While the Iraq war rages on, increasing its already huge body count daily, a war of another kind is waging concerning the US’ television news networks. Some weeks ago the New York Times reported that military analysts biased in favour of the Bush administration had been introduced into news programmes by the Pentagon.
This matter is seen as a violation of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and is being investigated accordingly. The FCC is an independent US agency directly responsible to the US congress.
According to the New York Times article, the Pentagon had an actual programme to woo analysts to its stance on the Iraq war. This included providing trips to combat zones and meetings with top defence officials. Many of these analysts reportedly also have ties with defence contractors.
Some members of congress have questioned whether the analysts and networks are equally culpable in what is a clear case of insidious propaganda.
