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Special Investigation: Why Did the World Trade Towers Fall? A scientific explanation at last, from a physicist and mechanical engineer. P. Sainath recalls Gandhi's 9/11, one hundred years ago; Chris Sands reports from Afghanistan on the rise of the Taliban. What you just missed, but can still get, in our last newsletter: Paul Craig Roberts on the Collapse of America. CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation towards the cost of this online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! |
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Today's Stories October 4, 2006 Sharon Smith October 3, 2006 Jennifer Van
Bergen Greg Moses Stan Cox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Evelyn Pringle Fred Wilhelms Michael Abelman Gary Leupp Website of the Day
October 2, 2006 Eric Hazan Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Assaf Kfoury Missy Beattie Arthur Neslen Paula J. Caplan Website of the Day
Sept. 30 /
0ct. 1, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Marjorie Cohn Ben Tripp Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Mike Whitney Christopher Reed Seth Sandronsky Fred Gardner Mokhiber /
Weissman Michael Dickinson Alan Gregory Poets' Basement
September 29, 2006 Bruce Jackson Michael J.
Smith Emira Woods William S.
Lind David Swanson Jonathan Cook Website of the Day
Sen. Russ Feingold Ron Jacobs Mokhiber /
Weissman Lee Sustar Robert Jensen John Chuckman Evelyn Pringle Nicola Nasser Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Camilo Mejia Ben Terrall Ridgeway /
Ng Joe Allen Andrew Wimmer Franklin C. Spinney Website of
the Day
Hani Shukrallah William Blum Niranjan Ramakrishnan Barbara Becnel Paul Rockwell Dave Lindorff Rich Gibson Anthony Papa Nate Mezmer Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Jonathan Cook Joshua Frank Paul Craig
Roberts Robert Jensen Dave Lindorff Norman Solomon Dr. Charles
Jonkel Michael Dickinson Alexander Cockburn Website of
the Day
September 23
/ 24, 2006 Jonathan Cook Jeffrey St.
Clair Dr. Anon Tom Barry Carl G. Estabrook Laura Carlsen Todd Chretien Dr. Charles
Jonkel Debbie Nathan Fred Gardner Fred Wilhelms Seth Sandronsky Ralph Nader Rev. William
Alberts Jon Van Camp Heather Gray David Vest Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend Video of the Weekend
September 22, 2006 Patrick Cockburn Michael Donnelly Ramzy Baroud Evo Morales Stanley Howard Sarah Leah
Whitson JoAnn Wypijewski Website of the Day
Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad Justin E. H.
Smith Mike Roselle Amira Hass Deborah Rich Mickey Z. Saul Landau Website of
the Day
Sharon Smith Christopher
Reed John Ross Joshua Frank Arthur Neslen Norman Solomon Michael Carmichael Evelyn Pringle Hugo Chavez Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Jeff Leys Brian M. Downing Col. Dan Smith Liaquat Ali
Khan Ron Jacobs Nik Barry-Shaw
/ Yves Engler Lucinda Marshall Saul Landau Photo of the Day Website of
the Day
Carl Boggs Uri Avnery Mike Stark / Jim Bullington Joshua Frank John Murphy Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Bill Quigley Website of the Day
Tariq Ali Eliza Ernshire Jeffrey St.
Clair Mairead Corrigan Maguire Brian Cloughley Ben Tripp Laura Carlsen Ralph Nader Ron Jacobs John Chuckman Robert Fisk Gary Leupp Lawrence R.
Velvel Missy Comley Beattie Adrienne Johnstone Mickey Z. Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
Diana Johnstone Diane Christian William S. Lind Lee Sustar Dave Lindorff Ramzy Baroud Mokhiber / Weissman Jeffrey St.
Clair Website of the Day
Franklin Lamb Tim Wilkinson Dick J. Reavis Sam Husseini Doug Giebel Bill Berkowitz Diane Farsetta Mary Turck Patrick Cockburn J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. Website of
the Day
Jack Bratich John Ross Christopher
Brauchli Dave Lindorff Antony Loewenstein Al Krebs Leonard Peltier Jim Bensman Website of the Day
Norman Finkelstein Seth Sandronsky John Walsh Alan Maass David Krieger Nate Mezmer Kathleen Christison
Uri Avnery Patrick Cockburn Col Dan Smith Dr. Susan Block Anthony Alessandrini Dave Lindorff Niranjan Ramakrishnan Joshua Frank Jean Bricmont Sprague / Emesberger Website of
the Day
September 9/10,
2006 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St.
Clair Greg Grandin Peter
Stone Brown Ralph
Nader Brian
Cloughley Col.
