The documentary Control Room directed by Jehane Noujaim
shines a light on the use of media bias and war propaganda during the Iraq war
of 2003. US forces liberated the Iraqi population from the reign of Saddam
Hussein. From an American vision Iraq was successfully freed, however an Iraqi
perceives the opposite. The war caused many civilian causalities and media
controversy. Nowadays, warfare does not only depend on advanced ammunition but
also the power of media. I would say that the media has become a prominent
weapon to contemporary warfare as to using propaganda to their advantage in
fighting the opposition. It is almost impossible to incorporate objectivity in
cases such as reporting about the Iraq war, including both American and Iraqi
journalists. As an Al Jazeera journalist claims: “The word objectivity is
almost a mirage.”
On this note, I will be evaluating
the following prompt with regards to topics discussed in the documentary Control Room and the Iraq war of 2003: “The
term propaganda always refers to a negative message.” I disagree with this
statement, as I was enlightened by the media insights of several journalists,
correspondents and generals in Control
Room. We often find ourselves shining a light unintentionally on one
particular side of the story due to our different ethnic backgrounds and
ideological beliefs. It is in the nature of a human being to unconsciously
defend that, which is valuable to our individual or collective value systems. Such behavior goes by the name 'polarization'. In addition to this realization, Samir Khader Senior Producer of Al Jazeera
mentioned the following: “You can not wage a war without rumors, without media,
without propaganda.” Media is exposed to the majority of the world and its
people. Warfare has become extremely reliant on the media and the way war is
exposed depending on the origin of the news station. Presenting military
offenses and their causes to the public will undoubtedly evoke a personal response
from the audience and with that the operating forces have become much more
vulnerable to the allegation of war propaganda and media bias.
The term ‘always’ is the trigger
in this statement and applies suitably to the instance in Control Room when the US troops were entering Baghdad in their
final attempt to liberate the Iraqi from Hussein’s dictatorship. On this day
they used Jessica Lynch’s rescue as a façade to conceal their invasion. It was
a successful and strategic use of propaganda and media coverage according to a
CNN Correspondent: “Seems like they manage the news in a pretty unmanageable
situation. They buried the lead and they are pretty good at it.”
Additionally, Khader spoke wise
words at the end of the documentary that had a lasting impact on me and shaped
my vision towards the validity of the concerning statement of this blog. He
said: “History is written by the victors. People like victory. Once you are
victorious you don’t have to justify.” This contributed to the defeat of Iraq
and the way of the US troops showcasing their conquest. America played an
intelligent media performance when they ‘liberated’ Iraq from Saddam Hussein.
They brought in men who were supposed to be Iraqis celebrating the liberation –
according to Samir Khader they were not Iraqi – and broke down the statue of
Saddam Hussein, as people would remember this image for a long time and forget the
horrors that preceded their victory. This form of war propaganda indubitably
demoralizes the virtual filter through which the news is presented to the
public, yet in various cases it can stimulate a positive effect. It is more a
matter of questioning the extent to which one can be objective about a case
that involves your nation and your people. Which in turn sparks debate on the
morality of using propaganda in warfare.
