The western media and the U.S. military had both learned from the first Gulf War in 1991. A better coverage of the Iraq war in 2003 has there not been the same. On the one hand, there were in German radio broadcasts and newspaper articles, numerous references to the influence of propaganda and censorship of the warring parties. On the other hand tried to coalition forces show no longer in the first Iraq war or the Kosovo conflict primarily with satellite imagery successes. So tired but the learning effects of media and military.
Embedded journalists
Coalition forces were about 500 of them known embedded journalists ("embedded") into the armed forces report that is permanently and directly support a particular unit. This reporting was subject to the restriction to give any information which - such as accurate location information - could be dangerous for the troops and set when in "real time" took place on the videophone instead of television cameras and broadcast on satellite channels, but it had losses of sound and image quality . The flood of images, which was the result, meant that about 1.5 million viewers have watched in Germany, as the attack began on Iraq.
In this conflict there were several live reports of fighting. For example, could a few days later, the viewers of CNN, Euro News, n-tv, the Belgian RTBF television stations and other parts of the 7th Cavalry Brigade in the local struggle to see in Umm Qasr.
disappears, the distance of coverage?
More viewers could not get by. They had the embedded journalists than the impression that the could have involved soldiers themselves, often uncritical and full of personal opinion and personal experience, not an overview of the battle. "I have a gigantic march of steel see through the Iraqi desert," announced as the CNN reporter Walter Rodgers down by a tank. He threw all his integrity as a reporter on the Iraqi regime in the balance, he said, when he was asked about the denial of the first territorial gains by the Iraqis. But he could not tell more than he was at an advance of a tank unit somewhere in southern Iraq while (FAZ, 22.3.2003, "These pictures are real).
When the Iraq's administration and military organization after three weeks collapsed war, staged the U.S. troops in Baghdad, a media event of the first order: met U.S. tanks in the center to a prestigious place with Saddam Hussein's statue and opposite the Hotel "Palestine" before, in where many Western journalists were staying. Simple could not drive up in front of the cameras of the world media. In the square, the statue was later overturned and the hotel searched U.S. soldiers - all with live broadcast to 16 clock time in Central Europe. Better you could not prove the disintegration of the Iraqi power structures in the world in the image and corresponding covers to almost all European Newspapers the following day to create. The Americans ran in only one direction error as a soldier of the statue, the first U.S. flag umhängte which was then quickly replaced by the Iraqi flag. At the very first action saw after the occupation and for liberation from.
lack of know-how of journalists
The media used military experts in the home because of their editorial skills, but usually had no insight into the conflict and could rely only on censored TV pictures. The local journalists on the other hand knew the conflict first hand, but could not vote as much information and processes critical because their background knowledge was missing. At this point, would both have to be connected, the background knowledge and the impression on the ground. This was omitted in most cases. This ultimately means that the competence of journalists to report on crises and war, must be questioned. But the history of uranium (and armor piercing) ammunition was once in the first Gulf War, the second after the Bosnian conflict and in this war in Iraq again reported - the collective memory of the journalists was short enough that the phenomenon to forget.
familiar ritual with little information value
more points of interest in reporting point in similar directions: On 26.03.2003 German and other TV stations had reported, for example, there are over 100 armored vehicles of the Iraqi people on the march from Basra to Fao not yet occupied, already ruled out coalition forces. In addition, other reports said there were around 1,000 vehicles on the road from Baghdad to the positions of the coalition forces. These large and multiple troop movements were reported in the following days, but just not mentioned. Anyone who has ever seen a single tank company on the march know, but how little 100 or several hundred armored vehicles disappear easily. Either the first reports were false reports or Transmitter had simply lost track of these associations or the Iraqis were now overflowed or been destroyed and it should not or could not be reported. The silence on this several times announced march remains incomprehensible anyway. The audience had expected heavy fighting, which then simply stayed away.
