[Media-watch] claims and counter-claims

[William Dinan]

from today's Guardian

http://media.guardian.co.uk/iraqandthemedia/story/0,12823,921649,00.html

When are facts facts? Not in a war 

Claims and counter claims made during the media war in Iraq 

Chris Tryhorn
Thursday March 27, 2003 

"Fog" is beginning to be the watchword of this war, with the lines between
fact and propaganda being blurred on a daily basis.

The demands of round-the-clock news means military claims are being relayed
instantly to millions without being confirmed or verified only to be refuted
later by reporters on the ground or by fresh military updates.

In due course, questions will be asked about the clashing interests of the
military and the media and the role of war propaganda in the pursuit of a
swift victory against Saddam's regime.

The worst example of false claims relates to the battle to take control of
Umm Qasr, the southern Iraqi deep-sea port and one of the key targets in the
early war.

On Sunday afternoon, it had been "taken" nine times. By Sunday night there
were still ugly skirmishes between coalition forces and irregulars loyal to
Saddam operating out of the old town. Umm Qasr was not, in fact, taken until
Tuesday.

Yesterday, the fog of war rose again in Basra after premature reports of a
popular uprising.

Here MediaGuardian.co.uk charts the contradictory claims and counter claims
made so far.

Anyone who can point to other war claims that don't bear scrutiny, please
email editor at mediaguardian.co.uk. 

CHEMICAL WEAPONS FACTORY: NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T

Claims
Monday, March 24, 1.33am
Reports surface that US forces find first cache of Saddam's chemical and
biological weapons, seizing a suspected chemical factory in An Najaf. This
would be a significant PR coup for Messrs Bush and Blair who justified their
launch of war on the grounds that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.

Fox News and the Jerusalem Post, which had a reporter travelling with US
troops, both quote unidentified Pentagon officials who said the facility was
seized by US forces. About 30 Iraqi troops and their commanding general
surrendered as American forces took the installation, apparently used to
produce chemical weapons, according to the Jerusalem Post. It was not
immediately clear what chemicals were being produced at the facility.

Officials caution it is too premature to conclude that forbidden weapons had
been discovered but US central command says it is examining several sites of
interest.

Claims
Monday, March 24, 2.42am
General Richard Myers, chairman of joint chiefs of staff, claims US commamdos
found documents along with millions of rounds of ammunition on Saturday,
saying the discovery "might save thousands of lives if we can find out
exactly what they have".

We're not sure
Monday, March 24, 2.44pm
General Tommy Franks, head of the coalition forces, claims he "wasn't
entirely sure" that it was a chemical factory after all. Fox News forced to
back away from the story. Iraq denies it has chemical or biological weapons.


BASRA UPRISING

Claims 
Tuesday, March 25, 5.30pm 
Widespread media reports of a popular uprising against President Saddam
Hussein in Iraq's second city of Basra, believed to have originated from
military sources. Follows reports from pool reporter Richard Gaisford.

Claims challenged
Tuesday, March 25, 6.10pm 
British military sources say they are unable to confirm reports of any
popular uprising in Basra, but reiterate that they would do everything
possible to encourage and support any Iraqis planning to overthrow forces
loyal to Saddam."We don't know anything about a popular uprising," said one
British military source in Central Command in Qatar. 

Iraq calls claims 'hallucinations' 
Tuesday, March 25, 7.44pm 
Iraq's information minister denies the reports, calling them
"hallucinations". "I want to affirm to you that Basra is continuing to hold
steadfast," Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told the Arabic language
al-Jazeera television network. 

Army 'confirms' claims
Wednesday, March 26, 2.27am 
A British spokesman at US Central Command headquarters in Qatar says it
appears there has been an uprising. "We don't have a clear indication of its
scale or scope or where it will take us. But we will want to support it to
exploit its potential. It looks like this uprising is based on the massive
resentment of the population."

Al-Jazeera rejects claims
Wednesday, March, 7.40am 
An Al-Jazeera reporter, who is stationed behind coalition lines in Basra,
says he has no evidence of an uprising. He says the city is crawling with
Iraqi military and the streets are littered with shrapnel.

Blair backs claims 
Wednesday, March 26, 12.30pm 
British prime minister Tony Blair says he believes there has been a limited
uprising overnight. "In relation to what has happened in Basra overnight,
truthfully reports are confused, but we believe there was some limited form
of uprising," he told the House of Commons.

BASRA 1
...where an hour is a long time in the military calender.

Claim
Tuesday, March 25, 8.13am
Reuters: "British military spokesman confirmed on Tuesday British troops were
probably going to go into Basra to battle irregular fighters resisting
US-led invasion forces in Iraq's second city. "We are meeting resistance
from irregulars, members of the Fedayeen, who are extremely loyal to Saddam
Hussein's regime," group captain Al Lockwood told CNN television. "They are
lightly armed, and very small in number, but they are terrorising the
citizens of Basra and we will probably need to go in and meet any
resistance." 

