Mick Smith - Times Online - WBLG

Attempts to Block Critical Reporting of the War on Terror

Two interesting articles today, one on TimesOnline and the other in the Washington Post, address the issue of governments on both sides of the Atlantic trying to suppress negative news reporting on the war on terror - or the Long War - as we are apparently supposed to call it now, and they accuse the media of taking a pessimistic slant on things!

I have covered the US attempts to cow the media earlier. The British attempts to cherry pick favourable media outlets began in Iraq as we approached the sensitive 100-dead mark. They have continued in Afghanistan, with at times near desperate attempts to prevent journalists getting to the frontline and clear attempts by the MoD to censor media organisations, of which the ITN experience is only the most recent.

At Last a Commander Deserving of Command

It was absolutely brilliant to hear that the Chief of General Staff General Sir Richard Dannatt has stood up for his men and made it clear to Tony Blair that British troops should not be in Iraq. For several months, the British military in Basra have candidly admitted that the Iraqi police and the army have been running operations on the ground, even in Basra. As I pointed out six weeks ago, British troops have only stayed around because leaving now would cause George Bush’s Republican Party problems ahead of next month’s mid-term elections.

Death of a President

Just watched Death of a President, a stunningly realistic film, and a savage indictment of what counts for justice in the land of the free. There have been predictable protests that this film is making a political point against Bush and Cheney and does not represent reality. Sorry. But this piece of fiction is a far more accurate indictment of Bush’s America than any journalistic effort thus far.

Message to the Politicians - Let the Soldiers Get on with their Job!

British military commanders have struck a remarkable deal with the people of a war-torn town in southern Afghanistan to pull their men out in return for a Taliban undertaking to do the same. They agreed to a proposal from the elders of the town of Musa Qala for a “cessation of fighting” on condition the Taliban could be persuaded not to take over the town. The deal, which commanders insist is “a cessation of fighting” not a ceasefire, was thrashed out in a series of secret talks in a remote desert location south-east of Musa Qala. It is seen as a solution to the intractable problem of the British “platoon houses”, remote outposts set up in northern Helmand.