Author: K.Gajendra Singh
Publication: South Asia Analysis
Group
Date: February 24, 2003
URL: http://www.saag.org/papers7/paper615.html
"Propaganda brought us to power;
propaganda has since enabled us to remain in power and propaganda will
give us the means of conquering the world.... The task of the propagandist
is not the scientific education of everyone, but the indication to the
masses of the facts, events, necessities etc. whose significance and morality
enter into the field of interest." Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf.
You can fool all the people for
some time, some people for all the time but not all the people for all
the time.
Peace marches and rallies by tens
of millions all over the world, with over 8 million in Europe alone, spread
over 500 cities and towns in 60 countries was a slap on the face of media
machines unleashed by USA and UK in its propaganda wars against Iraq. During
the 15/ 16 February, 2003 weekend, the explosion of protests against war
started from Auckland and Melbourne on Friday itself and then swept over
Asia, Africa and Europe and on to North and South America. From New Zealand
to USA and from Russia to South Africa, the protesters belonged to all
races and classes, mothers with babies, young and old alike; and from across
the whole political spectrum. The protests were the largest ever held,
much bigger and more universal than against the Vietnam War. They were
much bigger in Australia, Spain, Italy, UK and USA, whose governments have
supported the war and aligned with USA. Both CNN and BBC anchors and journalists
were taken aback by the outpouring and the size of the protests. Ironically,
protests in Arab countries, except Iraq, were in low key, with its regimes
unsure of what to do.
Regrettably the protest marches
in an India of a billion odd, were small and the media took little notice.
Iraq, a staunch and secular friend, has always supported India on Jammu
and Kashmir. The editorial line of foreign media like Star news is
understandable but unfortunately, the Indian media still remains in the
Anglo-Saxon mould even after 50 years of independence. Editor of Indian
Express (1st Feb) writing under 'Saddam, snookers's first frame ' wrote
" -for the Bush team -process of change (is)-to modernise and democratize
and restructure the Islamic world - into Saudi Arabia and then every other
part of the region where militant Islam breeds --- Musharraf is not laughing
-does that work to our benefit or detriment? This war will not be about
oil but about militant Islam and everybody's future. This is the bigger
picture -"
It seems that many Indians perhaps
believe that USA like Lord Somnath in 11th century will save India.
"--Mahmood reached
Somnatha in the middle of January, 1025, and found there a strongly defended
fortress on the seashore. The Hindus, who assembled on the ramparts of
the fort, were passing their time in merrymaking, fondly believing that
Somnatha had drawn the Muslims there only to annihilate them for the sins
they had committed in demolishing idols elsewhere. Their morale was high
even though their leader had fled away in cowardice with his family to
a neighbouring island-
(Page 20, The Struggle for Empire,
The History and Culture of the Indian people, Volume five (1966), Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, Bombay. Ed.K.M.Munshi)
Is India prepared? There are
3 to 4 million Indians working in the Gulf. A war could dislocate at least
half a million or so. This writer, while posted in Amman, had handled the
evacuation of nearly 150,000 Indian refugees from Kuwait in 1991, and knows
the mess the government had made.
Propaganda against India;
The writer during his 35 years as
a diplomat knows only too well the propaganda wars waged against India
during the Cold war period. Even now CNN and BBC, when terrorists from
Pakistan attack Indian cities parrot " India claims this and Pakistan denies
that ", even when the origin of terrorists is well documented. CNN and
BBC cannot find out the facts, but they immediately support British Prime
Minister Tony Blair's discredited dossiers? When ever the Kashmir problem
is mentioned, 2 or 3 wars between India and Pakistan are repeated ad nauseum.
Why does Indian media not mention millions of Christians killed by the
Germans and British in two world wars when ever differences crop up between
UK and FRG. Or Hiroshima and Nagasaki when nuclear tensions and consequences
between India and Pakistan are repeated on CNN, BBC and other Anglo-Saxon
media. Western media or leaders do not even chide Pakistan when it resorts
to nuclear blackmail.
