Counterspin: Pro-war mythology - exceptional article by Scott Burchill
As opposition mounts to Australia's involvement in the proposed US aggression against Iraq, the Sydney Morning Herald has seen fit to publish Scott Burchill's detailed and trenchant critique of Western hypocrisy and the threadbare justification for the war. Even the fourth estate does not escape attention:

"Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this pre-war period is that despite intelligence dossiers, parliamentary speeches and months of disingenuous government propaganda portraying Saddam Hussein as an imminent threat to life on earth, only 37% of Australians support an illegal, unilateral strike by Washington against Baghdad...

"Spin doctors and PR consultants will therefore be working hard over the next two months in an effort to close the gap between public opposition to a war against Iraq and government enthusiasm thinly disguised as a commitment to the The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) process. Their work will be made considerably easier by the support of loyal servants of state power within the fourth estate who will be reliable conduits for opinion management by governments in Canberra, London and Washington."

Counterspin: Pro-war mythology - exceptional article by Scott Burchill
As opposition mounts to Australia's involvement in the proposed US aggression against Iraq, the Sydney Morning Herald has seen fit to publish Scott Burchill's detailed and trenchant critique of Western hypocrisy and the threadbare justification for the war. Even the fourth estate does not escape attention:

"Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this pre-war period is that despite intelligence dossiers, parliamentary speeches and months of disingenuous government propaganda portraying Saddam Hussein as an imminent threat to life on earth, only 37% of Australians support an illegal, unilateral strike by Washington against Baghdad...

"Spin doctors and PR consultants will therefore be working hard over the next two months in an effort to close the gap between public opposition to a war against Iraq and government enthusiasm thinly disguised as a commitment to the The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) process. Their work will be made considerably easier by the support of loyal servants of state power within the fourth estate who will be reliable conduits for opinion management by governments in Canberra, London and Washington."