In case you weren't paying attention the first time-- class screening has moved-- AGAIN!
Now we'll be up in McKinney- (3rd floor Watson.)

See you there, E

Posted by Ellen Darling at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hi all-

Please note that the screening today will be in the Watson Media Room- NOT joukowsky.

See you there, Ellen

Posted by Ellen Darling at 02:17 PM | Permalink

Why We Fight’ director pulls no punches
Eugene Jarecki talks about what is worth a fight: Hint — it’s not corporate profit

By Jenna Ross

Eugene Jarecki began by asking people — politicians, military experts, moms — a question: Why does the United States go to war?

“Why We Fight” mixes talking heads, old broadcast footage, on-the-street interviews and characters’ storylines to ask and answer questions about why the United States goes to war.

The answers aren’t pretty. His documentary “Why We Fight” tells us that America fights because it’s profitable. It fights because rich white men use war for power. It fights because we’re stuck in a military-centered matrix and cannot see a way out.

The ideas, arguably, aren’t new. But Jarecki’s documentary is powerful not in its dark vision but in its moments of light.

There are too few of them. But Jarecki, 36, continues a kind of optimism in his own discussion — with Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show,” with his students at Brown University and last month, with A&E.

For more: http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/02/22/67271

Posted by James Der Derian at 10:46 AM | Permalink

Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2006
War In The Information Age
In a 24/7 world, the U.S. isn't keeping up with its enemies in the communication battle.
By Donald H. Rumsfeld
Our nation is engaged in what promises to be a long struggle in the global war on terror. In this war, some of the most critical battles may not be in the mountains of Afghanistan or the streets of Iraq but in newsrooms in New York, London, Cairo and elsewhere.
Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but for the most part we — our government, the media or our society in general — have not.
Consider that violent extremists have established "media relations committees" and have proved to be highly successful at manipulating opinion elites. They plan and design their headline-grabbing attacks using every means of communication to break the collective will of free people.
Our government is only beginning to adapt its operations for the 21st century. For the most part, it still functions as a five-and-dime store in an EBay world.
I have just returned from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. In Tunis, the largest newspaper has a circulation of roughly 50,000 — in a country of about 10 million people. But even in the poorest neighborhoods you can see satellite dishes on nearly every balcony or rooftop.
Regrettably, many of the TV news channels being watched using these dishes are extremely hostile to the West. The growing number of media outlets in many parts of the world still have relatively immature standards and practices that too often serve to inflame and distort rather than to explain and inform. Al Qaeda and other extremist movements have utilized these forums for many years, successfully adding more poison to the Muslim public's view of the West, but we have barely even begun to compete in reaching their audiences.
The standard U.S. government public affairs operation was designed primarily to respond to individual requests for information. It tends to be reactive, rather than proactive, and it operates for the most part on an eighthour, five-days-a-week basis, while world events — and our enemies — are operating 24/7 across every time zone. That is an unacceptably dangerous deficiency.
In some cases, military public affairs officials have had little communications training and little, if any, grounding in the importance of timing, rapid response and the realities of digital and broadcast media. Let there be no doubt that the longer it takes to put a strategic communications framework into place, the more we can be certain that the vacuum will be filled by the enemy and by hostile news sources who most assuredly will not paint an accurate picture of what is actually taking place.
We have become somewhat more adept in these areas, but progress is slow.
In Iraq, for example, the U.S. military command, working closely with the Iraqi government and the U.S. Embassy, has sought nontraditional means to provide accurate information to the Iraqi people in the face of an aggressive campaign of disinformation.
Yet this has been portrayed as inappropriate: for example, the allegations of "buying news." The resulting explosion of critical media stories then causes all activity, all initiative, to stop. Even worse, it leads to a "chilling effect" among those who are asked to serve in the military public affairs field.
Improving our efforts will likely mean embracing new institutions to engage people around the world. During the Cold War, institutions such as the U.S. Information Agency and Radio Free Europe proved to be valuable instruments for the United States. We need to consider the possibility of new organizations and programs that can serve a similarly valuable role in the war on terror.
Although the enemy is increasingly skillful at manipulating the media and using the tools of communications to its advantage, it should be noted that we have an advantage as well. And that is, quite simply, that truth is on our side. Ultimately, the truth wins out.
I believe with every bone in my body that free people, exposed to sufficient information, will, over time, find their way to the right decisions.
We are fighting a battle in which the survival of our free way of life is at stake. It is a test of wills, and it will be won or lost with our public and the publics of free nations around the world. We need to do all we can to correct the lies being told, shatter the appeal of the enemy and attract supporters to our noble and necessary efforts to defeat violent extremism around the globe.
DONALD H. RUMSFELD is the secretary of Defense.

