In war, said Napoleon, the moral element and public relations are half the
battle. And that was before radio and television.

For the first time, a Mideastern antagonist of the United States - Osama bin
Laden - has not only mastered public relations, but is using the media as a
potent weapon against the world's mightiest military and media power.

Washington had planned to repeat in Afghanistan the success it enjoyed
during the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq, when the Pentagon monopolized,
filtered, and shaped all news coming from the theatre of operations. To this
day, the number of Iraqis killed by US bombing remains secret.

However, researchers have just learned through the Freedom of Information
Act that the US government expressly destroyed Iraq's sewage and water
treatment facilities, apparently knowing full well the result would be
widespread disease and epidemics. In short, biological warfare. The US
refuses to allow Iraq to import chlorine to purify water, claiming that the
chemical could be used as a military weapon. Iraq's inability to purify its
drinking water continues to spread sickness across that blighted nation.

According to the UN, 500,000 Iraqis, mostly children, have died from disease
and malnutrition caused by US sanctions. Thousands more Iraqis are suspected
to have gotten cancers from US depleted uranium munitions. When asked about
this huge toll, then US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright memorably
replied, "the price is worth it." One cannot but wonder if the anthrax
terror now afflicting America is payback.

Israel's American supporters are currently beating the war drums over Iraq.
Such pro-Israel loudspeakers as 'The Wall Street Journal' and 'The
Washington Post' have been straining every sinew to link the September 11
attacks against the US to Iraq. Their intent is plain: to push the United
States into attacking Iraq, which is considered a major long-term threat to
Israel. The Israel lobby wants to see Iraq demolished, Saddam Hussein
killed, and partitioned into three weak mini-states. Israel's American lobby
is ready to fight to the last American to destroy Iraq.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban stole a march on the US by giving Al-Jazeera,
the Arab world's only uncensored TV station, exclusive coverage. Bin Laden
uses Al-Jazeera and Pakistani media to promote his anti-US cause and
challenge America's control of information. As a result, the White House is
trying to silence bin Laden by the disgraceful recourse of censoring
America's media.

The president of a democracy whose very essence is founded in free speech
has asked the media to silence bin Laden and his allies under the laughable
pretext that by wiggling an ear or rubbing a nose they communicate
information to Muslim terrorists lurking in the United States. This would be
comical were it not such a threat to the basic freedom of all Americans.

Almost as shameful, much of the US media has cooperated, reducing its role
from useful critics to public relations hacks.