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that coursed through black neighbourhoods in the 1980s..." (Edwards, 2003; Webb, 2002, pp. 306, 309) of the CIA and oil companies and their manipulation of US for- eign policy in order to escalate the Vietnam War for their own ends. Before the book could be made public, however, the CIA intervened and successfully stopped its release. (Scott, The War Conspiracy, n.d.) 112) In February 2000, the Dutch newspaper Trouw and France's Intelligence newsletter reported that the US Army's Fourth Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Group at Fort Bragg, NC, worked in the news division at CNN's Atlanta headquarters during the end of the 1999 Kosovo War. "In the 1980s, officers from...PSYOPS...staffed the National Security Council's Office of Public Diplomacy (OPD), a shadowy government propaganda agency that planted stories in the US media supporting the Reagan Administration's Central America policies. A senior US official described OPD as a ‘vast psycho- logical warfare operation of the kind the military conducts to influence a population in enemy territory' [Miami Herald, July 19, 1997]..." ("Action Alert", 2000; Cockburn; "Media Advisory", 2002; Fisk, 2003, February 25) - yr ---o- 109) Vladimir Pozner is a Parisian-born Soviet commentator and worked in thi an international television celebrity who was one of the Soviet the end of the 1999 Kosovo War. —-~-e07---> arters during Union's leading interpreters of glasnost and perestroika and is "In the 1980s, officers from...PSYOPS...staffed the National currently serving as the President of the Russian Academy of Security Council's Office of Public Diplomacy (OPD), a shadowy Television. government propaganda agency that planted stories in the US In his 1990 autobiography, he had this to say about the art of | media supporting the Reagan Administration's Central America journalism: "...the realities of journalism don't involve just facts, policies. A senior US official described OPD as a ‘vast psycho- for, if they did, computers would replace journalists. Journalism logical warfare operation of the kind the military conducts to always involves choices—choices among subjects, treatment, influence a population in enemy territory' [Miami Herald, July words. As a result, the claim of objective reporting functions 19, 1997]..." simply to camouflage what is in fact a value-laden activity. It is ("Action Alert", 2000; Cockburn; "Media Advisory", 2002; Fisk, not only the readers who are misled by the claim. The journalists, 2003, February 25) too, can be blinded by their own cover." In a March 2003 interview with the Russian newspaper Pravda, 114) In an impressive collection of news reports, Fairness & Pozner asserted that, in his view, cur- Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) showed rent Russian television is more liberal that, in 1998, ABC's World News This and more free than American TV. In order for reporters to Morning, NBC's Today, Associated Furthermore, he posited that as far as Press, the Los Angeles Times, National " " television was concerned, "it is the become embedded b] they Public Radio, CNN, USA Today, the USA that has the least freedom of must sign a contract with the New York Times, the Washington Post speech amid other democratic coun- and Newsday all reported the fact that tries at the moment". government that explicitly the UN weapons inspection teams (Pozner, 1990, pp. 187-188; "Vladimir requires them to "follow the were removed from Iraq by order of Pozner", n.d.; Pozner & Novikova, . . the UN. However, four years later, 2003, March 19) direction and orders of every one of those sources reported the government”. that Saddam had forced the inspectors 111) Gary Webb is a highly decorated out. Did they forget their own report- journalist. In a career that spanned ing or were they consciously assisting more than 19 years, he was the recipient the United States government as out- of more than 30 awards for his journalistic prowess, including the lets of propaganda by effectively re-writing history in a way that Pulitzer Prize in 1990, the H.L. Mencken Award from the Free aided the Bush Administration's war aims? Press Association in 1994, and the Media Hero's Award in 1997. ("What a difference four years makes...", 2002) In 1996, he wrote a series of articles, entitled "Dark Alliances", which revealed how a "US-backed terrorist army, the Nicaraguan 120) In order for reporters to become "embedded", they must Contras, had financed their activities by selling crack cocaine in sign a contract with the government that explicitly requires them the ghettos of Los Angeles to the city's biggest crack dealer. [It] to "follow the direction and orders of the government" and pro- documented direct contact between drug traffickers bringing hibits them from suing for injury or death, even where this "is drugs into Los Angeles and two Nicaraguan CIA agents who were caused or contributed to" by the military. They are almost com- administering the Contras in Central America. Moreover, it pletely controlled by the military and "agree to give up most of revealed how elements of the US government knew about this their autonomy in exchange for access to the fighting on military drug ring's activities at the time and did little, if anything, to stop terms". Since the war began, the British populace in general has it. The evidence included sworn testimony from one of the drug become more supportive of the war, and of that, British Minister traffickers—a government informant—that a CIA agent of Defence Geoff Hoon said that "the imagery they ["embedded" specifically instructed them to raise money for the Contras in reporters] broadcast is at least partially responsible for the public's California." His article was posted on the website of the change of mood". At the end of March 2003, Hoon stated that newspaper he worked for—the San Jose Mercury News—and was "One of the reasons for having journalists ["embedded"] is to pre- quickly read by people all over the world, getting as many as 1.3 vent precisely the kind of tragedy that occurred to an ITV crew million hits in a single day. very recently when a...journalist was killed essentially because he The fallout from this was immense, with the country's three was not part of a military organisation". ITN reporter Terry Lloyd largest newspapers—the New York Times, the Washington Post, and two of his crew (cameraman Fred Nerac and local translator and the Los Angeles Times—putting out stories on Webb, rather Hussein Othman) were killed by "friendly fire". than his article. "Never before had the three biggest papers (Miller, 2003, April 3; "Missing ITN crew...", 2003, March 23) devoted such energy to kicking the hell out of a story by another newspaper." Why? "Primarily because the series presented 121) Patrick J. Sloyan, who covered the 1991 Gulf War as a dangerous ideas. It suggested that crimes of state had been Newsday correspondent, recently wrote: "When the air war began committed. If the story was true, it meant the federal government bore some responsibility, however indirect, for the flood of crack Continued on page 74 In order for reporters to become "embedded", they must sign a contract with the a2 ak er government that explicitly requires them to "follow the direction and orders of 120) In order for reporters to become "embedded", they must sign a contract with the government that explicitly requires them to "follow the direction and orders of the government" and pro- hibits them from suing for injury or death, even where this "is caused or contributed to" by the military. They are almost com- pletely controlled by the military and "agree to give up most of their autonomy in exchange for access to the fighting on military terms". Since the war began, the British populace in general has become more supportive of the war, and of that, British Minister of Defence Geoff Hoon said that "the imagery they ["embedded" reporters] broadcast is at least partially responsible for the public's change of mood". At the end of March 2003, Hoon stated that "One of the reasons for having journalists ["embedded"] is to pre- vent precisely the kind of tragedy that occurred to an ITV crew very recently when a...journalist was killed essentially because he was not part of a military organisation". ITN reporter Terry Lloyd and two of his crew (cameraman Fred Nerac and local translator Hussein Othman) were killed by "friendly fire". (Miller, 2003, April 3; "Missing ITN crew...", 2003, March 23) 121) Patrick J. Sloyan, who covered the 1991 Gulf War as a Newsday correspondent, recently wrote: "When the air war began 16 = NEXUS the government”. Continued on page 74 www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2004