"Shock and awe"
on the assessment of the success of the war was for the coalition forces are no longer within reach, because the advance faltered, but not only journalists, but U.S. officials were to blame. For example, Pentagon adviser Perle claimed even on 11.7.2002, the Iraqi military would collapse "after the first hint of powder." Defense Secretary Rumsfeld declared war doubted six weeks, Vice President Cheney, it will go quickly, "somewhat in weeks than months." End of March but accumulated by the same U.S. politicians statements, the conquest of Iraq will take longer and be more difficult. The proportion of Americans who believed that the Iraq war would last several months was a survey by the Washington Post a few days from about 40 to about 50 percent. This change of mind of the politicians had apparently forgotten that the advance took place in three weeks, in fact, very fast and many important war aims were achieved: the collapse of the Iraqi military, to prevent the shelling of Israel, to prevent a Turkish intervention in northern Iraq, the prevention the systematic use of weapons of mass destruction.
Even more amazing was that the relatively low number of casualties among coalition troops was not appreciated in the media. But even the little know-how of journalists should be responsible. Oversight has been consistent, that would in principle lossy local struggle not only in Baghdad but, for example in Umm Qasr, Basra and Karbala can be held extensive and covers fighting enemy frequently throughout the vast supply lines between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad could strike. Moreover, not only were experiences from the Second World War forgotten (alone in the final battle for Berlin, the Russian attackers lost about 800 tanks, over 100,000 civilians have been killed), but also from Mogadishu in Somalia (1993) or Grozny in Chechnya (1990), where they could prevail neither Americans nor Russians militarily much weaker opponents.
And even more amazing was the fact in reporting under completely that in Baghdad, not just day-long Heavy fighting house by house and street and road was, but the vast majority of soldiers and police officers throughout just went out their uniforms and went home. They were during the invasion of Americans simply disappeared as if by agreement, without which was assessed by the media for the least strange. The comparison with the Allied victory over Germany in 1945, drawn by many media forbade accordingly by itself, for up to 8 May 1945 was been fought in Germany - including offensive action, such as the Germans in the Ardennes offensive - and only the Americans had more than 400,000 deaths. Until 21 Of the war in Iraq, coalition forces had caused about 150 deaths and missing persons.
Stealth bomber or ghosts?
CNN against El Jazeera
Founded in 1996, Arab channels Al-Jazeera ("The Island") with an audience of around 35 million viewers in the Arab world and based in the emirate of Qatar (as the U.S. Central Command General Franks) and was financially dependent of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani - the first time in this conflict - at 23.3. not only images of dead U.S. soldiers, but U.S. soldiers caught in a kind of examination that should include mention their name, unit, and the reason of their deployment in Iraq. U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said on who shows images of abused prisoners, make themselves complicit. Al-Jazeera had been the video messages from Osama bin Laden aired and was therefore already been judged in the Pentagon critical. In the Iraq conflict, the U.S. television broadcasters, were largely to Rumsfeld's recommendation not to show the images of prisoners of war. They appeared only as a still image. The U.S. media in this case exercised self-censorship. On the other hand, several Iraqi dead were shown on television.
benefited more, as the Fox News, CNN Conflict: saw in the first week of the war, only about 3.2 million Americans, CNN, 3.6 million, however, Fox News, reported much less critical of the U.S. campaign and even the Pentagon's slogan "Operation Iraqi Freedom" adopted as the report title had. For Fox reported including Oliver North, the protagonist of the Iran-Contra affair, and Geraldo Rivera, who was already in the Afghanistan war struck by dubious statements and now made by the Pentagon of the operational area was because he was in a live report of U.S. positions in the sand and so betrayed worldwide (Der Spiegel 15/2003, war in Iraq. subtle can only confuse). Al-Jazeera, however, could not recover despite intensive coverage in 2003 in the black. The station was previously funded by Qatar - after the British magazine The Economist because of its political, ie liberal leanings - in spite of many fantastic reports (eg, the exclusive broadcast of Osama bin Laden video tape) not nearly enough to win advertisers. Al-Jazeera in the Iraq war but also sold pictures to CNN, Fox and others (The Economist, 21.6.2003, All that Jazeera. Television in the Arab world).
El Jazeera introduced its live coverage Baghdad on 3.4. one, as was not only shown a correspondent in the city, but also a second of professional conduct was prohibited. At this point were similar El Jazeera and CNN correspondents of the two broadcasters had been expelled.