We should learn from Turkey which
is digging its heels and fighting to protect its interests and not letting
US ride over it. Turkey, a Nato ally since 1950s know s only too well that
USA does not keep its promises. After the 1991 Gulf war, Turkey lost tens
of billions of dollars and USA did not keep its promises. Bhagvat Geeta
quoting Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit sent Turkish troops to Cyprus in 1974
against stiff US opposition, where they have stayed put, to protect Turkey's
strategic interests in Mediterranean.
Propaganda wars against Iraq;
George Bush US led administration
with loyal support from Tony Blair has waged a personalized phony war on
Saddam Hussein since months, after its abysmal failure to capture Ben Laden
dead or alive or any other major Al Qaida leader, responsible for the stunning
events of 11 September, or his hosts, the Taleban leadership, most of whom
are reportedly hiding some where in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
To rivet attention away from its
failures, naval armadas and massive war making machines are moving towards
Iraq; Anglo-Saxon visual media covers military exercises daily. Despite
worldwide protests and growing universal opposition, including from major
allies like France and Germany, UN veto wielding Russia, perhaps China
and client Arab and Muslim states around Iraq, USA is now threatening to
unleash a hot war on Iraq and its hapless citizens. It is strange how US
and British leaders use alleged support from "international community "when
the only rabbit US produces is either a British official or sometimes an
Australian. Spain and Italy are not sending troops. Later, a few mercenaries,
with their miserable contributions, would form a coalition of the willing
or rather 'the obedient'
Changes in Media and Communications
The writer who had started his diplomatic
career as assistant Press Attache way back in early 1960s in Cairo, has
seen the transformation of print media offices from comfortable lived in
pigsties with coffee cups, overflowing ashtrays and scissors and paste
cuttings strewn around to the present day surgical operation theatre cleanliness.
During his 35 years in diplomatic career, he also maintained a fruitful
relationship with many excellent western media personalities like Flora
Lewis ( who passed away recently ), Jonathan Randall ( in news again ),
Charles Hargrave (The Times), Nick Ludington (AP ) and many others. But
he also saw how media was manipulated and used by the West for propaganda
against a non-aligned India.
BBC maxim 'reveal your minor truths
to conceal your major lies!'
In India's 1965 war with Pakistan,
BBC broadcast the usual lies like Indian soldiers running away. But once
better trained Indian soldiers had used the 2nd rate British made Centurion
tanks to knock out a few US made superior Patton tanks, BBC was all praise
for the jolly good Indian soldier. US would grant Jets or Tanks to its
ally Pakistan and when India bought arms from USSR to balance it, there
would be an outcry from western media. He encountered daily halftruths,
lies being disseminated specially by the Anglo-Saxon media. US policy remains
the same, "If you are not with us you are against us". Recently so moaned
the Foreign minister of Belgium among others.
During the 1991 Gulf war BBC made
uncharitable snide remarks about the height of king Hussein, ( whose son
Abdullah from the British wife is now the ruler of the Hashemite kingdom),
because he had not joined the coalition against Iraq. It was to protect
his country from a possible civil war and as he was genuinely interested
in a peaceful solution. Again the "If you are not with us you are against
us " syndrome. When Iraq closed foreign embassies in the city of Kuwait
and cut their electric power, BBC broadcast how the British diplomats had
opened champagne bottles for candle light dinner, living in the past glories
of Khartoum, Calcutta or Shanghai.
Fox Channel owner also runs lucrative
channels in Asia too like Star News etc, which are very popular in India
and elsewhere. They might be more honest and accurate in domestic news
with local competition, but propaganda seeps in foreign news. Western and
US institutions seduce many Indian media men, opinion makers and writers
by study grants, training programs and well paid seminars for themselves
and their wives. What impartiality does one expect from such persons?
Decline of Western media ;
But the decline of western media
specially Anglo-Saxon media has been steep after the Fall of the Berlin
Wall. This writer had a ring side view in Amman of the 1990-91Gulf crisis
and war. Jordan was the only point of access to Baghdad by air, road
or telephone. Iraq and Kuwait were effectively cut off from the world.
