Facts about Iraq?
Who cares?
EDITORIAL /
DesMoines Register 17jun03
|
Mindfully.org
note: Keep paying attention to the popular US media—TV, newspapers,
radio—and you'll never really know what is going on. Think about who
owns the media—the likes of Rupert Murdoch and General Electric. Murdoch
has an extreme right-wing message and uses his vast media empire to put it
across. General Electric owns NBC. It also profits greatly from the sales
of weapons, jet engines and their maintenance, explosive trace
detection equipment used to ensure public safety at airports, not to
mention nuclear reactors. CBS is owned by Westinghouse, which also is in
many of the same businesses that profit from war and the reconstruction
after the wars.
Examples:
Murdoch Adds to DirecTV Empire 10apr03
Squelching the News in Democracy's Name 24oct01
Akre-Wilson Must Pay Fox Television
7mar03 |
Polls reveal an
astonishing lack of knowledge on basic information.
The Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius once wrote, "The opinion of 10,000
men is of no value if none of them knows anything about the subject."
That is the quote that comes to mind now that a new poll reveals many
Americans are misinformed about Iraq. Researchers at the University of Maryland
tested 1,265 respondents about their level of information on Iraq and the
tragedy of Sept. 11. The results troubled even the pollsters: Americans just
don't know the truth about the basics.
One-third of respondents believes the U.S. military has already found weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq.
In truth, none has been found.
Twenty-two percent thought Iraq had used chemical and biological weapons.
Wrong again.
Half the people polled thought Iraqis were among the Sept. 11 hijackers. Only
17 percent knew that not one single hijacker was from Iraq.
It's troubling. No, it's downright scary. It means Americans are basing their
opinions about the Iraq war on misinformation. If people believe Iraq was
involved in the World Trade Center tragedy, attacking the country seems
retaliatory. If they wrongly believe weapons were found and even used by Iraqis,
it lends justification to a war and subsequent military action.
This information also sheds some light on why the Bush administration may not
be so concerned about finding the still-elusive weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq: It doesn't matter. The people think they were found. The people think
Saddam Hussein was somehow involved in the Sept. 11 hijackings. The people think
it's OK to attack a country. Because they don't know the facts.
source: http://www.dmregister.com/opinion/stories/c2125555/21521542.html
17jun03
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