Progress Pond

MSM WTF ? Non-Reporting on “SPIKES OF ACTIVITY”

NON-REPORTING BETWEEN MAY 29 AND JUNE 26, 2005

This HAS been reported before on

dKos, Booman Tribune, and EuroTrib.  It has been reported from the 29th

of May when Welshman brought us the Michael

Smith article, “RAF Bombing to Goad Saddam

Into War”.  It was reported by

Congressman John Conyers in dKos “Smoking

Bullet In The Smoking Gun,”  It was

reported by RAWSTORY on the 29th of

May:

Raw Story, MA – May

29, 2005
… 1) Did the RAF and the United States military

increase the rate that they … was the

justification for any such increase in the rate of

bombing in Iraq at this …

WHERE, IF EVER WAS THIS STORY

REPORTED IN THE US MAIN STREAM

MEDIA?

NEVER. OK, exactly once. Washington

Post ran a story on the 23 of June based on the

Michael Smith (UK) story in the LA Times on the

same day. We can’t call this reporting, this is

regurgitating. This story went unreported except

for Michael Smith of the UK, dKos, and

RAWSTORY.
dKos COVERAGE

2. The Iraq War Started

A Lot Sooner Than You’ve Been Told

 (Diaries, Diary)
posted by TheOrchid on 06/25/2005 19:17:57

GMT

4. DSM buried lede: It’s the Bombing

Stupid!  (Diaries, Diary)
posted by kant on 06/25/2005 15:37:46

GMT

12.  DON’T READ THIS !! US Hawk Admits

Iraq War Illegal
by Apian [Subscribe] [Edit Diary]
Fri Jun 24th, 2005 at 15:57:10 GMT

15.  MICHAEL SMITH IN LA TIMES The

Downing Street Memos
by Apian [Subscribe] [Edit Diary]
Thu Jun 23rd, 2005 at 13:20:55 GMT

17. IRAQ WAR MEDIA TRACKING — Thanks For

Your Help  (Diaries, dKos)
posted by Apian on 06/23/2005 01:56:06

GMT

32. Lies, Damn Lies, and Government Economic

Statistics: Part II  (Diaries, Diary)
posted by gjohnsit on 06/21/2005 02:53:08

GMT

35. IMPORTANT ! MEDIA TRACKING — Need

Kossacks Help
by Apian [Subscribe] [Edit Diary]
Tue Jun 21st, 2005 at 06:11:03 GMT

43. Bush Screws Blair Again  (Diaries,

Diary)
posted by jakal on 06/20/2005 12:56:45

GMT

50. Time for Blair to divorce Bush

 (Diaries, Diary)
posted by taonow on 06/19/2005 03:01:22

GMT

56. THE WORDS HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

— Downing Street Hearings  (Diaries,

Diary)
posted by Apian on 06/18/2005 07:11:45

GMT

58. THE “WRIGHT STUFF” — Downing Street

Hearings  (Diaries, dKos)
posted by Apian on 06/17/2005 20:28:42

GMT

88. New Pre-War UK Memo; War Started

8/2002; NYT absolves Bush  (Diaries,

dKos)
posted by lapin on 06/13/2005 23:19:13

GMT

109. Bush Illegally Shifted $700 Million to Begin

War on Iraq  (Diaries, Diary)
posted by AHiddenSaint on 06/11/2005 04:49:40

GMT

146. WaPo Front Page: “Downing St. Memo

won’t Die”  (Diaries, Diary)
posted by Al Rodgers on 06/07/2005 17:09:59

GMT

168. US troops first invaded Iraq 8-8-2002:

IraqFact Inquiry Series  (Diaries,

Diary)
posted by Duke1676 on 06/04/2005 21:47:27

GMT

182. Downing Street Memo for Dummies

 (Diaries, Diary)
posted by michael in chicago on 06/03/2005

01:27:22 GMT

188. DSM Letter Update: 86,000 and Counting

 (Diaries, Diary)
posted by Congressman John Conyers on

06/02/2005 19:27:04 GMT

214. Pre-War Bombing  (Diaries,

Diary)
posted by NoInfo on 05/31/2005 20:05:39

GMT

230. Smoking Bullet in the Smoking

Gun?  (Diaries, Diary)
posted by Congressman John Conyers on

05/29/2005 16:19:14 GMT

232. New Sunday Times War

Preparation Relevations  (Diaries,

Diary)
posted by Welshman on 05/29/2005 03:24:54

GMT

RAWSTORY COVERAGE “SPIKES OF

ACTIVITY”

As

new revelations surface in London,

congressman readies new …


Raw Story, MA – May 29, 2005
Conyers’ early draft, leaked to RAW STORY,

raises a battery … time “the US had already

begun `spikes of activity’ to put … twice as many

bombs on Iraq in the …

UK DSM REPORTER:

BLOGGERS HAVE “SMOKING

GUN”

THE BLOGGER WITH THE SMOKING

GUN:

‘Spikes of Activity’ In

The DSM

WHY ARE WE BACK IN IRAQ?

