To everything: spin, spin, spin; there is a war: spin, spin, spin

Anyone who has seen the documentary CONTROL ROOM remembers the beleagered Marine spokesman for the U.S. military, Captain Josh Rushing. He did a marvelous job, but some of his on-camera comments were somewhat equivocating — so much so that he was summarily asked to leave his position and eventually the military. Since then he has written for Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news agency whose piercing questions he had to field as a Marine media specialist. And he has been giving talks about his experiences.

The following article chronicles one such recent discussion:

Former Marine spokesman describes Iraq war spin

By Gabriel Leiner/ Staff Writer
Norton (MA) Mirror
Friday, March 31, 2006

Based on his work experiences since 2001 as a U.S. Marine public affairs officer and Al Jazeera journalist, former U.S. Marine Colonel Josh Rushing said he believes the Iraq war has been, and continues to be branded by media bias.

"What (the U.S.) told Al Jazeera as the war was happening was not only morally wrong, it was also strategically wrong, and it was dangerous," Rushing told Wheaton College students in a lecture on March 28 titled "Confessions of a Former Spin Doctor: From Marine Spokesman to Al Jazeera Journalist."

"I was saying that (U.S. General Tommy Franks) should be on Al Jazeera every day, but the message I was getting was the U.S. wanted to shut off all connection with Al Jazeera," said Rushing. "And my response was that, if this war is to be explained (to Iraq) as more than just (weapons of mass destruction) and oil, but something motivated by moral reason, the only way to reach the people of Iraq was through Al Jazeera."

Since the war began Rushing said he gradually began to understand how pronounced media bias was in the war, as he served the military in various ways, including writing for military journals, as a spokesperson for U.S. General Tommy Franks, and as a junior officer stationed at the United States Center for Communication (CENTCOM) in Qatar.

For the whole article, go here.