Page 211 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Doctrines of Media and State 201

alternative online magazine Counterpunch that: "The tortures at Abu Ghraib
have exposed to the world the utter moral bankruptcy of Bush's war. Far from
being fought on behalf of Iraqi democracy, it is a war for U.S. supremacy in
which racist dehumanization and brutalization of Arabs and Muslims play an
absolutely central role."lo4 Such blatant challenges to officially espoused hu-
manitarian motives in Iraq were unthinkable in mainstream media commentary.

Iraqi Reconstruction Examined

Stories like that of "Baby Noor" are instrumental in constructing the image of a
noble intervention. Noor was discovered by American troops in 2005 after they
had searched a house in Abu Ghraib outside of Baghdad, only to find the baby
suffering with paralysis and a tumor on her back that she developed after the
infant was born with Spina Bifida. Later she was taken to the United States to
receive treatment for her condition at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. After her
first operation, it was reported that Noor seemed to be on her way to recovery,
although it was acknowledged that she would probably be in a wheelchair for
the rest of her life. American media outlets used the story of Baby Noor to pro-
mote a charitable image of the United States in its occupation of Iraq. CBS News
ran a story about Noor, quoting Helen Shepherd of Child Spring International
(the charity group that brought Noor and her family to the U.S.), who explained
that the baby's father and grandmother shed "tears of joy and relief when they
learned she was out of surgery and in recovery." The baby girl's grandmother
praised the United States, repeating "thank you America, thank you."'05 Shep-
herd reported that Noor's parents "are just feeling so blessed that things went
well. . . they never expected so much help from the U.S. Army."'06
Many Americans were likely left with the impression after following stories
such as Baby Noor's that the U.S. is committed to promoting humanitarian ob-
jectives in Iraq. This media constructed image is incredibly important when
looking at Iraqi reconstruction. Framing in the mainstream press methodically
maintains that the United States is dedicated to serious reconstruction of Iraq. If
anything is going wrong with reconstruction, it is the "insurgents" fault, rather
than the United States. When the U.S. is blamed, it is typically for underestimat-
ing the time it will take for reconstruction, rather than for failing to adequately
commit to reconstruction. This practice is represented in the "Paper of Record,"
which in late 2003 began to wonder about the feasibility of a quick "transition to
a peaceful [Iraqi] nation," as there emerged, in light of growing resistance and
slowly paced reconstruction, "reason to wonder whether" the "vision" of democ-
racy "was unrealistically optimistic-at least on the time scale Mr. Bush and his
aides once de~cribed."'~~
Reporters for the New York Times spoke of escalating "security costs" in
explaining the slow pace of reconstruction projects aimed at rejuvenating water
purification plants, oil pump stations, electric generators and power lines,
schools, roads, and post offices, among other vital infrastructure projects.'08
Other explanations for the slow rate of reconstruction included "the rapid tum-