Page 192 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

182 Chapter 8

cans to become better informed about such Iraqi casualties was likely part of the
reason for escalating hostility against the U.S. occupation.
Critics abroad have made similar criticisms of the lack of American concern
with Iraqi casualties. Kim Sengupta from the Independent of London, for exam-
ple, explained that the Bush administration was responsible for "having ignored
the civilian casualties which would inevitably result from such a military opera-
tion [in Iraq]," as "the U.S. government appeared to be oblivious to the likely
international consequences around the world of women and children being
ki~led."~

The Story of Jessica Lynch

On April 14 2003, Newsweek ran a feature story about the "rescue" of Private
Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital in Nasiriya. The story was important, if for
no other reason, because it put a human face on a conflict in a far away land.
Titled "Saving Private Lynch," the story intended to draw a comparison between
the Iraq war and World War 11. The title was borrowed from the film "Saving
Private Ryan," where Matt Damon's character is saved by Tom Hanks from
certain death during an extended battle with Nazi forces. American media out-
lets generally presented a picture of Jessica Lynch as a captive of hostile Iraqi
forces who also needed to be saved.
In its inside story, Newsweek spoke of "Jessica's Liberation," as "Special
forces execute[d] a bold raid to save a private" who was allegedly under the cap-
tivity of enemy forces. In entering the Iraqi town of Nasiriya, "One detachment
of Marines made a diversionary attack on another part of the city, while the
main force landed at the hospital and began searching for ~ynch."~ The picture
in Newsweek showed Lynch "On her way to safety" away from the hospital. The
story referred to her as "the first U.S. prisoner to be rescued from behind enemy
lines since World War 11." The Washington Times reported that the Lynch op-
eration "marked the first time in decades that Special Operations Forces had
penetrated enemy lines and rescued a prisoner of war."' George Bush was re-
ported to be "full of joy because of her rescue and full of pride because of her
rescuers" although there were still "unsettling questions about Lynch's condition
and her treatment in captivity."9 A large number of news outlets repeated allega-
tions that Iraqi soldiers abused Lynch during her captivity.
The Jessica Lynch story, as covered in mainstream news sources, is signifi-
cant because it demonstrates how important facts are lost in the frenzy to cover
wartime stories and when media outlets are pressured to climb on board in favor
of an administration's propaganda. On a factual level, the story of Lynch's "res-
cue" from the "hostile" hospital personnel was shown to be inaccurate. Evidence
later suggested that Lynch was not in danger when at the hospital, as she had
been taken care of by a number of Iraqi doctors who attended to her wounds and
aided in her recovery. Even Lynch herself later admitted that she felt the U.S.
military "overdramatized" her evacuation from the hospital. CNN eventually
reported, in contradiction to earlier stories that "the hospital staff said no Iraqi