22-03-2003 15:58									#1
	Which Iraq War stories do you think are planted or false? Report them here. Get a bigger avatar today!

I've been meaning to start a thread like this for some time.

Over the last few months there have been lots of false news stories planted by one side or the other. Truth is the first casualty of war and it seems both sides have gone into overdrive.

The trouble is, the Iraqis aren't very good at it. I saw a spokesman claim last night that the allies had only penetrated a few kilometres at most into Iraq

They have been very good however at making the allies look like a bunch of bullies beating up on poor Iraq. Lots of footage of injured in hospital and so forth.

Its allied policy to lie and spin. They've made no secret of it. The stories about Saddam's sex life a few months ago were clearly part of a covert campaign imo.

The biggest planted story I see at the moment is the one about Saddam being seriously wounded or dead. Its clearly designed to demoralise and confuse Iraqi forces. So Saddam has been regularly appearing on TV.

What suspect/planted stories have you spotted?

	22-03-2003 16:00									#2
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I think the entire war is faked, like the landing on the moon...

	22-03-2003 16:20									#3
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quote: The biggest planted story I see at the moment is the one about Saddam being seriously wounded or dead. Its clearly designed to demoralise and confuse Iraqi forces. So Saddam has been regularly appearing on TV.

He has? We haven't seen anything beyond the first night.

	22-03-2003 16:46									#4
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There was a televised Iraqi war cabinet meeting today. It may have been prerecorded, but most analysists think that the Iraqi command and control system is still functioning well enough to indicate that Saddam Hussain is alive, if not necessarily well.

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't spotted any obviously planted stories yet, though the 'shock and awe' bombing is looking questionable, and *may* have been invented in order to encourage the Iraqis to stay in their bunkers.

Several major US military units are noticable for their total lack of media coverage though - I haven't heard anything about the US 2nd Marine or 82nd Airborne divisions despite both formations having large numbers of troops in the region.

	22-03-2003 16:48									#5
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It's likely you won't hear anything on the 82nd.

	22-03-2003 17:05									#6
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...untill they drop somewhere in brigade strength.

This counts more as bad journalism then as misinformation, but I saw an Australian journalist on TV today refer to the four British armoured personel carriers he's traveling with as the, quote, "Duke of York Division". I guess that it was too much trouble for him to learn the difference between a platoon, a battalion and a division before heading off to cover a war.

	22-03-2003 17:08									#7
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What about Scud attacks on Kuwait? I saw it in a couple of places, but there are no confirmations. Ditto with the "Iraqi setting oil fields on fire" stories.

	22-03-2003 17:17									#8
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Umm Quasr captured. Seems there's still fighting going on there.

The Iraqi claims to have shot down an enemy plane are probably false. We'll see.

	22-03-2003 17:38									#9
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Mass surrenders.

	22-03-2003 20:12									#10
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Turkish entrance into northen iraq, seems to be false, as well. Both the Turks and the Kurds denied it.

	22-03-2003 20:17									#11
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All the stories which don't include bare-chested, buff American soldiers speed-marching to Baghdad wielding nothing but American flags with cowardly Iraqis surrendering to them every step they take. Come on, we know the truth no matter how the librul media is covering it up!

	22-03-2003 20:19									#12
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I have to agree geenrally with the whole Saddam is dead..line of rumors going on endlessly.

You know, the coverage of this war is supposed to be so much better than the last, yet in some ways I feel it is so much less. And the 24 hour "news" networks don't help too much, since they endlessly repeat what little they get. There is also a huge dearth of news form the north..are there no reporters there?

	22-03-2003 20:29									#13
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We have a dozen journalists in Bagdat and it's apocalypse day there.

All reports about minimum civilian casualties are false.

	22-03-2003 20:33									#14
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Paitkis: not even the Iraqis say its that bad, and they have every reason to make it seem so.

	22-03-2003 20:36									#15
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Your media simply isn't reporting what the Iraqis are saying I pressume.

Hospitals are filled with mamed people.

	22-03-2003 20:42									#16
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Iraqi state Media says 200 civilians injured. Given the extent of the bombing, that is not a very high number.

On topic: Reports about how mnay and how Iraqis are becoming POWS sem confusing. Also, if so many are givng up, were are they being kept? and where are the pics, dam it! Last time aorund, we very quickly had TV footage of large caps of POWS. As of now, I see a small bunch here, a little colum there..

Also, as for them calling this war "unprecdented, never seen strike, blah, blah , blah": the accuracy of the air war, that is new. As for the scale and rapid advancement of the ground forces: not new.

	22-03-2003 20:46									#17
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There are some simple facts.

Even through the telephone adn video phone (the Greek oens and I'm sure others) you could see whole squares of buildings being blown up.