In reporting conflict between CNN and Al-Jazeera also attacked U.S. hackers: They had linked the website of Al-Jazeera and links to a U.S. flag and pornographic content and the message "God bless our troops leave. Similar Hacker attacks had been recorded, especially since the broadcast of images of U.S. prisoners of war on Al-Jazeera.
"directed error
addition to Al-Jazeera and CNN, but there was also the Iraqi state television El Shabab as a source of information from first Hand. The impression of the growing paralysis of public life could not prevent this state broadcaster. In addition to volunteers from other Arab countries who wanted to fight alongside the Iraqis, and photographs of Saddam Hussein was clearly shown, especially soldiers and official speeches.
Israel was with decreasing likelihood of Iraqi missile attacks from the attention of the media. Most foreign journalists had left in early April already. The Israelis themselves were in English only media available, the more likely from the U.S. perspective reported (Fox, CNN and Sky). The BBC has been arrested for alleged lack of demand from the program. The Handelsblatt suggested, however, - like media critical Israelis - that the depletion of the TV range for alleged israel critical reporting of the BBC was deliberately accepted (Handelsblatt, 4.4.2003, Critical notes undesirable).
Why censor?
crisis and war reporting are not independent phenomena, but the one by the media system, for other military and political influence. A significant factor in the reporting is and remains the censorship. The measures of negative or direct censorship aimed essentially at giving the media to withhold information. This happens for example through the control and selection of image and audio material from journalists by military censors or imposition of blackouts or retention of individual information. An influence of public opinion is thus hardly possible and this method can also display the opposite effect, as the attack Israeli soldiers in April 2001 pointed to journalists who wanted to accompany the mission of U.S. mediator Anthony Zinni, the soldiers fired on their armored vehicles in front of the cameras not only with tear gas, but also with live ammunition. To meet the information needs of readers and viewers and to legitimize their own activities, is generally assumed that in the media - it is called the communication scientist Siegfried Weischenberg - recourse "ritualized" reporting forms, such as the use of experts, the information-free switching between live and studio Correspondent, be the citing of official communiqués, as well as conjecture and speculation, illustrated with archival images or computer simulations.
The measures of positive or indirect censorship aimed directly at influencing the public opinion from. This includes the provision of visual material including the military and the launch of only selected or falsified information. Falsified information in the first Gulf war goes as the alleged murder of babies in Kuwait and the photography of the execution of Kuwaiti civilians (Iraqi looters in fact) to the amount of so-called smart bombs, as JR MacArthur says. How about, for example, by claiming the U.S. government that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, acts which constituted the principal reason for war, you will be able to judge only after a further examination of the situation in Iraq. Of these weapons months after the U.S. victory, however, neither the former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, yet convinced the opposition Democrats in the U.S.: While Blix said in June 2003, the prospects for such weapons finds would fade more and more demanding the Democrats, a parliamentary investigation into alleged war lies ( Financial Times Germany, 06.12.2003 Blix scolded the "bastards" in the Pentagon). There are interactions between the two forms of censorship, for example, is favored by scarcity of information (direct censorship) to exercise military image and sound material (indirect censorship).
protest against censorship
The European Broadcasting Union has protested against British and American restrictions on reporting. The military of both countries have expelled several independent journalists from different countries were forcibly removed from areas in southern Iraq. It was created an unequal system, said the merger of public and private television stations: embedded journalists, then journalists from countries of the coalition and last independent rapporteur, "to be deterred from even in the proximity of the events to come" (www.n -tv.de, 04/03/2003) U.S. and British military spokesman said to know nothing of these events and noted the alleged threat to independent journalists, a popular base, areas of coverage block - from Chechnya to Zaire. The disadvantage of journalists from countries that the war was negative face, confirmed by individual correspondents. Finally, the Kuwaiti Army was tasked with the 240-kilometer border with Iraq to block non-authorized correspondents. wanted
horror drama on Youtube?
The "heavy fighting" the reporter and the "brutal street fighting" (www.n-tv.de, 1.4.2003) the British military spokesman in Basra demanded as on 1.4. a death in the coalition forces. Under brutal street fighting of the audience sees for pictures from Grozny in Chechnya or the battle of German cities during World War II from Konigsberg to Berlin, several hundred thousand deaths that are caused by contemporaneous programs in memory, other casualties.