Other countries had closed their borders, so apart from the refugee flood,
Amman had also become the staging point for international politicians and
others visiting Iraq. It was necessary to keep a watch on political developments
to help assess their impact on the influx of Indian refugees coming from
Kuwait.
The Iraqi viewpoint was drowned
by anti-Saddam rhetoric disseminated by the Western media. For the
writer, the Western viewpoint was available from western radio and media
and Israeli TV, across the Jordan Valley 40 kilometers away. CNN had limited
availability in Amman. Iraqi version was available from Jordan TV and Radio
as most of the TV and Radio broadcasts in the region, except Iran sometimes,
were against Iraq because of its clear cut aggression on Kuwait Some had
sold out for US aid or money from Saudis and Kuwaitis. Jordan TV was popular
in Syria, but it was sometimes jammed by the Syrian government.
Amman used to crawl with international
media. The writer and his staff were frequently interviewed by BBC and
others on evacuation by air of many thousands of Indian refugees.
Many in India relied on these broadcasts specially from BBC for some news
of their relatives and friends lost in Kuwait or transit. The writer was
allowed a limited access by Iraqis to his counter part in Baghdad to exchange
news about the movement of refugees. With little to do BBC crew, even came
to film a small function on 15 August, India's independence day. But in
spite of 35 years of dealing with media and its divas this writer was in
for some shocks.
Lies and Half Truths;
US media were spreading stories,
"Yes, we have been asked to be on the standby. We could be asked to accompany
the coalition forces any time. Everything is ready for an attack". This
was being repeated by many media teams to the writer. It was a surprise
as it was quite clear that till end November, 1990, US led allied forces
were in not in a position to attack Iraq. A reliable journalist told the
writer that a few times western journalists would toss up some food packets
and water bottles to thirsty and hungry refugees, who had trudged all the
way from Kuwait, 1500 kms away and were camped in. no man's land between
Iraq and Jordan. Naturally the refugees scrambled for the food, which these
western media gentlemen then filmed and photographed for their readers
back home. This exploitation of misery was disgusting. This had happened,
when rich western powers, after initial commitment of funds to Jordan for
refugee care, as usual, forgot about their promise. Amman then allowed
in as many refugees as were being taken out of Jordan. There were
many tens of thousands in Jordan and more than that in no man's land. Nearly
a million refugees passed through Jordan, which had a population of 3 and
half million.
Management of Western media and
Blatant lies ;
One of the stories of Iraqi misdeeds
in Kuwait, was narrated by a 15 year Kuwaiti girl Nayirah (her last name
was kept. confidential ) which she herself had witnessed. In a testimony
before the US Congress on 10 October, 1990 she said," I volunteered at
the al-Addan hospital. While I was there, I saw the Iraqi soldiers come
into the hospital with guns, and go into the room where. . . babies were
in incubators. They took the babies out of the incubators, took the incubators,
and left the babies on the cold floor to die. " This terrible news about
the 312 babies made headlines in western media and elsewhere. This shocked
the world. President George W. Bush repeated it too. It turned public opinion
and Congress against Iraq. This writer too very much shocked.
Later it was learnt that Nayirah
was the daughter of Saud Nasir al-Sabah, Kuwait's Ambassador to USA. She
had left Kuwait before the Iraqi invasion. The story had been fabricated
in its entirety by the PR firm Hill & Knowlton. Why Nayirah's serious
allegations could not be checked by western media before being aired?.
This writer who had organized evacuation of nearly 150,000 Indian refugees,
had come across few complaints by Indian refugees against Iraqi officials
en route. It further diminished the trust of this writer in the truthfulness
of media, specially from the west.