On Thursday, Michael Smith, the reporter for The

Sunday Times who broke the Downing Street

minutes story, wrote a must-read op-ed for the

L.A. Times (“The Real News in the Downing

Street Memos”) which relates to an overlooked

part of the memos and provides some more

background on the “deep throats” who leaked the

top secret documents:

“It is now nine months since I obtained the first

of the “Downing Street memos,” thrust into my

hand by someone who asked me to meet him in

a quiet watering hole in London for what I

imagined would just be a friendly drink. At the

time, I was defense correspondent of the London

Daily Telegraph, and a staunch supporter of the

decision to oust Saddam Hussein. The source

was a friend. He’d given me a few stories before

but nothing nearly as interesting as this.”

<SNIP>

“I’m thinking in terms of spikes, Mr.

Secretary-spurts of activity followed by periods

of inactivity. We want the Iraqis to become

accustomed to military expansion, and then

apparent contraction.”

“As Phase I is completed, we could flow steadily

for the next sixty days, while continuing spikes of

activity to lend credence to our deception.

During the sixty days we would increase kinetic

strikes in the no-fly zones to weaken Iraq’s

integrated air defenses.”

On November 27th in 2002, in response to a

question asked by the Liberal Democrat foreign

affairs spokesman, Sir Menzies Campbell, the

Ministry of Defense released the information “on

how many occasions (a) coalition aircraft and (b)

UK aircraft patrolling the southern no-fly zone in

Iraq have (i) detected violations of the no-fly

zones, (ii) detected a direct threat to a coalition

aircraft and (iii) released ordnance in each

month since March, stating for each month the

tonnage released” (House of Commons Hansard)

included in these charts:

(i) No-fly zone (NFZ) violations are detected in

several ways. I am withholding details of

detection methods in accordance with Exemption

1 of the Code of Practice on Access to

Government Information. The number of

violations recorded, by month, in the southern No

Fly Zone, is as follows:

MSM COVERAGE OF “SPIKES OF ACTIVITY”

MAY 29-JUNE 26, 2005

THERE IS NONE

From 29th of May to June 26, 2005

UNREPORTED (none / 0)

From the Michael Smith Article on the 29th of

May, “RAF Bombing to Goad Saddam Into War,”

until today, this story has gone UNREPORTED in

the US Main Stream Media.  I have been

doing Media Tracking on this story since the

29th of May.  

The results are pretty dismal:

Real deal on Downing Street memos
The Argus, CA – 5 hours ago
… It quotes British Defense Secretary Geoff

Hoon as saying that “the US had already begun

‘spikes of activity’ to put pressure on the

regime.” This we now …

Secret air war: The real news in the Downing

Street memos
Salt Lake Tribune, UT – 10 hours ago
… It quotes British Defense Secretary Geoff

Hoon as saying that ”the US had already begun

‘spikes of activity’ to put pressure on the

regime.” This we now …

Truth is Iraq war began much earlier
Houston Chronicle, TX – 11 hours ago
… It quotes British Defense Secretary Geoff

Hoon as saying that “the US had already begun

‘spikes of activity’ to put pressure on the

regime.” This we now …  

Downing Street Memo
Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA – Jun 23, 2005
… Iraqi divisions. The Defence Secretary said

that the US had already begun “spikes of

activity” to put pressure on the regime. No …

Why the Mainstream Media Is Catching

On
Washington Post, DC – Jun 23, 2005
… it really represents two stories: an emerging

alternative history of how the United States

came to attack Iraq, and a story of how the New

Media has usurped …

The Real News in the Downing Street

Memos
Los Angeles Times, CA – Jun 23, 2005
… It quotes British Defense Secretary Geoff

Hoon as saying that “the US had already begun

‘spikes of activity’ to put pressure on the

regime.” This we now …

WORLD VIEWS: ‘Downing St. Memo’ reporter

says US, Britain goaded …
San Francisco Chronicle, CA – Jun 21, 2005
… At that time, Smith says, US Air Force and

Royal Air Force jets “began ‘spikes of activity’

designed to goad Saddam Hussein into

retaliating and giving the …

Philadelphia Daily News, PA – Jun 20, 2005
… facts were being fixed around the policy? 2.