Posted by James Der Derian at 02:32 PM | Permalink

greetings all:

because of a scheduling conflict we are moving up one week the fog of war screening (37 minute version) with commentary by jim blight and janet lang and moving back final cut pro tutorial one week. This means FOW on Feb 28, 5-7 joukowsky, and FCP on March 7, 5-7 joukowsky.

This means oliver and joe has some extra time to produce extra-ordinary vblog (might want to vtape blight and lang), and ariana should get in touch with me about vblog alternatives.

and to fill in the gaps in our discussion of the 'frankfurters' (crit theory) vs the 'french fries', I suggested a book:

Jacques Derrida and Jürgen Habermas with Giovanni Borradori, Philosophy
in a Time of Terror (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2003).

let's add this to our recommended readings for the week on 9/11. any other suggestions for readings?

jdd

Posted by James Der Derian at 10:37 AM | Permalink

Hi all,

All the films are at MCM archive the day after viewing them here-- sorry for any confusion!
Best, Ellen

Posted by Ellen Darling at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dear GMP bloggers,

Some of you have complained that you haven't gotten an email notifiying you of a new post. This is because each time you create a new entry- after saving it-- you must select "notification" (on the following page) and then hit send.

It's a two part process, and sending a notification of your newest post or entry will keep us all on the same page faster.

Take care, Ellen

Posted by Ellen Darling at 03:19 PM | Permalink

OK, it was very kind of you all to not mention that next Tuesday is a presidential holiday (go figure), making our plan to screen Late City (plus special added feature) that evening (5-7)somewhat dicey. So I'm taking a poll: how many can/are willing to come? could you RSVP to the blog and to Ellen_darling@brown.edu? If most are willing/wanting, John and I will be there to host our time travel back to documentaries with dated music (and haircuts....).

JDD

Posted by James Der Derian at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Hi all,

I've had some questions about arranging alternate times for class screenings. Unfortunately this won't be possible, but all the films shown in class will be available on reserve in the MCM archive at 155 George Street.

The archive, with 4 private viewing screens, is open M-F 9:30 am- 4:30 pm and you'll find all the class screenings there on the day AFTER the Watson screening.

This should help. Best, Ellen

Posted by Ellen Darling at 03:16 PM | Permalink

If you missed last week's screening of Capra's Why We Fight, you can watch it at the Dept. of Modern Culture and Media at your convenience. It is on reserve in the MCM viewing rooms located in the basement of 155 George Street. The viewing room is open M-F from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. All you need to do is present your Brown ID.

Best, Ellen

Posted by Ellen Darling at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

greetings all

for those unable to attend this week's screening of the original Why We Fight (capra), ellen darling, gs admin asst, can provide dvd for media space viewing early next week (watson 205).

next week's schedule is a bit skewed because of NYC WWF (jarecki) screening, but we will screen WWF in providence at regular time on tuesday the 14th in joukowsky, 5-7 pm, and then on thursday feb 16, jarecki and santos will intro theory and production at 12 noon, joukowsky forum , with follow-up session same evening from 7-8.30.

check in here early next week for any possible updates....and note updated syllabus with seminar assignments included.

vty
jdd

Posted by James Der Derian at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

greetings all:

it seems the spam filter was keeping some entries from being posted (!) - we've dialed it down, but let me and/or ellen_darling@brown.edu know if you continue to have difficulties.

In the meantime, take a look at another medium that we need to consider: digital/political anime -

http://current.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
http://www.freewayblogger.com/iraqomo.swf

VTY
JDD

Posted by James Der Derian at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Firestorm Over Cartoon Gains Momentum

New York Times
By CRAIG S. SMITH and IAN FISHER
Published: February 2, 2006

PARIS, Feb. 2 — An international dispute over European newspaper cartoons deemed blasphemous by some Muslims gained momentum today as gunmen threatened the European Union offices in the Gaza Strip and more European papers pointedly published the drawings as an affirmation of their freedom of speech.

