Shouldn't we drop the name 'War on Terror?'

COMMENTARY | April 23, 2007

Bush's favorite phrase has created a culture of fear -- but beyond that has no useful function. And while we're at it, what's the right way to describe what the U.S. is doing in Iraq? continue...

By Dan Froomkin
froomkin@niemanwatchdog.org

Back in November, when NBC announced that it would start calling the conflict in Iraq what it is -- a civil war – the White House howled in protest and the Washington establishment belittled it as a semantic sideshow.

But I think it made a difference. Watching a major media institution assert its right to its own word choice (rather than letting the White House set the terms of the debate) emboldened the rest of the press corps. It ushered in a period of greater truth-telling. And after a while, even the White House was forced to admit that Iraq was indeed in a state of civil war – among other things.

How the press keeps missing the facts about working mothers

COMMENTARY | March 19, 2007

E.J. Graff of Brandeis University's Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism says recurring media reports citing a trend among educated women to drop their careers rather than try to get to the top are inaccurate and the result of lazy reporting... more

How a superpower can end up losing to the little guys

COMMENTARY | March 23, 2007

A Harvard scholar explores the implications of his recent research on asymmetric conflicts, which shows that strong actors are losing to the weak more and more often over time, and gleans some important lessons about the United States and Iraq. (First of two parts.)... more

Contractors rarely face disciplinary action in Iraq

ASK THIS | March 15, 2007

Legal roadblocks and red tape have protected civilian contractors in abuse cases, even in Abu Ghraib. Administration critics say the contractors are sometimes encouraged by the military or the CIA to use harsh interrogation techniques, knowing they won’t be prosecuted... more

Not much regard for Bush in his Latin America tour

COMMENTARY | March 19, 2007

The overseas press: Latin American editorial writers didn’t much care for Bush on his tour there, and there often wasn't any love lost for Chavez, either... more