About the Author
The Author
Andrew Heyman lives and works in Seattle Washington USA. His true vocation is political writing and agitating for the radical idea that a society that is governed by, and serves the needs of the people is best.
Andrew is also the member of a wonderful family with his loving wife, Pam, and the proud father of 2 wonderful children, Josie and Adam. They all keep him from becoming immersed in blogging to an unhealthy degree, and remind him of why he cares about what is going on in this world in the first place.
You can email him at kiacyclic-AT-gmail.com.
Iraq's PR Wars, September and Beyond
The Bush administration and the Pentagon are getting ready to blunt any substantial call to move US troops out of Iraq during the September funding debate that is likely to ensue as the much hyped "progress report" on the military escalation is given. They start by first lowering expectations:
Even as the administration faced a new call this week from Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), a leading ally, to begin at least a symbolic withdrawal of troops by Christmas, White House officials said privately that they are not contemplating making major shifts before early next year. They said that next month's report is likely to highlight what they see as significant improvements in security over the past year and that they expect the president to assert that now is not the time to dramatically change approaches.
Selling the idea that the most moderate of security advances is evidence that the "surge" escalation is working is a tough and tenuous road for the leadership in Washington. Which is why the Pentagon is going to initiate a full frontal assault. . . on the public arena:
As anticipation builds for September's progress report to Congress on the Iraq war, the Bush administration is getting more involved in shaping the character of the conflict to the American people.
For the Defense Department, getting out Iraq information now will include a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week Iraq Communications Desk to pump out data from Baghdad and while serving more or less as a campaign war room.
In other words, they are going to parade every trivial development (which can be spun in their direction) as proof that the occupation has "turned the corner." Then they will tell us that we can't possibly leave because things are so close to falling apart, that without us it a Khmer Rogue style massacre will unfold. In short it will be a doublethink carnival that the cable TV new networks will consume like ambrosia.
Outside the official PR machine of Washington is a myriad of well funded astro-turf groups pushing the pro-war agenda, and using veterans for a prop (as opposed to anti-war groups made up entirely of veterans). They are once again tying Iraq to 9/11, as is Bush with scheduling Petraeus to deliver the "progress report" to Congress on that day.
Folks get ready for the jingoist parrot/puppet show to return to your living room (a good reason to not watch TV).
The other PR offensive underway has little to do with steering public debate away from the unthinkable withdrawal of troops, and has more to do getting an Iraqi government willing to turn over its oil revenues to foreign capital:
Source: IraqSlogger, August 23, 2007
"Republican lobbyists with close ties to the Bush administration are aiding and supporting the efforts of an Iraqi opposition leader who is calling for the ouster of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki," reports IraqSlogger. On behalf of former prime minister Ayad Allawi, the firm Barbour, Griffith and Rogers purchased the website domain Allawi-for-Iraq.com and sent "hundreds of email messages in Allawi's name" to Congressional staffers and others in Washington. The emails included copies of a Washington Post op/ed by Allawi in which he wrote "there will be no lasting political reconcilitation under Maliki's sectarian regime" and "Maliki has squandered Iraq's credibility in Arab politics, and he cannot restore it." The firm's international president, Robert Blackwill, was Bush's Presidential Envoy to Iraq in 2004, when Allawi was in power. Barbour Griffith, and Rogers also works for the Kurdistan Regional Government.
The Bush administration is looking for either a compliant Maliki (who will then get the petrochemical law in Iraq passed), or a scapegoat to blame the surge's failure on. Either way it serves the interests of privilege and power in this American empire. Which has nothing to do with the vast majority of the world's population.