A gunman stood on the roof of the European Union office in the Gaza Strip today.

The masked gunmen, enraged by cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, stayed about 45 minutes.

A newly elected legislator from Hamas, the radical Islamic group that swept the Palestinian elections last week, said large rallies were planned in Gaza in the next few days to protest the cartoons.

"We are angry — very, very, very angry," said Jamila Al Shanty, one of six women elected to represent Hamas in the Palestinian Parliament. "No one can say a bad word about our prophet."

The cartoons — which include a drawing of the prophet who founded Islam wearing a turban shaped like a bomb — first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September and have since been reprinted in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Norway. BBC televised them today.

France-Soir, the only French daily to reprint the cartoons, fired its managing editor late Wednesday as "a strong sign of respect for the beliefs and intimate convictions of every individual," according to a statement from its owner, Raymond Lakah, an Egyptian-born French businessman. Nevertheless, the newspaper defended its right to print the cartoons.

The incident is causing diplomatic strains as well as threats to citizens of countries where the cartoons have been printed.

Saudi Arabia and Syria have recalled their ambassadors to Denmark, and the Danish government has summoned foreign envoys in Copenhagen to talks on Friday over the issue, having already explained that it does not control the press.

The Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told the Copenhagen daily Politiken, "We are talking about an issue with fundamental significance to how democracies work."

Many European commentators concede that the cartoons were provocative, even insensitive, but argue that the conservative Muslim world must learn to accept Western standards of free speech and pluralism.

Many Muslims complain that the cartoons reinforce a dangerous confusion between Islam and the Islamist terrorism that the vast majority of Muslims abhor. Dalil Boubakeur, head of France's Muslim Council, called the cartoons a new sign of Europe's growing "Islamophobia."

The conflict is just the latest manifestation of growing tension between Europe and the Muslim world as the Continent struggles to absorb a fast-expanding Muslim population whose customs and values are often at odds with Europe's secular, liberal societies. The tension has been exacerbated by racial and religious discrimination against Muslim immigrants and their children in Europe's weakest economies.

The trouble began in September when Denmark's Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons lampooning Islam's intolerance and its links to terrorism.

The cartoons were published again by a Norwegian magazine last month and the issue erupted internationally this month after diplomatic efforts failed to assuage demands by several angry Arab countries that the publications be punished.

Jyllands-Posten has received two bomb threats in the past few days, though it earlier apologized for any hurt feelings the drawings may have caused.

Continues: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/02/international/europe/02cnd-cartoon.html?pagewanted
=2&ei=5094&en=d585e98f353a8976&hp&ex=1138942800&partner=homepage

Posted by Oliver Ward Schulze at 10:38 PM | Permalink

Posted by Oliver Ward Schulze at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Washington Post
February 2, 2006
Pg. 20
A Reprehensible Cartoon
We were extremely disappointed to see the Jan. 29 editorial cartoon by Tom Toles.
Using the likeness of a service member who has lost his arms and legs in war as the central theme of a cartoon was beyond tasteless. Editorial cartoons are often designed to exaggerate issues, and The Post is obviously free to address any topic, including the state of readiness of the armed forces. However, The Post and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to readers and to The Post's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who volunteered to defend this nation and, as a result, suffered traumatic and life-altering wounds.
Those who visit wounded veterans in hospitals have found lives profoundly changed by pain and loss. They also have found brave men and women with a sense of purpose and selfless commitment that causes battle-hardened warriors to pause.
While The Post and some of its readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, these men and women and their families are owed the decency of not having a cartoon make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices.
As the joint chiefs, we rarely put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered.
PETER PACE, General, U.S. Marine Corps, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
EDMUND P. GIAMBASTIANI JR., Admiral, U.S. Navy, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
MICHAEL W. HAGEE, General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps
PETER J. SCHOOMAKER, General, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff
MICHAEL G. MULLEN, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations
T. MICHAEL MOSELEY, General, U.S. Air Force, Chief of Staff
Washington

