Having spent years justifying the invasion and occupation that have caused the deaths of an estimated 650,000 Iraqis, the world’s rulers seem to have suddenly discovered that Iraq is a disaster.
On 19 March 2003, a week before the start of the invasion of Iraq, Tony Blair wrote a furious letter to BBC director-general Greg Dyke and BBC chairman Gavyn Davies. He accused the BBC’s coverage of being biased against the war.
Media coverage overwhelmingly reflected the Blair government’s spin about a "moral" case for war. Over 80 percent of press and TV stories about the war’s justification reflected the official line, with less than 12 percent challenging it.
The Iraq war was notable for the prominent presence of a new, non-Western media organisation – the Qatar-based Arabic channel Al Jazeera. What role did it play during the invasion? And did the presence of an alternative Arabic point of view have any substantial effect on the TV coverage in the West?
Tony blair’s plans for Iraq lie in tatters. The headlines earlier this week told us that defence minister Des Browne was promising the withdrawal of "thousands" of British troops by the end of next year.
Michael Martin, the speaker of the House of Commons, refused to accept an amendment to the Queen’s Speech signed by over 100 MPs calling for a debate on an exit strategy from Iraq on Monday of this week.
The Kurds are distinguished from their neighbours by their language, culture, and a homeland where they represent about 90 percent of the population. They speak an Indo-European language different from both Turkish and Arabic.
The political tide has turned decisively against the war in Iraq. Yet George Bush and Tony Blair show absolutely no sign of bowing to mass pressure. On the contrary, they are redeploying their arguments.
