Spinning the war?

last updated 8 January 2015

Baghdad

Republican Party operatives are running the press office of the U.S.-led coalition, the Associated Press reported this week. The Office of Strategic Communications, whose mission is to disseminate information about the Coalition Provisional Authority, is staffed largely by people who used to work for the Bush campaign or for Republican lawmakers. One department is run by Rich Galen, a Republican strategist who once served as press secretary to Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich. In contrast, the British press operation in Iraq is staffed by civil-service workers, not political appointees. “Iraq is in danger of costing George W. Bush his presidency,” said contractor Gordon Robison, who helped build an Iraqi TV station, “and the CPA’s media staff are determined to see that does not happen.” Press officers said they followed strict guidelines that steered them clear of partisan politics.