Counter claim
Tuesday, March 25, 9.16am
Reuters: a British spokesman said on Tuesday British troops would not enter
the southern city of Basra to battle irregular Iraqi fighters -
contradicting an earlier statement. But the British did consider Basra a
military target. "We're not going into Basra, it's simply considered a
target," a British military spokesman at Central Command headquarters in
Qatar told Reuters. "The reason it is a potential target is because it has
an enormous political and military importance in the area." 

UMM QASR

Claim
Thursday, March 20, 7.33pm
US-led troops have taken Iraqi border town of Umm Qasr, Iraq's only
deep-water port in the south, wires and TV report.

Counter claim
TV reporters, including Mark Austin on ITV's News Channel, challenge the
claims. They have it on Iraqi authority that Umm Qasr has certainly not been
taken. "Iraqi troops deny anyone has surrendered." 

Confirmation
Friday , March 21, 11.35pm
Admiral Michael Boyce, chief of the British defence staff, confirms the
off-the-record briefings received by media in Kuwait and southern Iraq. "Umm
Qasr has been overwhelmed by the US Marines and now is in coalition hands,"
he says.

Further confirmation
Friday, March 21, just after midnight
US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld says US forces have taken Umm Qasr. The
fog of war thickens.

Challenge
Saturday, March 22, breakfast time
TV reporters on Sky and BBC say Umm Qasr have witnessed fighting and dispute
claims that the port has been has been "taken". They explain the new town is
under coalition control but the old town is putting up resistance and
therefore Umm Qasr cannot qualify as "taken".

Challenged again
Sunday, March 23, 05.53am
A heavy firefight breaks out between US Marines and Iraqi forces, witnesses
say.

Confirmation again
Tuesday, March 25, 9.53am
Reuters: "The southern Iraqi port town of Umm Qasr, where US and British
forces have faced Iraqi resistance for days, is now "safe and open", a
British commander said on Tuesday. Brigadier Jim Dutton, commander of the
British Royal Marines' 3rd Commando Brigade, told reporters he hoped the
first ship bringing aid to Iraq would arrive within 48 hours."

NASSIRIYA 

Claim
Saturday, March 22, 11.12pm
US forces have captured Nassiriya in central Iraq, according to wire reports
from Iraq.

Fresh claim
Sunday, March 23, 1.30am
US forces say they have captured Nassiriya, international wire services
report.

Alternative claim
Sunday, March 23, 10.21am
US-led forces suffer heaviest casualties so far with stiff resistance at
Nassiriya, Najaf, Basra and Umm Qasr.

Exasperation begins to show
Sunday, March 23, 5.50pm
Defence analyst Francis Tusa says on Sky News: "We have now been told three
times that Nassiriya has been captured. How many more times are we going to
hear this?"

Battle goes on
Monday, March 24, 11.43am
US Marines were still bogged down early on Monday at the southern Iraqi city
of Nassiriya, the key to opening a second route north to Baghdad, after
taking significant casualties there on Sunday. 

51st DIVISION

Claim
Friday night, March 21
Wires, TV and radio report official claims that coalition commanders have
accepted the surrender of the 8,000-strong 51st Iraqi infantry division near
the southern city of Basra on Friday.

Counter claim 
Sunday March 23, 10.33pm
Reuters: "Iraqi officials denied US statements that the US commander of the
Iraqi divison had surrendered, which US officials said on Friday."

Counter claim number 2
Monday, March 24, 3.22am 
New York Times wire service: "US officials were quick to announce the
surrender of the commander of the 51st Division. On Sunday they discovered
that the 'commander' of the surrendered troops was actually a junior officer
masquerading as a higher-up in an attempt to win better treatment."

GRENADE ATTACKER

Claim
Sunday, March 23, 12.10am
Ten US soldiers were wounded in an attack on Camp Pennsylvania, a military
base in northern Kuwait, a US military spokesman said, without giving
further details. Jim Lacey, a Time magazine correspondent who was at the
camp, told CNN two grenades had been rolled into the command tent in what
appeared to be a "terrorist attack". The report gives way to instant
discussions of al-Qaida terrorist cells operating in Kuwait.

Details of attacker change
Sunday, March 23, 12.40am
Sky News says the suspect for the attack is a US soldier, later revealed as
Asan Akbar, who was born Mark F Kools. But the information hasn't filtered
through everywhere. The BBC's Radio 5 Live still discussing the terrorist
attack on the 1.00am news on Radio 5 Live.

SCUDS

Claim
Thursday, March 20, 10.15am
An Iraqi Scud missile fired at US troops on the Kuwaiti border was
intercepted by Patriot missiles, the US military says. Reports of scud
attacks widespread. 

Admission
Sunday, March 23, 4.30am
US general Stanley McChrystal says: "So far there have been no Scuds
launched... We have found no caches of weapons of mass destruction to date."