose primary goal was to feed atrocity stories to the AP. He could be an Iranian plant in the Iraqi Police, which is heavily infiltrated by Mahdi Army killers who are paid by Iran. They were the ones who shouted "Muqtada Al Sadr!" when Saddam Hussein was hanged. An Iranian mole's purpose would be to stir up civil war, and at the same time to provide more "evidence" for the American Leftist news narrative that Iraq is a hopeless mess.

So "Jamil Hussein's" disinformation could have served two goals.

One: to worsen ethnic warfare in Iraq, and

Two:  to demoralize the American home front.

Objectively, AP has clearly served both purposes in the past and continues to do so today, whatever one believes about motive or lack thereof. This is its obsessive story line, and "Police Captain Jamil Hussein" would be seeding prepared ground. That's straight disinformation practice. Always tell the newsies what they want to hear.

Our Organs of Propaganda --- AKA the "news media" --- know perfectly well that most of their sources have an axe to grind. When Saddam Hussein was still in power he arm-twisted the Western media for favorable coverage, as we now know from former CNN executive Eason Jordan. The same thing happens every day with other terror regimes like Hamas, Fatah and Hizb'allah, where the media trade access for favorable coverage. That is unbelievably cynical, profoundly corrupt and massively destructive, but it has been routine at least since Stalin's time. That is why we have Organs of Propaganda, in Karl Marx's phrase, and not honest news sources.

In this case, the defeatist narrative makes the Western media into propaganda tools for Ahmadinejad, Al Qaida, and the Baath fascists in Iraq.

That is the real take-home lesson about the lies peddled by the Associated Press in the name of "Jamil Hussein."  If full-scale civil war breaks out in Iraq, and if the Democrats force a military withdrawal after the next election,  this kind of disinformation will have accomplished its aim.

The propaganda war is the real war.

James Lewis is a nom de plume of a frequent contributor. http://www.dangeroustimes.wordpress.com/

Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/01/how_the_ap_helped_stoke_civil.html at January 23, 2007 - 04:39:03 PM EST

[tobyhill]

They needed to be treated as the enemy from the start, as been begged by many, then most the problems would not exist today.

[Jeff Chandler]

They needed to be treated as the enemy from the start, as been begged by many, then most the problems would not exist today.

Clearly, neither the Bush Administration nor Big Army have a clue about how to win the propaganda war.

[Robert DeLong]

Not to mention anti-Americanism, anti-conservatism, just to name a few of the agendas they stoke on a daily basis. But really it all stems from their hatred of America and Capitalism.

[glorgau]

AP to Reuters - you supply the pictures, I'll supply the war.

[knews_hound]

Outstanding article that cuts to the chase.

BTTT

Cheers,

knewshound

Latest article; Queer Eye for a Dictator Guy

[PGalt]

The end result is propaganda.

Anti-truth, anti-freedom propaganda. Great article. Thanks for posting. (ping Dan Ra^ther).

[HardStarboard]

Great analysis!! What we need is a news outlet that will put these stories where people (the great unwashed American voter) will be exposed to them.

The MSM isn't doing it, and the web/blogisphere isn't getting it done to any significant degree.

The only hope, as I see it is forcing one of NBC/CBS/NBC/CNN into bankruptcy - buying up the equipment and starting a truly Conservative Broadcast Service!!

Well..... maybe a different name!

[Danae]

Now, how to make this known to everyone.........

[Matchett-PI]

bttt

[neverdem]

Close Look At China's Navy mostly pics on the link there, thanks Jeff

PETA trial opens in animal deaths

Moneyman Soros Dumps Her for Obama (Dumps Hillary for Obama)

Don't you know your left from your right?

From time to time, I’ll ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Good find.

Accurate, but the biased MSM will simply claim they are NOT biased, then cite their own experts telling us that the MSM is not biased.

See? The MSM says the MSM are not biased, and then immediately claims that Fox news is a lackey of the president and can't be trusted.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Clintonfatigued]

ping

[Free ThinkerNY]

The MSM is the voice of the enemy. They mean to weaken our will to fight. Unfortunately, more and more Americans are believing the defeatest propaganda that's put out on a daily basis. The spirit of Tokyo Rose lives.

[okie01]

The propaganda war is the real war.

Indeed, as Zawahiri wrote to Zarqawi, "50% of this war is being fought in the media".

And, while we are winning the war on the ground, we are losing the propaganda war -- because of MSM outlets like the AP, the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABCCBSNBC and CNN!

Our media outlets have become willing accomplices of the enemy. And isn't that somehow akin to treason?

[Clintonfatigued]

It's fortunate that there is an alternative media (including Free Republic), which has helped some. But the MSM remains a force of considerable influence.

[cgk]

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Jamil Hussein is really John Kerry.