Washington Post
February 2, 2006
Pg. C1
Joint Chiefs Fire At Toles Cartoon On Strained Army
By Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer
In a protest with an unusual number of high-level signatures, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and each of its five members have fired off a letter assailing a Washington Post cartoon as "beyond tasteless."
The Tom Toles cartoon, published Sunday, depicts a heavily bandaged soldier in a hospital bed as having lost his arms and legs, while Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in the guise of a doctor, says: "I'm listing your condition as 'battle hardened.' " Toles said he meant no offense toward American soldiers.
The letter to The Post, signed by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the vice chairman and the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, said: "We believe you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered traumatic and life-altering wounds . . .
"While you or some of your readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, we believe you owe the men and women and their families who so selflessly serve our country the decency to not make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices." The letter, which a reporter obtained from the Pentagon, is being published today.
The cartoon is based on remarks that Rumsfeld made last week. In rejecting warnings by a Pentagon-sponsored study that the Iraq war risks "breaking" the Army, he said the U.S. military is "battle hardened" and an "enormously capable force." At the bottom of the cartoon, in smaller type, Rumsfeld says: "I'm prescribing that you be stretched thin. We don't define that as torture."
In an interview, Toles called the letter "an understandable response" but said he did not regret what he drew. In thinking about Rumsfeld's remarks, he said, "what came soon to mind was the catastrophic level of injuries the Army and members of the armed services have sustained . . . I thought my portrayal of it was a fair depiction of the reality of the situation.
"I certainly never intended it to be in any way a personal attack on, or a derogatory comment on, the service or sacrifice of American soldiers."
As for the Joint Chiefs' letter, he said: "I think it's a little bit unfair in their reading of the cartoon to imply that is what it's about."
Fred Hiatt, The Post's editorial page editor, said he doesn't "censor Tom" and that "a cartoonist works best if he or she doesn't feel there's someone breathing over their shoulder. He's an independent actor, like our columnists." Hiatt said he makes comments on drafts of cartoons but that Toles is free to ignore them.
Asked about Sunday's cartoon, Hiatt said, "While I certainly can understand the strong feelings, I took it to be a cartoon about the state of the Army and not one intended to demean wounded soldiers."
Dave Autry, deputy communications director for Disabled American Veterans, said he was "certainly not" offended by the cartoon.
"It was graphic, no doubt about it," he said. "But it drove home a point, that there are critically ill patients that certainly need to be attended to."
Toles, who won a 1990 Pulitzer Prize for the Buffalo News and joined The Post in 2002, said he expected criticism for drawing the quadruple amputee, as he does for about two-thirds of his efforts.
"It is the nature of cartooning that someone can read an analogy a cartoon uses to mean things other than what was intended," Toles said. "The only way to avoid that problem is to draw cartoons that have no impact."

Washington Times
February 2, 2006
Pg. 7
Inside The Beltway
'Beyond Tasteless'
By John McCaslin
The Joint Chiefs of Staff has sent a sharply worded letter to The Washington Post, complaining that liberal cartoonist Tom Toles penned a "beyond tasteless" depiction of an armless and legless Army soldier for this Monday's editorial page.
"Using the likeness of a service member who has lost his arms and legs in war as the central theme of a cartoon is beyond tasteless," said the letter dated Tuesday and signed by Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, Joint Chiefs chairman, and the other five chiefs.
"Editorial cartoons are often designed to exaggerate issues -- and your paper is obviously free to address any topic, including the state of readiness of today's armed forces. However, we believe you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered traumatic and life-altering wounds," reads the letter addressed to Post Managing Editor Philip Bennett.
The cartoon shows the wounded soldier in a hospital bed, with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in physician's garb, writing in his chart. "I'm listing your condition as 'battle hardened,' " the Rumsfeld character said.
In addition to Gen. Pace, the letter was signed by Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., vice chief; Gen. Michael W. Hagee, Marine Corps commandant; Gen. Peter Schoomaker, Army chief of staff; Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff; and Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chief of naval operations.
"While you or some of your readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, we believe you owe the men and women and their families who so selflessly serve our country the decency to not make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices," the letter said.
A Pentagon spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, told The Washington Times' Rowan Scarborough that sending the letter was the idea of Gen. Pace. She said The Post informed the chairman that the letter would run as a letter-to-the-editor in today's Post.
Some in the Pentagon have dubbed it the "24-star letter."

