Page 123 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Railing Iraqi Resistance 113

the Defense Alternatives report, "are nationalism, the coercive practices of the
occupation, and the collateral effects of military operations."
The substantive difference between explanations for the motives of Iraqi
resistance, as seen in corporate reporting and Independent-Left sources, reveals
much about the ideologies driving those sources. Many anti-war activists and
media figures take the view that resistance to the U.S. is needed to ensure Iraq's
independence. Defending a continued opposition to the U.S., Laith Said of A1
Jazeera focuses on the Iraqi people's disillusionment with foreign occupation,
specifically the people of Falluja: "If there is no seeming end to the American-
led occupation, then why should there be an end to the resistance? Needless to
say, many of the residents [of Falluja], including teenagers, who have been
robbed of normalcy, will join the resistance, not out of hatred or zealotry, but
simply to eject the disruptive American presence and restore normalcy in their
own

Anti-Occupation Resistance Examined

Contrary to pro-occupation media rhetoric, opinion polls reveal that it is the
American military presence itself, which is disproportionately viewed by Iraqis
as the primary threat to their country's national security. Tens of thousands of
Iraqis have protested the American presence in their country, a strong indicator
of the strong opposition to the u.s.6' At the same time, rebellious groups seem
to have gained strength in numbers, according to the Iraqi government. The in-
terim head of Iraq's intelligence services estimated that there were over 200,000
"active fighters" and "sympathizers" fighting the U.S. in 2005, 40,000 of which
were "full-time fighters," and 200,000 of which were "part-time" fighter^.^' This
estimate contradicts the "dead ender" figures presented by the Bush administra-
tion and repeated in the mass media of only 5,000 to 20,000 rebel fightersf9
It is revealing to review the opinions of the Iraqi people concerning the role
not only of armed resistance, but that of the U.S. occupation in its alleged efforts
to establish Iraqi sovereignty and independence. What limited polling that has
been done reveals largely the opposite of what the American mass media has
told the American public about the humanitarian nature of the U.S. occupation.
Such polling also raises interesting questions about the level of legitimacy The
claims of Fareed Zakaria and others that A1 Sadr's resistance is not supported by
the public, the argument that "the insurgency7' is spearheaded by Saddam loyal-
ists, and the theory that foreign terrorists play a leadership role in the Iraqi rebel-
lion-all of these claims are thrown into question when reviewing Iraqi public
opinion. Consider one Associated Press published poll conducted in mid-2004
throughout Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Hillah, Diwaniyah, and Baqubah. Its find-
ings question, point by point, the claims made in the American media about the
importance of the U.S. presence and the maliciousness of Iraqi resistance:

85 percent of the poll's respondents had either little or no confidence in
the Coalition Provisional Authority.