Iraq: Land of Opportunity? (Kurds Show America 'The Other Iraq')

[sabra]

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2235567&page=1&business=true

Iraq: Land of Opportunity?
Kurds Unveil Campaign to Show America 'The Other Iraq'


July 25, 2006 — For those all too used to the daily roll call of death and destruction in Iraq, a series of TV ads airing this week will come as some surprise.

"The Other Iraq" advertisements are part of an extensive PR campaign by Kurdish officials in northern Iraq to reshape Americans' perception of their region.

The first ad is a montage of Kurdish residents saying "Thank you" to America for bringing democracy to the country. A second invites investors to "come see what's happening in the other Iraq."

...

Some experts believe, however, that the campaign presents an overly optimistic picture. Peter Zeinhart, a senior analyst for the private intelligence firm Stratfor, said that although Kurdistan is going through "a golden age," its business potential is not equally glittering.

Zeinhart said the core problem for any business investing in Kurdistan is, "How are you going to get there?" Three of the four supply routes into the region pass through Syria, Iran and war-torn southern Iraq.

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. Not to mention the fact, you got a PO'd nation of Turkey

who will not allow an independent Kurdistan on her border.

[Strelnikov_]

2. 'Thank You' For What? They Were Essentially An Independent Province

before the invasion and occupation.

All we did was give them the oppotunity to grab Kirkuk.

[OKDem08]

3. If you go to their website, it indicates they have been

a democracy for a decade yet they are thanking Americans. It doesn't make any sense.

[Igel]

5. No fly zones.

In conjunction with the home-grown peshmerga, they effectively kept Hussein's forces out of the northern part of the country. The Iraqi ground forces weren't going to take on the peshmerga without air support. The no-fly zones denied them air support.

The result was a bit of a war in the north, but after a few years the various Kurdish parties managed to come to some kind of working compromise that yielded peace. They've managed to keep it since then. Some tactics are nasty, but the suicide/insurgency attacks are confined to areas adjacent to Arab areas, or in areas that were at least partially Arabized under Hussein.

[krkaufman]

6. Well, their fledgling democracy was only made possible ...

... through the northern no-fly zone over Iraq.

I expect, though, that should anyone look deeper into it, they'll find this is another case of Bush violating federal law by funding a direct propaganda campaign targeted at the US population.

[BrotherBuzz]

4. This must be Sal Russo's project coming to fruition

He's the ass behind that Astroturf™ movemnet 'Move American Forward' that morphed into the 'Truth Tour''

At Russo Marsh & Rogers the "truth" is always on tour

Bill Berkowitz
July 23, 2005

<snip>

Promoting the Kurds?

In the long run, the headline grabbing "Truth Tour" may prove to be significantly less important than RM&R's contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government, which aims to promote the interests of the Kurds in Iraq. O'Dwyer's PR Daily reported that one of the main goals of Kurdish leaders is "the return of Kirkuk," the oil-rich northern Iraq city populated by Kurdish and Turkmen people. O'Dwyer's also pointed out that the head of RM&R, Sal Russo, is no stranger to international politics, having "worked on the campaign of Violetta Chamorro in Nicaragua."

"Our job" with the Kurds, said Wierzbicki, "is to do a public relations campaign that will essentially thank the American people for supporting the war in Iraq. We will also encourage Americans to visit and invest in the Kurdish region." The project has not yet gotten underway, it is unclear how long the contract will actually run for, and Wierzbicki took a pass on letting me in on the financials: "It's a short term thing because they don't know how long the public relations campaign might go," said Wierzbicki.

<more>

http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=78

.......

Support the war!

The war on terror has been good for Move America Forward. It’s brought the conservative activist group notoriety, cash and ratings.

By Jerrery Baker
<snip>

when Russo returned from a Move America Forward trip to Iraq, he brought with him a client for Russo Marsh + Rogers: the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Of the Iraqi political entities’ various visions of a new Iraq, the Kurds’ is closest to Russo’s, he said, explaining why he took on the client. As both Russo and Wierzbicki put it, the firm was hired to thank Americans, on behalf of the Kurds, for supporting the war in Iraq--essentially, to do what Move America Forward is already trying to do. Among other things, the firm has scripted and produced television commercials for the Kurds and has arranged for visiting Kurdish officials to be interviewed by the media.

<more>


http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A45067 (This article is a very good read)

[rocktivity]

7. Rachel Maddow said you can't display the Iraqi flag there

Not that the OTHER other Iraq has a high opinion of it...



:headbang:
rocknation