Russia slams US authorities for media deceptions over Iraq

Agence France-Presse (AFP) ^ | 4-1-03

[Oldeconomybuyer]

MOSCOW, April 1 (AFP) - Russia on Tuesday accused US authorities of misleading both domestic and international opinion by manipulating media reports on the war in Iraq, which Moscow strongly opposes.

"We have all seen the bias in the information provided, the violations of the rights of journalists and the way they deceive the American public and the international community as a whole," a spokesman for the press ministry said in a statement, as quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The statement did not cite any examples of the alleged manipulation by US officials.

Last week a group of US Congressmen accused the White House of stifling opinion opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq, now in its 13th day.

The press media statement came in response to a report issued by the US State Department in which Russia was criticised for alleged constraints on press freedom, RIA Novosti noted.

The press ministry "reaffirms the inviolability of the principles of free speech and media independence in Russia and hopes that US statements will be more balanced and unbiased in the future," the statement said.

Over the past two years several independent or opposition Russian media organizations have been closed down following alleged pressures or intervention by pro-government structures, giving rise to fears voiced in Washington and elsewhere that the Kremlin was seeking to stifle opposition.

[SolutionsOnly]

Sounds like somebody's a little irritated that we're doing so well...

[Argus]

Novosti, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the KGB for decades.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

It's hard to distinguish between the Pentagon press corps and the Russians.

[sarasota]

Those Russies make me laugh...

[jwalburg]

The statement did not cite any examples of the alleged manipulation by US officials.

I wonder why NOT?

[First_Salute]

No Show - Saddam Hussein Stand-in Gives Address to Saddam's Followers

All over the radio before noon, Eastern Standard Time, various networks stated that Saddam Hussein would deliver an address to his followers.

Again, Saddam did not show.

Minister [of Dis-Information] Gives Statement

SADDAM'S CALL TO ARMS

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has called for a jihad, or holy war, against Coalition forces in Iraq.

In a statement read out on TV by Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, he branded American and British forces "evil aggressors".

He said their invasion was"an aggression on the religion, the wealth, the honor and the soul and an aggression on the land of Islam.

"Jihad is a duty in confronting them. Those who are martyred will be rewarded in heaven. Seize the opportunity, my brothers."

"Hit them, fight them...fight them everywhere," he added. "Don't give them a chance to catch their breath."

The statement was issued as US forces were reported within 50 miles of Baghdad.

At the same time B-52 bombers were pounding Republican Guard positions north of Karbala.

The Iraqi leader has delivered two televised addresses since the war began on March 20, and was recently shown with his two sons, Uday and Qusay.

It was not clear why he did not deliver the latest address in person, as expected.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld described Saddam's non-appearance as "interesting".

[Kay Soze]

Deos this mean the Russians won't be taking any more of my tax money?

[EricT.]

The originator of Pravda has no place to criticize ANYBODY.

[Quilla]

Slamming it! With the exception of Fox News, The Washington Times, and less than a handful of others, the media portrays an obvious anti-American bias. For heavens sake, it borders on a communist tilt - what's Russia whining about?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

So...get the media out of there. Problem solved.

[Born to Conserve]

I didn't see much reporting from chechnya. When are the Russians going to realize they are third-world?

[TheDon]

Too funny!

[Southack]

I guess our poor presstitutes can be excused for not catching it, but having an Army General call for Jihad is a bit out of protocol.

Either you get an Imam or a Mullah to call for Jihad, or else you don't bother.

And even with a few hundred Mullahs calling for Jihad as they did in Afghanistan, the odds of actually getting people throughout the Middle-East to charge to their deaths attacking the U.S. military would seem to be pretty small.

Of course, that's probably due to Imams and Mullahs calling for Jihad every other day for every little thing that distresses them, as well as due to a survival instinct among a large number of the audiences of such idiots.

At some point, the cries for Jihad become less compelling (and that's coming from the religious authorities), so one can only imagine how the believers feel when called to fight a "jihad" for an army general in a doomed, surrounded, besieged city...

[josh0351]

Russia... Now there's a worth source for unbiased news!

[SolutionsOnly]

Can you imagine what the casualty numbers would be right now if this were a Russian War against Iraq?

[jimkress]

What was that about stones and glass houses?

[Naspino]

Yes -- the media coverage has been far too uplifting. Why won't the press question the American government's war plan?

Sheesh...

</sarcasm>

[Naspino]

Can you imagine what the casualty numbers would be right now if this were a Russian War against Iraq?

Given history -- and since we're only two weeks in. Probably 2,000 Russians and 11,000 Iraqi children.

[SquirrelKing]

"So...get the media out of there. Problem solved."

Russia is starting to sound like every FReeper who writes in on a CNN thread.