Posted by Ellen Darling at 11:15 AM | Permalink

Christian Science Monitor
February 2, 2006
Pg. 1

What's Driving The Kidnappings In Iraq

Three videos highlight the latest spike in kidnapping Westerners.

By Peter Grier, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON -- A wave of abductions is sweeping through Iraq - as evidenced this week by three videotaped demands by groups holding Western hostages.

Since last fall the number of foreigners seized has spiked, following a prolonged lull. Meanwhile, Iraqis themselves are being kidnapped in large numbers - some months, more than 30 per day.

These crimes occur for many reasons in a society that is still struggling with basic governance and security. But the political kidnappings that have received the most attention in the West - such as the case of American reporter Jill Carroll - may be terrorism of a particularly pure sort, say experts.

In today's wired age, it's easier than ever to affect viewers around the world with powerful images of powerless hostages. And that may be the point of these terrible acts: to frighten the West, intimidate moderate Iraqis, and rally supporters.

"The goal of terrorism has nothing to do with killing innocent victims, or the victims themselves," says Jerrold Post, director of the political psychology program at George Washington University. "The goal is to have an impact on outside audiences."

Ms. Carroll was taken hostage on Jan. 7 in Baghdad. On Jan. 17 her captors - self-described as the "Brigades of Vengeance" - released a video in which they implied they would kill her within 72 hours if US forces and the Iraqi Interior Ministry did not release Iraqi women in their custody. On Monday, Al Jazeera broadcast a second video of the apparently distraught Carroll who was again calling for the release of female prisoners.

Unfortunately, Carroll is not alone. Four Christian peace activists - two Canadians, an American, and a Briton - who had disappeared on Nov. 26, were shown in a new video on Al Jazeera this week. A statement from the "Swords of Righteousness Brigades" read with the video said that they would be killed unless the US released all prisoners.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was "shocked" by a video of two captive German engineers that aired on Al Jazeera Tuesday. Their kidnappers have demanded that Germany close its Baghdad embassy and cut ties with Iraq in exchange for the hostages' lives, said Al Jazeera.

A Jordanian embassy driver, who was abducted in Iraq on Dec. 20 while going to work, appeared in a Jan. 22 video. His kidnappers want to trade him for Sajida al-Rishawi, a would-be suicide bomber whose belt failed to explode in the Nov. 9 attack on an Amman hotel. Two Kenyan truck drivers abducted in Baghdad on Jan. 18 have not been heard from. Ten Iraqis escorting the Kenyans' convoy were killed in the incident.

Since May 2003, 268 foreigners have been kidnapped in Baghdad, according to an index maintained by the Brookings Institution in Washington. Of these, 135 were released, three escaped, three were rescued, and 44 were killed, according to Brookings. The fate of 81 hostages remains unknown.

The rate of these abductions has increased in recent months, following a lull through early 2005. Twenty-four Westerners were seized in August 2005, followed by 11 in November, and 13 in December, according to Brookings.

The number for January 2006 was five.

Meanwhile, Iraqis continue to be seized in great numbers, to settle scores, make political points, and gain ransoms. In December 2005, there were 30 domestic kidnappings a day across the country, according to Brookings.

In some areas, such as Baghdad, Iraqis can be in such danger that they consider Westerners who venture out on the streets to be foolhardy.

"Many Iraqis are too afraid of kidnappings to take their children to school or to go to work," says Zaki Chehab, author of "Iraq Ablaze - Inside the Insurgency." "If Iraqis are too afraid to go out on the streets than how can a Westerner do it?"

Small criminal gangs generally do the actual kidnappings, including those of foreigners.

"There are many, many low level criminal groups operating in Iraq," says David Brannan, a terror speciallist at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

These groups are in it for the money, and they either ransom hostages directly, or sell them upwards to larger groups.

These large groups then might use the hostages to pursue their own political agendas. The kidnappers holding Carroll, for instance, may actually be keen to obtain the release of Iraqi women hostages, seeing it as an Islamic issue.