Chet Richards David
Model Dave
Himmelstein Ron
Jacobs Fred
Gardner Mike
Whitney Josh
Gryniewicz Daniel
Gross / Joe
Bageant Nicole
Colson Alexander
Billet Poets'
Basement
September 8, 2006 Uri
Avnery Paul
Craig Roberts Bill
Quigley Robert
Jensen Norman
Solomon Keith
Bolin
September 8, 2006 Uri
Avnery Paul
Craig Roberts Bill
Quigley Robert
Jensen Norman
Solomon Keith
Bolin Kristin
S. Schafer Jeffrey
St. Clair Patrick
Cockburn Website
of the Day
Marjorie
Cohn Sharon
Smith René
Drucker Colín Michael
Donnelly John
Borowski Lucinda
Marshall Charles
Sullivan Jeffrey
St. Clair Jonathan
Cook Website
of the Day
September 6, 2006 Stephen
Soldz Dave
Zirin Ramzy
Baroud Noel
Ignatiev Dave
Lindorff Norman
Solomon Binoy
Kampmark Jeffrey
St. Clair John
Ross Website
of the Day
September 5, 2006 Jonathan Cook Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney
Roland Sheppard James Petras Alexander Cockburn
September 4, 2006 Clancy Sigal Jeffrey St.
Clair Anthony Alessandrini Dennis Perrin
Daniel Cassidy
Paul Craig
Roberts
September 2 / 3, 2006 Uri Avnery Jeffrey St.
Clair Ralph Nader Noam Chomsky Allan Lichtman Stanley Heller Rana el-Khatib Peter Montague Laura Carlsen Dr. Susan Block Joe Bageant Scott Stedjan / Matt Schaaf Gary Leupp Stephen Fleischman Paul Balles Ingmar Lee Jane Stillwater Ron Jacobs St. Clair /
Bossert Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
September 1, 2006 Uri Avnery Paul Craig
Roberts Bill Ayers Kevin Zeese Xochitl Bervera Norman Solomon Alexander Cockburn Richard Neville Website of the Day
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October 4, 2006 For Sale: Iraqi KurdistanA Strange PR Choice for the "Other Iraq"By DIANE FARSETTA Some weeks are slow on Move America Forward's email list. Others are bustling. September 15 to 21, 2006, was an example of the latter. Six emails were sent, including two from "The Other Iraq," at the address "KDC@RMRWest.Net." The emails are noteworthy because they illustrate synergy between two clients of the Republican-associated Sacramento public relations firm Russo Marsh & Rogers (RM&R): Move America Forward, a conservative cheerleader for the Bush administration's "war on terror," and the Kurdistan Development Corporation, an "investment holding and tradings company" formed in partnership with the Kurdistan Regional Government of northern Iraq (and presumably the KDC of the above email address). The first of the "other Iraq" emails began, "We wanted to send you this short note to let you know that a delegation from Iraqi Kurdistan is back in the United States - continuing our campaign to tell the American public about 'The Other Iraq.'" The message, sent on September 15, continued, "Americans helped us to win our freedom from the oppressive rule of Saddam Hussein. Thank you so very much for that. ... So far we've been to Washington, D.C. and New York and now Nashville, Tennessee. We're heading westward across America to tell our story and attract American support and investment in the new Iraqi Kurdistan." The second email, sent September 19, invited those who "can help play a role in the rebuilding of our region's future, or [who] wish to learn more information on investment or business opportunities" to email "The Other Iraq" campaign. But most of the message focused on, as the subject line described them, "poll numbers on Iraq you haven't seen." The poll was conducted in January 2006 by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), a joint project of the University of Maryland's Center for International and Security Studies and the Center on Policy Attitudes. Most of the poll figures cited in the "other Iraq" email are correct, if lacking context. One, however, is demonstrably false. The email claimed that no Iraqi Kurds agreed with the statement, "It is offensive to me to have foreign forces in my country." PIPA's report on the poll states that, of the 35 percent of Iraqis who favored U.S. forces leaving within six months, seven percent of Iraqi Kurds took the position because of the offensive nature of foreign troops, while four percent of Iraqi Kurds wanted U.S. troops out because their presence "attracts more violent attacks and makes things worse." Apparently those Iraqi Kurds were not deemed sufficiently pro-American by RM&R and/or the Kurdistan Development Corporation to merit mention.
