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The Iraq We Haven't Seen
27.7.2006 |
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The Kurdistan regional
government is rolling out a national media blitz
this week: "Kurdistan: The Other Iraq," complete
with cable television ads, print ads and a national
tour by the head of its development office to
attract investment and tourism to its northern Iraq
region.
"The Other Iraq" -- despite echoes of the pork
industry's "the other white meat" ads -- was
specifically chosen to counter "the public
perception of Iraq as a violent and dangerous place"
plunging into civil war with the "peaceful and
prosperous" Kurdish region, according to the
campaign.
So we see pictures of smiling kids, dancing people,
a booming economy. And the campaign emphasizes that
"not one American or coalition soldier has been . .
. killed in the Iraqi Kurdistan region since" the
war began.
Okay, so there was a car bomb on Sunday that killed
22 in Kirkuk -- the flash point that could well see
serious fighting as the Kurds take it over and push
out the Arabs settled there by Saddam Hussein . That
critical oil center, claimed as historically Kurdish
until Hussein pushed many of them out, is marked for
now just outside the boundaries of "The Other Iraq."
The ad campaign is the brainchild of veteran
Republican public relations firm Russo, Marsh and
Rogers, last seen in July 2005 doing PR for the
"Truth Tour," a week-long trip to Iraq by
conservative radio talk-show folks.
The idea then, we are told, was "to report the good
news on Operation Iraqi Freedom you're not hearing
from the old-line news media . . . including the
positive developments and successes they are
achieving." (Seems so long ago.)
The campaign is the first of three segments this
year, an RM&R spokesman said yesterday. It's part of
a "pretty open-ended" deal with the Kurdish
government that RM&R expects to be "in the millions
of dollars over a couple of years."
Kurdistan, with its 100,000-strong pesh merga
militia -- not a bunch you want to tangle with --
has been effectively independent since the 1991
Persian Gulf War. As former diplomat and keen
observer Peter W. Galbraith noted yesterday in a New
York Times op-ed, "The Iraqi army is barred from the
region, the Iraqi flag [is] prohibited and central
government ministries are not present."
A nonbinding 2005 referendum in Kurdistan showed a
nearly unanimous vote for independence. Loop Fans
will not be shocked when the region splits off.
But for now, the beautiful mountainous area --
snow-capped peaks, even -- looks to be just about
the safest place in the whole region. They even like
Americans there.
Of course there are other duties, such as handling
press advance, working out logistics for the
traveling press, helping to prepare briefing papers
and so on.
The job has been filled by Jamie Hennigan , a
dedicated and super-competent reelection campaign
aide.
Hennigan will need courage as well. For example:
"Sir, the Canton Repository reports you told Larry
King on June 1, 2005, that the Iraqi insurgency was
in its 'last throes.' The actual date is May 30.
Should I demand a correction?"
washingtonpost com
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