In the hospitals came people, children, old men amongst them without an arm there, with no eyes etc.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to do the math.

Now if you want to count how many civilians have been massacred by the myriads of bombs and calculate it, I don't think I want to bother.

	22-03-2003 20:46									#18
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They also said 3 killed. I don't know what to make of it. They should have said that more were killed, I guess.

	22-03-2003 20:49									#19
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Stefu,




GePap,

That's why there's no point in watching them all the time.

	22-03-2003 20:50									#20
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I don't think there's much sence in doing that.

You can simply add, 2.000 civilians killed in Yugoslavia (and who knows how many soldiers), we don't yet know about Afganistan etc.

When you start counting by the thousands the people who are killed by US/UK bombs it doesn't really have any meaning I think.

Also it still hasn't gotten to the guerilla fighting in Bagdat yet.

According to sources the only way it's gonna be a quick war is someone toppling Sadam while the massacre goes on.

	22-03-2003 20:51									#21
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Re the oil well fires, they had footage of those, but they seemed much smaller than I would have guessed, given the gas pressure on these wells (thousands of pounds of pressure, IIRC).

	22-03-2003 20:56									#22
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"Heavy fighting"
I don't know if this one can call this propaganda, probably more like journalists trying to get attention and sell air time. All the time you hear about heavy fighting, and the result is a couple of dead marines at most. Come on, I'm sure it's not a holiday on the ground and a lot of surplus ammo is in the air but heavy fighting for me is Stalingrad.

	22-03-2003 20:56									#23
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quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger What about Scud attacks on Kuwait? I saw it in a couple of places, but there are no confirmations. Ditto with the "Iraqi setting oil fields on fire" stories.

These reports are correct. Swedish TV journalists have been on location in both cases, and that was on the news last night.

One Scud was shot out of the air just 100 meters above the head of the reporter, and everyone around became very nervous and put on chemsuits. The whole sequence was on camera.

	22-03-2003 20:59									#24
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quote: Originally posted by Kropotkin "Heavy fighting" I don't know if this one can call this propaganda, probably more like journalists trying to get attention and sell air time. All the time you hear about heavy fighting, and the result is a couple of dead marines at most. Come on, I'm sure it's not a holiday on the ground and a lot of surplus ammo is in the air but heavy fighting for me is Stalingrad.

The Iraqis would probably call it heavy fighting. The Americans call it being pinned down.

	22-03-2003 21:06									#25
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quote: Originally posted by Olaf Hårfagre These reports are correct. Swedish TV journalists have been on location in both cases, and that was on the news last night. One Scud was shot out of the air just 100 meters above the head of the reporter, and everyone around became very nervous and put on chemsuits. The whole sequence was on camera.

What he meant is calling the missiles SCUDS. Iraq has a host of tactical ground to ground missiles, many of which, like the FROG or Al Samoud I's are within the permitted range. SCUDS are not, and their use would be proof Iraq had banned systems.

I wonder..we took locations in the western Desert, yet I have not heard any reports of the Us finding and taking out any SCUD launchrs with missiles? were there simply no SCUDS to find?

	22-03-2003 21:26									#26
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quote: Originally posted by Azazel Turkish entrance into northen iraq, seems to be false, as well. Both the Turks and the Kurds denied it.

No, the Turks have said flat out that they'll be sending a small force up to 12 miles within Iraq, with the option to go in further if they feel it's within their national interests to do so.

	22-03-2003 21:33									#27
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quote: Originally posted by paiktis22 Now if you want to count how many civilians have been massacred by the myriads of bombs and calculate it, I don't think I want to bother.

But even the Iraqis have said that only 250 people have been injured. Why would they downplay the casualities if they're as severe as you say? If anything, they would exaggerate them upwards into the thousands, not lower them to what they are now. Your argument makes no sense in the face of the facts as we have them so far.

	22-03-2003 21:39									#28
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quote: Originally posted by Case Several major US military units are noticable for their total lack of media coverage though - I haven't heard anything about the US 2nd Marine or 82nd Airborne divisions despite both formations having large numbers of troops in the region.

101 ABD is in Iraq, 82 ABD has troops rotated to Afghanistan now, having relieved 101 ABD there some time ago.

2 MarDiv may be attached as part of 1 MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force) as it was last time, but there's only so many roads, and so many staging areas that the invasion was launched from, so a lot of US forces are follow-on forces.

	22-03-2003 21:40									#29
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quote: Originally posted by Willem Your argument makes no sense in the face of the facts as we have them so far.

You have now discovered the essense of Paiktis.

	22-03-2003 21:45									#30
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quote: Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat You have now discovered the essense of Paiktis.

And several other posters as well. Truth is definitely the first casuality of this war! I don't think I've ever seen a situation that has brought about more "spin" than I'm seeing now, on both sides.