The memo states that in early 2002, the

administration had begun “spikes of activity”.

Excerpts from Downing Street memos
Houston Chronicle, TX – Jun 19, 2005
… military action.”. “The Defence Secretary said

that the US had already begun ‘spikes of activity’

to put pressure on the regime.”. “It …

Excerpts from the Downing Street memos
SouthCoastToday.com, MA – Jun 18, 2005
… military action.”. “The Defence Secretary said

that the US had already begun ‘spikes of activity’

to put pressure on the regime.”. “It …

Analysis and Text of the Downing Street

Memo
SBIndependent, NY – Jun 18, 2005
… Iraqi divisions. The Defence Secretary said

that the US had already begun “spikes of

activity” to put pressure on the regime. No …

Downing Street Memo
Contra Costa Times, CA – Jun 17, 2005
… Iraqi divisions. The Defence Secretary said

that the US had already begun “spikes of

activity” to put pressure on the regime. No …

The ‘Downing Street memo’
San Francisco Chronicle, CA – Jun 17, 2005
… divisions. The Defence Secretary (Geoff

Hoon) said that the US had already begun

“spikes of activity” to put pressure on the regime.

The ‘Downing Street memo’
San Francisco Chronicle, CA – Jun 16, 2005
… divisions. The Defence Secretary (Geoff

Hoon) said that the US had already begun

“spikes of activity” to put pressure on the regime.

Guest Viewpoint: We need to turn up the heat

over British memo
The Register-Guard, Oregon – Jun 16, 2005
… The British defense secretary said that the US

had already begun “spikes of activity” (reported

elsewhere as multiple air strikes designed to

provoke an Iraqi …

From the 29th of May when the story broke, to

the 12th of June:

Great Example

The RAF double bombing campaign of 2002 was

reported in the UK on the 29th of May.

 What date, if ever, was it reported in the

US news?

by Apian on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 01:36:01 AM

PDT

Answer: It was never reported:

The Smoking Bullet in the Smoking Gun
Common Dreams, ME – Jun 3, 2005
… the Sunday Times of London has revealed

that these spikes “had become … Jeremy Scahill

is a journalist with the national radio and TV

program Democracy Now!. …

Yahoo News – Jun 1, 2005
… on new evidence showing that “The RAF and

US … defend itself from a foreign attack:

bombing Iraq’s air defenses … Press report

noted in November 2002, “Those costly .

RAF bombing raids tried to goad Saddam into

war
Infoshop News – May 31, 2005
THE RAF and US aircraft doubled the rate at

which they were dropping bombs on Iraq in 2002

in an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussein into

giving the allies an …

US and RAF bombing raids on Iraq
Questions and Observations – May 29,

2005
It’s remarkable what passes for news these

days: THE RAF and US aircraft doubled the rate

at which they were dropping bombs on Iraq in

2002 in an attempt to …

US aircraft doubled bombing raids on Iraq in

2002 to provoke …
Raw Story, MA – May 29, 2005
… 1) Did the RAF and the United States military

increase the rate that they … was the

justification for any such increase in the rate of

bombing in Iraq at this …

HERE IT IS !!! THE ONE STORY IN THE US

MAIN STREAM MEDIA ON ILLEGAL PRE-WAR

BOMBING IRAQ. And it is, if you will note,

based on Michael Smith’s May 29 story:

Memos show British concern over Iraq plans
Newsday, NY – Jun 18, 2005
By THOMAS WAGNER. … The AP obtained

copies of six of the memos (the other … The

Sunday Times this week reported that lawyers

told the British government that US and …

For news, we must count on RAWSTORY, from

the 29th of May to the 26th of June they are the

only ones who have been covering this

story.

WHY DOES THE MSM NOT REPORT?

ACTION PLAN

IF YOU CAN FIND ANY STORIES US MSM ON

THE RAF BOMBING STORY OR “SPIKES OF

ACTIVITY” PLEASE SEE THIS DIARY:

MEDIA TRACKING ILLEGAL IRAQ

WAR — Thanks For Your Help

Thanks to Ron and Timbuk3 who have done the

lion’s share of work on this project

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