Allied and Iraqi communications
The United States made use of some relatively easily recognizable actions, such as the claim that the Iraqi Vice President Aziz had fled. As the only Christian in the Iraqi government, he could be described as the most credible defector to design the image in the first hours of panic and desertion in the Iraqi army and leadership to this possible at all. From the British Guardian up to mirror online Western media reported the escape and details (for example, he was of Kurds in northern Iraq have been made) and sat on the misinformation. Aziz was then one who in Iraq TV turn on a propaganda campaign took part, as he claimed all credibility, a U.S. helicopter was shot down by a farmer with a gun.
How little you could also allied reports believe was also clear pictures, which had been approved by the censors themselves. So were at 21.3. was allegedly the site of Umm Qasr and Fao Peninsula occupied. Nevertheless, there were two days later image reports of intense fighting on the very these points. It was not, however, reported that the place had changed ownership.
Western Channel brought pictures of a manageable quantity of Iraqi prisoners of war who were guarded by Americans . Doubts as to the repeatedly by the U.S. side expressed numbers of captured Iraqis countered U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld with the statement that you are aware of show no prisoners on television, as it had been banned by the Geneva Conventions (www.n-tv.de, 23.3 .2003). Whether Iraqi war prisoners are shown at prayer or American to be interviewed on camera what they have intended in Iraq is therefore not a principle, but only one of degree.
In assessment of the U.S. communications must also be considered that this began not only at the beginning of hostilities in order to influence world opinion - Just like the Iraqi action. Although the U.S. had the controversial project of the "Office of Strategic Influence" to disseminate targeted (dis) information completed abroad, active measures with the purpose of influencing public opinion in key countries, however, were not so complete. The U.S. Secretary of State Charlotte Beers (Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs) is a dedicated marketing specialist (including Ogilvy & Mather and J. Walter Thompson) was not only television commercials (for American Muslims reported it as their life in the U.S.) but also brochures ("Iraq: From Fear to Freedom" with terror, poison gas attacks and mass destruction weapons on one side and freedom on the other side), and media appearances (eg Secretary of State Colin Powell in a discussion with young people in the music channel MTV).
In March / April 2002, an article in U.S. magazine Foreign Affairs, entitled "Beyond Public Diplomacy warned that the U.S. would lose the war for the hearts and minds of the people in the Muslim world, even though they were" legions of spokspersons on the airwaves at home and abroad "to use. They contend that not only Osama bin Laden, offering a regular video and audio tapes responsible, but the state media in the regimes in the Middle East. Washington should therefore concentrate more intent to install a free media in these countries.
That the communication was successful you can see as after the announcement of some dramatic counterfeiting and government crises in the UK and the U.S.. The traditional and critical incorruptible British magazine The Economist published on 19/07/2003 still an editorial entitled "Why we still think, on present information and trends, that the war was justified". Apparently the White House and the CIA had been working on a formulation for a Bush speech, which should arouse despite doubts about Iraqi uranium purchases such an impression. Bush had said that Washington had learned of a uranium business Baghdad.
images without reports and reports without images
In terms of allied and Iraqi disinformation on both sides of both reports were not confirmed by pictures and images recorded without confirmation through relevant reports. For example, although already at 23.3. claimed by the Allies was that there were over 10,000 captured Iraqis and U.S. troops would be greeted with joy by the people, this was the same old images of individual prisoners and the tentatively waving Iraqis illustrated. Mass phenomena would certainly be both of the Allied troops and the embedded journalists otherwise shown in the picture been. The resistance of the Iraqis - whether military or Baath Party irregulars - and the resistance of the population was apparently underestimated by the coalition forces.
found on the Iraqi side on the same day, a search for allegedly using a parachute pilots bailed in Baghdad instead, which could be followed live on western television. was with some settings to see, however, that more journalists than soldiers took part in this search. It was so obviously a staged media event. The channel n-tv repeated in a band picture the low-assertion of the images: "Iraqi military fired into the water" because it was succinct. In the following days this search was hardly discussed yet.
The number of prisoners contradicted themselves constantly. Am 25.3. U.S. military spokesman claimed that there were about 4,000 Iraqi prisoners. Two days earlier, was already about 8,000 prisoners, the speech (it was said, a whole division had shown himself).