It was also most disconcerting to
watch how western media and others allowed them selves to be censored
and manipulated. For the first time perhaps in history, media access to
rank-and-file soldiers in the field was prevented by US military brass
in order to kill any criticism of the purpose or conduct of the war. It
is estimated that between hundred to 150,000 Iraqi soldiers died in the
war, many were killed when retreating or wanting to surrender. There were
reports of taped conversations when US pilots shooting at retreating soldiers
were exultant at "target full areas " as if doing target practice. There
has been no impartial investigation of these reports, which if confirmed
would bring charges of violation of international law, human rights and
genocide. No wonder USA is so opposed to International Criminal Court and
is pressurizing governments to sign bilateral agreements to escape such
charges in future.
And of course there remains the
mystery and enigma of the full details of the last meeting between the
US ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie and Saddam in Baghdad on July 25,
1990 when she told Saddam that his dispute with Kuwait was a bilateral
Arab matter. Glaspie then disappeared from public view, and was barred
from giving interviews or writing a book. ( She was last heard as Consul
General to South Africa -a certain demotion!) The Western media did not
pursue her as they do others for exclusive interviews or books on her tenure
in Baghdad. Last heard she was a Consul general in South Africa, a demotion.
Hounding of Honest Mediamen;
The hounding and final dismissal
in 1999 of Peter Arnett by CNN, a Pulitzer prize winner in 1966 for his
work as an Associated Press reporter in Vietnam, illustrates the lengths
to which US military and intelligence establishment would go. Arnett had
achieved international acclaim for his on-the-spot reporting from Baghdad
for CNN during the 1990-91 Gulf War and had become a house hold name. But
he came under acute criticism at that time from the US government and military
circles for his objective reportage of civilian casualties resulting from
the US bombing of Baghdad.
When Arnett reported the truth about
US bombing of baby milk powder factories , which White House spokesman
Marlin Fitzwater claimed was "a production facility for biological weapons"
or death of 400 Iraqis by two precision-guided missiles on a civilian air-raid
shelter in the Amariya district of Baghdad with women, children and old
men packed inside, Fitzwater called Arnett a lair .He was denounced in
US congress as "the Joseph Goebbels of Saddam Hussein's Hitler-like regime.
" The CNN president received furious complaint from 34 congressmen. The
Pentagon "resisted a more direct way of controlling the media in Baghdad
by not bombing the al-Rashid Hotel or the Information Ministry " General
Colin Powell, then joint chief of staff chairman, was indignant at the
very thought.
"But since then, the tolerance of
unpleasant war images seems to be taxing the patience of American policymakers.
The Clinton administration approved the bombing of the television centre
in Belgrade during the Kosovo war just hours after several western TV reporters
had completed their evening newscasts. The Kabul bureau of the controversial
al-Jazeera, the "Arab CNN", was blown apart during the assault on Kabul
in 2001" wrote Arnett recently.
Like US policy makers statements,
CNN is quite unsophisticated many times. At least BBC, which has to
cultivate and retain its audience from the subcontinent to attract advertisers
must give the impression of credibility. So it is more subtle. But in the
demagogy, Fox channel is now numero uno. BBC's field veteran in Pakistan
and Afghanistan John Simpson moaned a few months ago that the Fox News
channel had overtaken CNN and with other US journalists was cheerleading
the world to war against Iraq . Fox News was "dysfunctional, grotesquely
patriotic and embarrassing" and had misled the American public after September
11 with "hysterical, excitable reporting", he told an audience at the Cheltenham
Literary Festival last year. As a result the US public had been horribly
misinformed. He added "I went to Ground Zero and I found that many people
believed US immigration policy was the reason why America was so disliked.
Thank God I don't have to broadcast to them. There is no recognition of
linkage with America's support for Israel. There is a great hunger for
information in America which people are not just getting."
Anglo-Saxon Media becomes mouthpiece
of their governments
Compared to 1990-91Gulf crisis and
war, media is now functioning at very high visual and decibel levels, specially
Anglo -Saxon media, having since then become even more pervasive and wider
in its reach, exercising its creeping control through so called independent
channels in Asia and elsewhere . In Russia, under the charade of globalization
-it should be called corporatisation of world revenues with out any political
or social accountability, hundreds of billions of US dollars have been
transferred to western banks and institutions by newly created Russian
oligarchs. Where would you expect the sympathies of the media empires
run by these gentlemen? They can be so easily squeezed by the US led west
and its agencies. Even Russian president Boris Yeltsin, when he talked
of a strategic relationship with China, was brought to heel by suitable
leaks to western media about his daughter Tatyana's gold credit card .