RM&R's work promoting Iraqi Kurdistan has been reported previously. In July 2006, as part of "a national media blitz ... to attract investment and tourism," the Kurdistan Development Corporation launched print and cable TV ads promoting "The Other Iraq," while its development office embarked upon a multi-city U.S. tour. RM&R was behind the ad campaign. A spokesman told the Washington Post that the ads were part of a "pretty open-ended" deal that's likely to bring the firm "millions of dollars over a couple of years." RM&R also promoted the U.S. tour, including a July 27 San Francisco press conference that featured the Iraqi Kurd delegation and parents of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. "The gold star families that were invited are all supporters of the war," noted San Francsico's KGO-7. When asked by Free Speech Radio News reporter Aaron Glantz about the complementarity of his firm's work for the Kurdistan Development Corporation and the pro-Iraq War group Move America Forward, RM&R head Sal Russo said, "There's not a relationship, other than we have a lot of clients and those are two of them." In contrast to the July delegation, the Kurdistan Development Corporation's September visit was nearly totally ignored by news outlets. The sole article PR Watch found -- by The City Paper of Nashville, TN -- explained, "Most of the group's time will be spent promoting a new foreign investment law that touts free markets and economic incentives for foreign investments in Kurdistan." Kurdistan Development Corporation chair Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman told The City Paper, "In Kurdistan, we need everything. Whether it's hospitals, better roads or improving our school system ... these needs present opportunity for investors and American companies." Nijyar H. Shemdin, the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative to the United States, Canada and the United Nations, told PR Watch that the Iraqi Kurd delegation visited the United States for just over a week. "The theme of the delegation was thank you, America," he said. "There is another Iraq, which is safe and secure, and you are welcome to invest there. The Kurdish parliament recently passed the investment law, and in October will ratify an investment law on oil and natural resources." The members of the September delegation, according to Mr. Shemdin, were himself, Ms. Rahman, Bill Garaway -- and RM&R's Sal Russo.
There is no doubt that Iraqi Kurds are grateful for the U.S. removal of Saddam Hussein. Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 50,000 -- and as many as 100,000 -- Iraqi Kurds were killed during the Hussein regime's genocidal Anfal military campaign of 1986 to 1989. It's also true that the Kurdish region of northern Iraq is more peaceful, and in some ways more developed, than the rest of the country. "Kurdistan has so much to offer" the rest of Iraq, Gulf War veteran and Education for Peace in Iraq Center director Erik Gustafson told PR Watch. He added, "investment is crucially needed, but there are questions about how it's done." With regard to natural resources, he stressed the risks involved with production sharing agreements that "surrender sovereign control over oil resources to foreign corporations and allow much of the country's oil wealth to go abroad." In response to questions about the Kurdistan Development Corporation's "The Other Iraq" campaign, Gustafson reflected that there have been "so many failures" associated with U.S.-led reconstruction efforts in Iraq that the Kurdistan Regional Government may be trying to attract private investors to make up for the missteps and diminished spending of the U.S. government. "Given that most Americans think of the entirity of Iraq as a monolithic quagmire, Iraqi Kurds will have to work hard to build confidence in the profitability of investing in Iraq's development," he pointed out. "The Iraqi diaspora can be one source of investment, but I think major U.S. corporations and wealthy private investers are higher on the itinerary." Last year, RM&R's Joe Wierzbicki told journalist Bill Berkowitz that his firm was interested in the Kurdish Development Corporation account because "of all the different groups in Iraq that have a vision for the future, the vision of the Kurds is closest to ours. It's important to recognize that the Kurds are not hostile to the West." But why are the Iraqi Kurds working with RM&R? RM&R's Move America Forward campaigns have included opposing the Michael Moore movie "Fahrenheit 9/11," supporting John Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations, and organizing a "Truth Tour" of Iraq, for conservative talk radio personalities. The firm's other work is with election campaigns, nearly all for U.S. Republican politicians. On the "agency experience" section of its website, RM&R lists Republicans George Pataki of New York, John Shimkus of Illinois, George Deukmejian and Howard "Buck" McKeon of California, and George Nethercutt of Washington as past clients. Searching the RM&R website for the words "investment," "economic," or "development" yields no hits -- with the exception of one RM&R staffer's undergraduate minor in economics. A Nexis news database search confirms that RM&R and its previous incarnations (Russo Marsh Raper, Russo Marsh & Copsey, and Russo Marsh & Associates) do campaign media consulting for conservative candidates and issues. They don't do -- or at least haven't done until now -- promotion of foreign investment. The strange pairing of RM&R and the Kurdish Development Corporation -- which aims "to promote, facilitate and establish business and investment opportunities in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq" -- can be explained in one of three ways: either the Iraqi Kurds don't realize RM&R's area of experience, or RM&R is branching out into new areas, or the Kurds believe that ties with U.S. conservative politicians will best facilitate foreign investment in their homeland. When asked about the choice of RM&R, Mr. Shemdin deferred to Ms. Rahman, who, a week later, has yet to respond. Diane Farsetta is a Senior Researcher, Center for Media & Democracy, publisher of PR Watch. She can be reached at: diane@prwatch.org
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from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.                      |
