New Iraqi Radio Station anything but Independent

Recent reports of Americans guiding Iraqis in creating an "independent" Iraqi radio station is laughable.

It is difficult to believe that the so-called “independent” radio station will be entirely devoid of American influence. Allowing total control to the Iraqi’s would prove disastrous to American occupation efforts in Iraq and would further bolster the resistance. Obviously, the occupation is just as unpopular in Iraq as it is all over the world. US authorities have already labeled it an “independent” station, but I question that claim as American propaganda in Iraq has been part and parcel of the occupation since the very beginning.

During the war the US hired the Lincoln Group, an external PR firm which has placed over one thousand articles in 15 to 17 Iraqi and Arab newspapers (Static p.64). The US has also created the “Iraqi Media Network”, a network of 30 TV and radio transmitters, three broadcast studios, and 12 bureaus around Iraq to disseminate American propaganda (Static p.66).

Further still, the American military’s continuous targeting of Al-Jazeera stations in Iraq is more than a just a simple mistake, there seems to be a purpose behind it. It seems as though the US is unwilling to tolerate coverage that runs counter to its overall agenda. Whatever happened to the role of free media in a democratic society?

The "independent" radio station is not only a PR stunt aimed to strengthen the declining Western support for a failed war, but it is also an alternate means by which the US can continue and try to shape Iraqi public opinion. It's a classic case of killing two birds with one stone. Unfortunately for them, the informed public can see right through their desperate charade.