Page 131 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Railing Iraqi Resistance 121

sented not only a danger to Iraqi life, but to the country's cultural and religious
history. The Askari shrine was the tomb of the tenth and eleventh Imans of Shia
Islam, and regarded as an important historical site by Iraqi and Middle Eastern
Shia alike. In attempting to crack down on sectarian violence, the Iraqi govern-
ment announced a strict curfew throughout Baghdad and neighboring provinces
in which all travel except that of military, police, and emergency vehicles was
forbidden. The curfew initially appeared to have the intended effect of curtailing
the violence, as Sunni leaders, at first hesitant to meet with Shiite officials for
peace talks, returned to the discussion table in order to try and ease countrywide
tensions. Unfortunately, sectarian violence has continued since as the country
has fallen further into civil war.

Predictions of Civil War
Although the Bush administration consistently proclaimed progress in the occu-
pation of Iraq, American media outlets could not afford to ignore the obvious
reality that the country was slipping again into a period of heightened ethnic
violence. The Associated Press reported that the Askari bombing "seemed to
push Iraq closer to all-out civil war,"'06 while the Chicago Tribune womed that
"Iraq seemed to be teetering dangerously on the brink of the civil conflict that
many have long feared is inevitab~e."'~~ The New York Times also spoke of "the
prospect of a full-blown civil war" in light of fears that ethnic tension may
spread to other countries with Sunni-Shiite demographic splits, such as Lebanon,
Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Syria, UAE, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. Such fears have
been followed by media promises that the U.S. is opposed to the civil war, and
will do all it can to prevent it.''' Shortly after the Askari shrine bombing, Rich-
ard Engel of NBC (stationed in Iraq) reported that the U.S. is having a difficult
time trying to stop civil war.Io9 Aparisim Ghosh of Time wrote that the "murder-
ous rage" that has taken hold of Iraq represents a trend that "The U.S. may be
powerless to stop." Ghosh continued: "the violence threatens to spoil the over-
riding U.S. objective in Iraq: brokering the formation of a broadly representative
By late 2006, the Associated Press reported that violence in
Baghdad had reached "Civil War ~ro~ortions.""' Morgues in Baghdad were
reportedly so crowded that "Bodies [were] being turned away."Il2
In general, American mass media outlets urged against a U.S. withdrawal
from Iraq, as they argued that it would cast the country further into despair and
civil conflict. Zaki Chehab spoke in the Washington Post of averting an Iraqi
civil war, but only through scuttling plans for an immediate U.S. withdrawal.
Withdrawal, according to Chehab, "is not an option the U.S. can or should enter-
tain. It would give Abu Musab Zarqawi and his small band of foreign fighters
the opportunity to claim victory.. .and lead to greater instability throughout the
region."'I3 While these news outlets and their reporters were right to be con-
cerned with the danger of civil war, they neglected the U.S. role in supporting,
sponsoring, and training Iraqi militias which were exacerbating ethnic violence
and engaging in terrorist atrocities.