With the US and major media outlets increasing hostility towards Al Jazeera. it’s important that people have the option to make up their own minds.
- Semantic games: Other than sapping morale, speculative stories about the fate of key figures in the Iraqi government contribute to diverting attention from battlefield engagements that may not have had as positive an outcome as the US military expects. Indeed, this is one of the tactics employed by the Bush administration in its bid to combat the opposing side’s rhetoric. The growing anti-war message or possible military setbacks will be drowned out by cramming news cycles with a plethora of briefings timed for maximum exposure, especially in the American market.
- Why Britain wants this war
- Oil as a weapon of power: “If the United States maintains strong influence over what happens in the Middle East it certainly has control over the world’s…oil flow,” he said. “The US has at least a certain lever in it relations vis-à-vis these other countries. This well may translate into political capital.” Michael Klare, professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and author of Resource Wars, echoed Renner’s warnings. “Controlling Iraq is about oil as power, rather than oil as fuel,” he said. “Control over the Arabian Gulf translates into control over Europe, Japan and China,” he explained.
