Revolutionary Worker #1259, November 21, 2004, posted at http://rwor.org
Officially, the U.S. high command insisted their attack on Fallujah painstakingly avoided civilian casualties. Officially they even claimed their soldiers are "liberating" the people of Fallujah from a handful of "foreign terrorists." And increasingly, they talked as if the city were empty—as if its whole population had fled for safety.
Meanwhile, Allawi’s government openly ordered journalists to toe the official military line. The Associated Press wrote: "The Iraqi government warned news organizations Thursday to distinguish between insurgents and ordinary civilians in coverage of the fighting in Fallujah and to promote the leadership’s position or face unspecified action."
The Allawi regime specifically ordered the Iraqi press to obey three rules: First, they were forbidden to use any "patriotic descriptions" for the armed resistance (which is fighting to drive a foreign occupier from their country). Second, they were ordered to report that the Allawi government expressed "the ambition of most of the Iraqi people.’ Third, they were supposed to report that "these military operations did not come about until all peaceful means were attempted.’ " This Iraqi government said that it would "take all necessary measures" against anyone who did not obey.