The British reported not only misrepresented that the Iraqi Vice President Tariq Aziz had defected, it Scud missiles were fired at Kuwait (there were Silkworm missiles), they were British prisoners were executed literally, or about 8,000 Iraqi soldiers would have resulted in a day. The case of the city Umm Qasr was a total of nine times to early April reported and the control of Basra also repeatedly forced (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 2.4.2003, nine times already, the case of Umm Qasr has been reported).
The question of whether Saddam Hussein was still bothering the media during the entire war, after the fighting with began a surprise by the Allies so-called "decapitation strike" on a supposed whereabouts Hussein. The U.S. is speculated to almost any TV show Hussein as to whether it had been a recent recording by himself, the current inclusion of a doppelganger or an old recording of him. Biometrics include German forensic pathologist reviewed the Iraqi TV footage and concluded that it was for the "real" Saddam Hussein (Focus 13/2003, Biometrics: Disappearance of a dimple).
Is it the real?
The U.S. could be keen to pull its survival and therefore the stability of his rule in doubt. Iraq could however be keen to show that he is alive and the defense of Iraq itself is derived, which could be changing residence and improvised television receivers for the apparently unusual appearance of television pictures in charge. Hussein calling for a jihad, a holy war, on 1.4. followed not only include an unknown amount of volunteers from Yemen, Sudan, Egypt and Palestinians. The street demonstrations in Islamic countries became more frequent and sharpness. Even more moderate Muslim clerics such as representatives of the prestigious Cairo's Al-Azhar University and mosque stood behind the jihad call.
terminology and personification
The effects of the psychological warfare of the First and Second World War are still felt today like this, also influenced by media defamation image of the Germans. At that time, even by official propaganda images were created and find out about it, even on other nations applied, is in many other conflicts such as the application of communication studies Mira Beham. Even the Iraq war was characterized. Even if in the wake of reporting the truth comes to light, once resulting impression was then already impressed in the beginning of the war or its aftermath or in the course of battle had been. In other words: "What counts is the first assertion. Denials are then ineffective, "says media expert Müller-Ullrich.
The name of the opponent were both in the military, as well as Western journalists, to some extent problematic. Thus, the n-tv correspondent Ulrich Klose said on 23.3. That U.S. troops would be fighting delivers with "rebels", as if they were not about to attack the U.S. war against which regular Iraqi troops on their own state site to defend but to be insurgents against a legitimate government. Some stations called the whole debate "war against Saddam," said as if it was not a conflict between several States with the official goal of disarming Iraq. This personification was are also found in other papers (eg, the Express tabloid press and image) and magazines and television stations. . Personifying the reporting had about "Saddam's palaces after U.S. move on 7.4, and almost every German station took the pictures, the U.S. military had made in the palaces - the proverbial golden bathtubs and taps included.
After the collapse of civil order in Iraq continued looting in many cities, some of which were recorded in the picture. In this case the thieves dragged away including vehicles, furniture and computers. In the live reports said the company as palliative: the residents of Baghdad were in the process "so many belongings as possible to organize." The negative terms looting and theft does not seem to fit as a positive perception of withdrawal of the Iraqi state. How many have disappeared over the ancient art treasures looted or destroyed, could not exactly say months after the war.
After the screening of U.S. POWs on Iraqi TV the U.S. was the liberation of prisoners not only in public opinion to gain prestige, but also personify the success. And who looked harmless, as the wounded 19-year U.S. Lance Corporal Jessica Lynch, was rescued from an Iraqi hospital in Nasiriya. The topic has been immediately selected as material for a movie, although after the war - were heard including the British BBC and the German program "Monitor" significant doubts about the liberation history.
Jessica Lynch
Psychological measures
Not only is the population outside of Iraq or the journalist in Iraq were in the crosshairs of the communication of the coalition forces, but also the Iraqi people. As in the last conflict in the Gulf employed the coalition forces again extensive measures of psychological warfare: pamphlets and leaflets, television and radio broadcasting, but and e-mails and SMS messages to Iraqi officers and officials. was
on the leaflets of the U.S. troops asked in this conflict not only to overflow and to surrender. The Iraqi troops were also warned to use mass destruction weapons, destroy infrastructure, to abuse prisoners of war or radar systems use to fight coalition aircraft.