"This is not just about trying to get popular support," says Mr. Chehab, the London bureau chief of Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat.

Sometimes it is about money. Several European countries, France and Germany among them, have reportedly paid large ransoms to retrieve citizens of their countries who have been kidnapped in Iraq.

But directly or indirectly, most of the groups now holding Westerners are also trying to affect the thinking of multiple groups, say other experts.

They want to frighten the US, and the West in general. Thus, whoever is holding Carroll likely made sure she was crying on her latest video as a means of heightening its drama and achieving greater visual impact.

The terrorists may also want to appeal to moderate Muslims who may sympathize with their cause. Repetitive airing of hostage videos makes the terror groups appear powerful, and rising.

Lastly, core adherents are rallied by evidence of action on the part of radicals they see as their champions against the infidel and an oppressing West.

"It's a way to demonstrate not just their power and capabilities ... but a way of bolstering their reputation as the meanest, baddest fighters out there," says Bruce Hoffman, an expert on terrorism at the RAND Corp. in Washington.

With the Internet, the risks of obtaining publicity in this manner have fallen, notes Mr. Hoffman. No longer must terror groups run the risk of delivering tapes by hand, or posting by mail. They can simply download them.

"It makes you far more important ... than you could ever have hoped to be had you not resorted to this heinous act of kidnapping," says Hoffman.

One variable in the case of Carroll is the possible effect that the seizure of a media representative may have on future news coverage. In the past, insurgent groups in Iraq have targeted specific groups, such as judges, that they wish to intimidate.

"Other journalists are starting to wonder, should I accept this assignment," says Post.

Correspondents Faye Bowers in Arizona, Charles Levinson in Baghdad, and James Brandon in London contributed.

Christian Science Monitor
February 2, 2006
Pg. 4

After A Second Video Is Released, Efforts To Free Jill Carroll Continue

By Dan Murphy, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

BAGHDAD -- Footage of the kidnapped reporter Jill Carroll, aired by Al Jazeera on Monday, has prompted fresh efforts to secure her release from across the globe.

On the streets of Baghdad, average Iraqis speak of how shaken and angry they've been left by the latest footage of a weeping Ms. Carroll, a freelancer on assignment for the Monitor when she was abducted. An impromptu group of Iraqi editors is getting together to work on Carroll's release, and Reporters Without Borders, an international journalists' advocacy group, has dispatched a team to the Middle East to coordinate a pan-Arab media effort for Carroll.

"Everything is being done to work with those who might have influence, and there are an awful lot of people who are calling for her release," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters on Tuesday.

The front page of Baghdad's New Dawn newspaper Wednesday carried a public service announcement with a picture of Carroll urging her captors to free her and headlined "She loves Iraq. Now she needs your help."

"Everyone who has a conscience, and a faith in God and the law, cannot find any way to justify this terrible act," wrote New Dawn editor Ismael Zayer in a front page editorial on Feb. 1.

"Last night's short footage made our hearts sink. And with ours, the hearts of Iraqis, Muslims, and Arabs throughout the world should also sink,'' The Jordan Times, where Carroll worked before coming to Iraq in 2003, said in an editorial. "With her firm rejection of any propaganda, her resolve to serve the truth, even at great personal risk, and her determination to expose the horrors of war and the suffering of the Iraqi people, Jill makes one of the best ambassadors Arabs could ever hope for."

On Wednesday, Waddah Khanfar, managing director of Al Jazeera, made an on-air petition on behalf of himself and all Al Jazeera journalists, for the immediate release of Carroll.

Al Jazeera says the latest tape received from Carroll's captors, the previously unknown Revenge Brigades, was at least two minutes long. So far it has aired just 30 seconds in which only parts of Carroll's message are comprehensible. Al Jazeera's news presenter said the kidnappers demanded that all women in US and Iraqi Interior Ministry custody be released. Were this done, according to the Al Jazeera presenter, they said it "would help" in leading to Carroll's freedom.

Carroll was abducted on Jan. 7, along with her Iraqi interpreter Allan Enwiyah, after a failed attempt to meet with Sunni Arab politician Adnan al-Dulaimi at his office. As they drove away, they were set upon by kidnappers, who murdered Mr. Enwiyah.

Posted by James Der Derian at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)