Iraq's side of the story

March 13, 2003 9:24 AM

While I haven't checked out the videos (which is sans translation anyway), it's interesting to hear that the Iraqi government has put up their version of the Saddam-Rather interview from a few weeks back, on their almost blog-like gov't site. I wish there was an english translation, to see how the other side lobs their spin of propaganda in this new media war.
posted by mathowie (11 comments total)

I concur. I would love to hear other sides in this propaganda war of the corporate media. Anyone capable of an accurate translation?
posted by nofundy at 9:57 AM on March 13, 2003

I cllicked the top advetisement when it said, click here, in the top left, it took me to a page, then clicked english version.
posted by thomcatspike at 10:34 AM on March 13, 2003

That was for the blog-like gov't site.
posted by thomcatspike at 10:40 AM on March 13, 2003

Iraqfilt..

whoops! My bad Matt. Anyway, I thought it was kinda neat to read an Arabic webpage with right-aligning to boot! Made my web-browsing day a bit kookier.
posted by Stan Chin at 10:40 AM on March 13, 2003

Does anyone find this strikingly similar to the recent Michael Jackson interviews? Interview plays, Michael rebuts using his own footage... what's next? The other lost footage showing Saddam really is a mad man or that he really did have more than two plastic surgeries? I wonder if there is a video out there of MJ and Saddam interviewing each other?
posted by Pollomacho at 11:00 AM on March 13, 2003

Iraq has Ministry of Parapsychology???
posted by 4easypayments at 11:08 AM on March 13, 2003

Does anyone find this strikingly similar to the recent Michael Jackson interviews? Interview plays, Michael rebuts using his own footage... what's next?

Yeah, I was going to mention that in my post. It's exactly like that, but in this case it's a bit bigger than just Jacko's stuff.

It's always interesting to see how each player in a conflict use media. This war isn't being fought on the beaches or in the air, the weapons are Avid editing units and Digital Video cameras and the battlefields are the airwaves.
posted by mathowie at 11:16 AM on March 13, 2003

Did the guy translating Dan Rather use a phony American accent?
posted by bondcliff at 12:48 PM on March 13, 2003

Revisiting the government site, I see English version, this I did not see at first, maybe I was too busy looking at their search engines & wondering why not in Arabic. Then clicking on anything else in english. And I thought I found something.

But the CBS post is not in the Enlgish version because as mathowie had hoped for: I wish there was an english translation Nor has anyone added to the Arabic translations, no members who speak Farsi?
posted by thomcatspike at 3:43 PM on March 13, 2003

Uh, thomcatspike, Farsi has nothing to do with Arabic. Totally different language family.

So... no members who speak Arabic?
posted by languagehat at 4:55 PM on March 13, 2003

Did anyone notice that according to uruklink.net, today's date in Iraq is March 13, 103?
posted by PrinceValium at 6:54 PM on March 13, 2003