Several radio stations had different objectives to the Iraqis with so-called white (the sender reveals himself) and black (the sender pretends to be someone different) propaganda. Modified Hercules aircraft, which circled at an altitude of 5,000 meters above the Iraq incident, from the air broadcasts on medium wave and FM from. Changes include the Iraqi consciously imitates the transmitter to be credible and the sending habits of the population to adapt. Parallel Iraqi radio station was hampered by interference. But broadcasting stations on the Earth (eg Kuwait) sent from those programs. In addition, programs in Iraq the BBC, Radio Monte Carlo or the US-funded station is Sara in Arabic. In northern Iraq, Kurdish station and sent in Iran, Saudi Arabia or Kuwait other opposition groups (Die Welt, 20.3.2003, air blows out of the ether). Even the media was hardly worth a report. Supposedly should also military personnel and leaders in government and business via SMS and e-mail was addressed to give up the fight. Such rapid success, this has failed.
victims and prisoners
The first and unsuccessful British campaign in Iraq in the First World War had cost in 1915 still some 23,000 dead and wounded, until the British with even more losses in a second campaign in 1917 Baghdad, which was defended by then by the Turks, were able to conquer. In this conflict, large numbers of victims were recorded only on the part of Iraqis. Dealing with both war dead as well as with prisoners left much to be desired on both sides.
After the U.S. suspected Taliban and al-Qaida members caught in their base in Guantanamo Bay were published, their protest against the treatment of captured U.S. soldiers duplicitous. Detlev Vagts of experts such as Harvard Law School or representatives of Amnesty International complained, moreover, that not only the Iraqis were captured Americans, but the reverse also chained the pictures of Iraqi soldiers have been aired in U.S. custody. Both sides referred to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols to the protection of prisoners of war from intimidation, insults and public curiosity, as well as humiliating and degrading treatment ask what they also, (to hurt Financial Times Germany, 25.3.2003, Iraq and U.S. propaganda international law) in these provisions are not mentioned, television appearances count. Similarly, many German papers assess the fact that the U.S. has begun without a UN mandate. International outweighed the criticism of the isolation of the U.S. and Britain.
Iraqi imagery
Summary
Taken overall, the U.S. government consultant Harlan K. Ullman, creator of the strategic concept of "Shock and Awe", disagreeing: The offensive was "magnificent," he said, but this does not run magnificently was the appropriate PR campaign. On the contrary, offensive and communication activities both contributed to the success of coalition forces - and the fact that the war had taken place at first.
notice also must be said that there were many spectacular live coverage of individual events, but insufficient analysis and background information of the overall conflict and its political consequences. Positive individual cases show, for example in the British magazine The Economist, on 7 June 2003 a critical report on possible war crimes UK published "The reality of course, is that British troops have not soldiered impeccably in the past, and they did'nt in Iraq." (The Economist, 7-13.6.203. ). The magazine also discussed outcome - because it shows the political analysis - whether Tony Blair "Tony Bliar" [Tony liar] Is because it has led Britain because of the not found weapons of mass destruction in a war.
showed again that misinformation and propaganda systems have specific characteristics of media. If they have the known message factors (eg, negativity, personification, controversy) that comply journalistic theories of reality, they are taken over potentially make possible - once established - international careers and in other Media quotes. Because of the special circumstances of war reporting media are always potentially vulnerable to misinformation or propaganda, especially when associated with measures of direct or indirect censorship to respond to the journalists with a kind of ritualized form of reporting to ever make such statements.
commentary
literature and references
- M. Beham: war drums. Media, war and politics. Munich 1996
- JR MacArthur, The Battle of the lies. How the U.S. the Gulf war were selling. Munich 1993.
- B. Müller-Ullrich: Media tales. Offender disposition in journalism. Munich 1996.
- S. Weischenberg: Between Censorship and responsibility. How journalists construct (wars). In: M. wooden spoon (ed.): War as a media event. Opladen 1993rd
Information Operations of the U.S. armed forces
war propaganda during World War
Information Operations of the U.S. armed forces
war propaganda during World War
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