Page 137 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Railing Iraqi Resistance 127

the latter two groups while trying to train and arm them to be able to pacify the
Sunnis on their own.14'

There is a great contradiction between rhetoric throughout the mainstream
press that promotes an image of the U.S. as dedicated to preventing civil war,
and the occasional admissions within that same media system that the U.S. itself
is fbeling ethnic tensions, civil war, and terrorism in Iraq. A serious exploration
of U.S. support for militias and death squads should be an essential goal of any
balanced media system. To date, such a discussion has not taken place.

Notes

1. Jeffrey Gettleman, "4 From U.S. Killed in Ambush in Iraq," New York Times, 1
April 2004, l(A); Bill Carter and Judith Steinberg, "To Portray the Horror, News Media
Agonize," New York Times, 1 April 2004,12(A).
2. Dahr Jamail, "Vigilant Resolve," Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches, 5 February
2004, http://www.dahrJamailiraq.com/covering~iraq/archiv~/OOOl97.php (7 Sep. 2005).
3. Jamail, "Vigilant Resolve," 2004.
4. Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, "Contractors and Mercenaries: The Ris-
ing Corporate Military Monster," Counterpunch, 23 April 2004, http://www.counterpunc-
h.org/mokhiber04232004.html(3 Sep. 2005).
5. Bill Berkowitz, "Mercenaries 'R' Us," Alternet, 9 August 2005, http://altemet.org-
story/18 l93/ (15 Nov. 2005).
6. Sean Rayment, "'Trophy' Video Exposes Private Security Contractors Shooting
Up Iraqi Drivers," Telegraph, 27 November 2005, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main
.jhtml?xml=news/2005/11/27/wirq27.xml&sShee~news/2005111/27/ixworld.html (28
Nov. 2005).
7. CNN.com, "High Pay-and High Risks-for Contractors in Iraq," 2 April 2004,
http://edition cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast~04/Ol/iraq.contractor/ (4 Oct. 2005).
8. Carter and Steinberg, "To Portray the Horror," 2004.
9. Gettleman, "4 From U.S. Killed," 2004.
10. Gettleman, "4 From U.S. Killed," 2004.
11. Gettleman, "4 From U.S. Killed," 2004.
12. Colin McMahon, "Iraqi Mob Mutilates 4 American Civilians," Chicago Tribune,
sec. 1, 1 April 2004, 1; Washington Times Staff, "Four Americans Mutilated," Washing-
ton Times, sec. 1, 1 April 2004, 1.
13. Colin Freeman, "Horror at Fallujah," San Francisco Chronicle, 1 April 2004,
http://www.sfgate.com/~gi-bin/article.cgi?/c/2004/04/01GH35U0801 .DTL&hw
=Horror+at+Fallujah&sn=001&sc=1000 (8 Mar. 2006).
14. Dexter Filkins, "In Die Hard City, G.Ls are the Enemy," New York Times, 4 No-
vember 2003, l(A).
15. James Glanz and Edward Wong, "U.S. is Expanding Iraqi Offensive in Violent
Area," New York Times, 24 November 2004, 1(A).
16. Edward Wong, "Attackers Hit Oil Pipelines, Police, and a U.S. Convoy," New
York Times, 10 June 2004,13(A).
17. Filkins, "In Die-Hard City," 2003.
18. David Ignatius, D. "What Bush Can Do to Salvage Iraq," Washington Post, 5
November 2004,25(A).