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LEAD-IN BY HOST VALARIE TORRES: Some Houston residents argue that authoritative viewpoints from Iraqi-American citizens are not being included in the press's coverage of a possible U.S. invasion of their homeland. Brandon Moeller reports on what some may consider to be an apparent mainstream media blackout of such opinion. STORY: "I had a brother who was in the Iraqi airforce ... [one of the top pilots in there] ... Right after that war, he threw off all his uniform, his medals, he was a colonel in the airforce, and refused to serve any longer in that government of Saddam Hussein. And then I was in Canada doing some consulting work, and I talked to my family and he was gunned down right in front of a mosque ... [He certainly didn't want to have anything more to do with the government ... and his car was riddled very much like you see that Godfather movie, there was bullets all over him and he was killed."] That was an Iraqi-American* sharing a personal story at a recent teach-in about the media's role in the 1991 Gulf War and the possible upcoming invasion by the United States. The dual citizen used to live in Iraq, but now works as an engineer in the petro chemical industry. The Iraqi-American has tried to get a few editorials and letters published in the Houston Chronicle, but has been unsuccessful. Like others, the Iraqi-American doesn't understand why the media hasn't been seeking out Iraqi-American citizens who have interesting, informative and dissenting insight into the possible conflicts. "They're not interested in any body's opinion unless Washington hand-selects special interest groups to speak on behalf of all Iraqis. And in order to defend U.S. war policies against Iraq." University of Houston School of Communication graduate student Sherry Reedy, who attended the teach-in, had some interesting comments about the mainstream media's seemingly blackout of Iraqi-American dissenting viewpoints. "The Miami dissidents who are always wanting to fight Cuba, they will work with them, they talk to them. But not the dissidents, the people here, who may be against Saddam Huseein but not for a war which kills innocent civilians and all." A diverse group of individuals have been protesting a war on Iraq all over the nation, including Houston. A member of Houston Justice Not War, Ola Humphries, has been active in a regular Friday-night candlelight vigil at Mecom Fountain, where Montrose Boulevard meets Hermann Circle in the heart of the museum district. Humphries remembers the public's response to the first war on Iraq. "It's like magic fairy dust. You say 'war' and suddenly everybody is hypnotized. And they'll say ... 'yes sir boss, what should I do?'" Humphries believes one of the contributing reasons for this public sentiment is the role the media has assumed. "Television exists to entertain people, it doesn't exist to inform them. And most people get their news from the media." A board member in the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Shaden Yousef said that though bias still exists, she is still interested in engaging the media. "The most important thing the media can do is educate. I feel there's a lot of ignorance, and lots of misinformation. What the media can do is help try to disseminate some accurate information out there." Brandon Moeller, KPFT News, Houston.
E-mail Brandon Moeller at brandonmoeller@hotmail.com .
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