There are slanted reports on Saddam
Hussein, his wife or mistress and family being circulated in western media
specially Anglo-Saxon. It is given currency by senior members of US Administration.
It has been said that Saudi Arabia and others are organizing political
asylum for Saddam Hussein in some country or the other -a la Idi Amin.
Why would Saudi Arabia do so, when it might be the next in line. After
all the majority of 11September hijackers were Saudis. If we look at the
old files, the same kind of baseless rumours and stories about asylum and
his family had been circulated in 1990-91. Some times there is talk of
indemnity to all except Saddam Hussein, his family and some of his close
advisers, who would be tried later. Did not the US air force use chemical
and biological weapons extensively in the Korean War and later in Vietnam
and on its neighbours! Why should Kissinger and others be not tried for
war crimes and genocide, many people say.
But even with info overkill with
its slant there are many advantages. Look how Saddam Hussein comes out
in his speeches and how do Anglo-Saxon leaders, with Bush with his lone
ranger attitude of " dead or alive " ,"crusades and Infinite justice "
and Blair, as if needs a vacation badly. What credibility Blair carries
when Vladimir Putin told him on his face that his infamous dossier against
Saddam Hussein was not credible? And then one sees the emaciated Iraqi
citizens and even its leadership, who have suffered from more than 12 years
of sanctions. It is difficult to fool the audience unless one has been
totally brainwashed. Regular public polls around the world show that it
is not fooling many people, except perhaps in USA. One poll suggested that
many Americans think that if not all, then some of the 11 September hijackers
were Iraqis. Some success of the science of demonology.
Al Jazeera -an Arab response
But, unlike 1991 there is now an
alternative for the Arab and Muslim masses. Qatar-based Al Jazeera, one
of the most popular TV program in the Arab world has become a counter to
CNN . Funded by Qatar's crown prince to forge an identity for his small
nation distinct from Saudi Arabia. Al Jazeera was launched in 1996. It
was given a firm commitment for its editorial independence and pledged
$140 million to finance it for 5 years. It is staffed mostly by the personnel
of BBC's Arabic television service, which was closed down due to the editorial
meddling by a Saudi Arabian part owner, who had sought to censor a documentary
on executions in Saudi Arabia. Thus a hard-hitting Arabic satellite news
channel was born .
It was much sought after during
the US led war on Afghanistan when it broadcast videotaped messages from
Osama bin Laden and other al Qaida officials. Even top US leaders have
appeared on it to sway Arab and Muslim viewers. It has even aired Israeli
leaders like Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres. Expectedly it has got into trouble
with Arab countries like Kuwait, Bahrain , Iraq apart from Saudi Arabia.
Neither PLO nor Israel seem happy with it. Billions of dollars have been
reportedly offered to close it down. But despite its popular success, Al
Jazeera still struggles for advertisement revenue as it is shunned by large
multinationals. It is an example of difficulty in running an objective
TV channel in a third world region.
Expert Opinions;
According to The Guardian
'Those responsible for protecting Britain's national security - the security
and intelligence agencies - believe that the greatest threat comes from
al-Qaida-inspired Islamist fundamentalism, which an attack on Iraq is almost
certain to fuel. Any threat posed by Iraq is well down the road, they believe.
" Blair's defence of his policy towards Saddam Hussein and UN weapons inspectors
seems increasingly incoherent. Blair, recently told MPs" the reason Saddam
posed a greater threat than north Korea was because the problem was not
so much the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction but their use."
Yet Iraq has been successfully contained. There is no evidence of its intention
to use or proliferate chemical or biological weapons or that a policy of
deterrence has failed. It may be argued that North Korea, a great proliferators
with the capacity to produce nuclear weapons, is a much greater threat
- to the extent that the US is desperate to negotiate with it but indirectly.
