Perhaps the most enduring image of the war is the remarkable gun-camera footage of precision bombs, produced not by journalists but by the military. While 90 percent of the bombs dropped on Iraq were the highly innaccurate "dumb bombs," only the precision weapons produced videos, and the American Government, unlike the British, never showed one that missed.
"Those videos had an enormous impact on the American public," said David Gergen, who as an aide in the Reagan White House helped pioneer the use of images to form public opinion. Mr. Gergen, now editor at large of U.S. News and World Report, said the military set a benchmark for disseminating "a kind of video press release."
Mr. Cheney1 said he did not think of the tapes as a press release, but added, "I will admit we did clean it up," by removing the audio portions that disclosed the raw sounds of "guys in combat."
Faced with requests for footage of errant bombs, American spokesmen used the same reasonable tone that worked to their advantage throughout the conflict, avoiding a flat No. Mr. Williams, for instance, told journalists on Jan. 21, "I will look into giving you some of that footage."
In recent interviews, officials adopted a tone of innocent forgetfulness.
Mr. Cheney1 said such tapes would have been "pretty dull, boring stuff."
Mr. Williams said, "That's one that fell through the cracks."
Capt. Ron Wildermuth of the Navy, General Schwarzkopf's2 chief public affairs aide, said the
item "was not high on my priorities."
(text of excerpt from May 6, 1991 New York Times article)
-RELATING TO THIS TERM OF REFERENCE, I AM GOING TO POSTULATE WHY THERE IS AN EMERGING RESURGENCE IN THE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM.
AT THE END OF THIS FOOTNOTE YOU WILL FIND A LINK TO AN EVOLVING DIRECTORY OF TERMS OF REFERENCE ABOUT THIS DISTURBING TREND IN SOCIAL ACTIVISM.
IS A DREAM A LIE IF IT DON'T COME TRUE OR IS IT SOMETHING WORSE?
1-THE "MR. CHENEY" HERE, OF COURSE, IS THEN-BUSH ADMINISTRATION DEFENSE SECRETARY AND YEAR 2000 REPUBLICAN PARTY VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DICK CHENEY.
IF VISITORS TO MY AWARD-WINNING WEBSITE BEAR IN MIND WHAT IS EXPLAINED IN WHAT YOU FIND IF YOU TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE--EXPLAINING WHY I FIRST TELEPHONED MY FRIEND DESMOND TUTU IN 1978 AND WHAT WE THEN DISCUSSED (IT'S IN THE FIRST FOOTNOTE)--THEN IT OUGHT TO BE EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY I KEPT TRACK OF TERMS OF REFERENCE LIKE THE ONE TO BE FOUND IF YOU TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE--IN THIS CASE, RESPECTING THE "VIEW," IN THE "CONTEXT" OF MY "INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC WORK...ON A DIRECT BASIS" FOR THE WORLD'S CHILDREN, OF DICK CHENEY.
2-TO CONSIDER ANOTHER TERM OF REFERENCE INVOLVING GENERAL SCHWARZKOPF RELATED TO THIS SUBJECT MATTER AT HAND HERE, TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE (IT'S IN THE ?????????? FOOTNOTE).
BACK TO THE STORY OF 'WHAT HE FOUND'?