And it has no oil. So what is the moral of the story?
Former Democrat senator, Sam Nunn
who was in London recently to launch a report on nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons by 13 respected think tanks led by the Washington-based
Centre for Strategic and International Studies said that the danger was
not so much that a state would supply terrorist groups with these weapons.
Terrorists, Nunn warned, were e more likely to steal them or buy them on
the open market. "Every lab on every college campus has dangerous materials,"
"The dangers of them leaking out existed everywhere, including in the US,
but above all in Russia, where more than 20,000 nuclear warheads sit in
120 separate storage sites. A single artillery shell of nerve agents is
small enough to fit into a briefcase and contains enough lethal doses to
kill 100,000 people." And what about Pakistan, with close linkages between
Army, ISI and Jihadis.
Most Americans do not realize the
influence of mass media and the press on their opinions about problems
of the world. Studies show that most do not always comprehend international
conflicts. They have little understanding of the places where they
occur, the real issues and the effect it will have on America. Americans
in general acquire most of their knowledge about the world and international
conflicts from the mass media. Unfortunately, television, radio, newspapers,
and news magazines often present skewed images of international conflicts.
How stories and visuals associated with the conflict are shown, influence
readers' and viewers' opinions. One-sided coverage of a particular conflict,
can shade, alter or misrepresent the true picture. Aware of the importance
of mass media and the press, governments often attempt to manipulate news
coverage. "Understanding the interactions between mass media and international
conflicts is crucial for America's future. Wise foreign policy choices
must rest upon the bedrock of citizen knowledge of complex and often intractable
conflicts"
It is easier to sell in the Christian
and Islamic worlds one sided stories. The world is divided into God
vs Devil. They are virtuous and always have on God on their side. The other
side is Devil, Evil, Satan, So there are various Hizbullahs and Christian
parties, social or democratic. And the governments use all means including
media as a crusade or Jihad against any one who disagrees. Part of
this follows from misinterpretation of Biblical Demonology. Till 1989,
Saddam Hussein was a good guy fighting the Khomeini evil .USA granted him
billions of dollars of loan, and along with UK, FRG and others provided
means of chemical weapons production. Donald Rumsfeld was one of the visitors
to Saddam Hussein's lair. The gassing of Kurds was known but covered up
by western governments. Since 1990, western media has painted him out as
a demon. What about USA's own record in Korean and Vietnam Wars?
Hindu philosophy believes in the
unity of all in one Absolute Being and the Chinese believe in Yin and Yang.
Religion is not used for demonology, but some even in India are learning
from the West as shown in Gujarat recently. While popular religious belief
in the West still remains strong, many in USA now believe that there is
nothing superior to human knowledge. Since the mid- 20th century
its elites, particularly in US, have "become secularized with radical autonomy
and absolute freedom to do whatever one chooses". It is only a question
of using the right marketing techniques.
Izvestia and Pravada ;
How one misses Izvestia and Pravada,
not that they propounded the truth (Pravada) but the so called free Western
media was more careful and comparatively honest. Now, with its monopoly,
specially in the visual media, there are few constraints. Yes, George Orwell's
1984 was 5 years off the mark. It came in 1989 after the Fall of the Berlin
Wall . But he was completely wrong about where it would hit or under whose
control. It is taking place in the corporate ruled USA.
But hope lies among many in western
media who refuse to be swayed, cowed down or swept over by the juggernaut
of corporate interests and establishment and its increasing hold over media
apart from its control of other coercive instruments. They keep fighting
for the ideals of free media every day and every where. Like Larry King
, Tim Sebastian, John Simpson and many others in visual media and many
hundreds of tireless media persons every where, who alert whenever media
in USA or elsewhere stray from standards of professional probity and requirements.
(K Gajendra Singh, Indian ambassador
(retired), served as ambassador to Turkey from August 1992 to April 1996.
Prior to that, he served as ambassador to Jordan, Romania and Senegal.
He is currently chairman of the Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies.)
