U.S. forces have detained dozens of journalists
since the war began in 2003. Though they quickly released most, at least eight were detained for
weeks or months. On September 7, 2006, the
Iraqi government closed the Baghdad bureau of
the pan-Arab satellite news station Al-Arabiyya
for one month on the grounds that its reporting
amounted to “incitement.” Iraqi networks were
ordered not to show scenes of violence. The government continued to prevent the pan-Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera from reopening its
Baghdad bureau. In 2004, Reporters Without
Borders stated that “[t]he United States has total
control of the country’s telecommunications
system.” 18
ONI testing results
ONI conducted in-country tests in 2006 on Iraq’s
ISP uruklink. The tests revealed no evidence of filtering for any of the categories tested.
On the other hand, the BBC reported that
the “Pentagon is keeping a close eye on what its
troops post online, with special attention being
paid to videos that show the aftermath of combat.” The BBC added that, “[o]ne soldier who
served in Iraq in 2005 told the BBC there was ‘a
tight watch’ being kept on video and pictures
posted to MySpace, with civilian contractors
monitoring the Internet on behalf of the
Pentagon.” The BBC has not been able to confirm that contractors are scouring the Internet for
inappropriate material from the military, but
reported that “US Central Command—which is
responsible for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan—
does have a team reading blogs and responding
to what they consider inaccuracies about the socalled war on terror.” 19
Other reports stated that some liberal Web
sites were blocked on military computers in Iraq
as part of filtering nonconservative content.
Examples include The Memory Hole 20 and
Wonkette.
21
However, officials from the U.S.
Defense Department denied that they block political Web sites from soldiers serving in Iraq. 22
In January 2007, at the request of the British
government, Google agreed to remove updated
images that included British bases in Iraq from
Google Earth after British divisional headquarters
came under almost daily mortar barrages. 23
Conclusion
Iraqi citizens have unfettered access to the
Internet, but this fact is overshadowed by the
ongoing security condition. The deadly conflict
makes journalists and media professionals working in Iraq particularly vulnerable.
“Though Iraq’s state of disorder has opened
up a space of freedom, it has also produced serious fears. Living conditions continue to deteriorate. Owners of Internet centers close their stores
at night out of fear—fear of both the occupying
forces and those of the resistance.” 24
NOTES
1. The Washington Post, “Full Text of Iraqi Constitution,”
Article 26, October 2005, http://www.washingtonpost.
com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/12/
AR2005101201450.html.
2. Human Rights Watch, “Iraq: New martial law powers
threaten basic rights,” February 23, 2007, http://hrw.
org/english/docs/2007/02/23/iraq15393.htm.
3. Gilbert Burnham, Shannon Doocy, Elizabeth Dzeng,
Riyadh Lafta, and Les Roberts, The Human Cost of
the War in Iraq, 2006,
web.mit.edu/CIS/pdf/Human_Cost_of_War.pdf.
4. Reporters Without Borders, “The war in Iraq,”
February 2007,
http://www.rsf.org/special_iraq_en.php3.
5. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count,
http://icasualties.org/oif (as of October 2, 2007).
6. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information,
“Iraq: A look behind bars,” http://www.hrinfo.net/en/
reports/net2004/iraq.shtml.
7. International Telecommunication Union,
http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?
arab_country_code=12.
8. The New York Times, “An Internet lifeline for troops in
Iraq and loved ones at home,” July 8, 2006,
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/us/08FAMILY
.html?ex=1310011200&en=4980662c7ca1ae71&ei
=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.
9. http://www.asharqalawsat.com/details.asp?
article=362940&issue=10028§ion=3.
302
Country Summaries
since the war began in 2003. Though they quickly released most, at least eight were detained for
weeks or months. On September 7, 2006, the
Iraqi government closed the Baghdad bureau of
the pan-Arab satellite news station Al-Arabiyya
for one month on the grounds that its reporting
amounted to “incitement.” Iraqi networks were
ordered not to show scenes of violence. The government continued to prevent the pan-Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera from reopening its
Baghdad bureau. In 2004, Reporters Without
Borders stated that “[t]he United States has total
control of the country’s telecommunications
system.” 18
ONI testing results
ONI conducted in-country tests in 2006 on Iraq’s
ISP uruklink. The tests revealed no evidence of filtering for any of the categories tested.
On the other hand, the BBC reported that
the “Pentagon is keeping a close eye on what its
troops post online, with special attention being
paid to videos that show the aftermath of combat.” The BBC added that, “[o]ne soldier who
served in Iraq in 2005 told the BBC there was ‘a
tight watch’ being kept on video and pictures
posted to MySpace, with civilian contractors
monitoring the Internet on behalf of the
Pentagon.” The BBC has not been able to confirm that contractors are scouring the Internet for
inappropriate material from the military, but
reported that “US Central Command—which is
responsible for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan—
does have a team reading blogs and responding
to what they consider inaccuracies about the socalled war on terror.” 19
Other reports stated that some liberal Web
sites were blocked on military computers in Iraq
as part of filtering nonconservative content.
Examples include The Memory Hole 20 and
Wonkette.
21
However, officials from the U.S.
Defense Department denied that they block political Web sites from soldiers serving in Iraq. 22
In January 2007, at the request of the British
government, Google agreed to remove updated
images that included British bases in Iraq from
Google Earth after British divisional headquarters
came under almost daily mortar barrages. 23
Conclusion
Iraqi citizens have unfettered access to the
Internet, but this fact is overshadowed by the
ongoing security condition. The deadly conflict
makes journalists and media professionals working in Iraq particularly vulnerable.
“Though Iraq’s state of disorder has opened
up a space of freedom, it has also produced serious fears. Living conditions continue to deteriorate. Owners of Internet centers close their stores
at night out of fear—fear of both the occupying
forces and those of the resistance.” 24
NOTES
1. The Washington Post, “Full Text of Iraqi Constitution,”
Article 26, October 2005, http://www.washingtonpost.
com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/12/
AR2005101201450.html.
2. Human Rights Watch, “Iraq: New martial law powers
threaten basic rights,” February 23, 2007, http://hrw.
org/english/docs/2007/02/23/iraq15393.htm.
3. Gilbert Burnham, Shannon Doocy, Elizabeth Dzeng,
Riyadh Lafta, and Les Roberts, The Human Cost of
the War in Iraq, 2006,
web.mit.edu/CIS/pdf/Human_Cost_of_War.pdf.
4. Reporters Without Borders, “The war in Iraq,”
February 2007,
http://www.rsf.org/special_iraq_en.php3.
5. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count,
http://icasualties.org/oif (as of October 2, 2007).
6. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information,
“Iraq: A look behind bars,” http://www.hrinfo.net/en/
reports/net2004/iraq.shtml.
7. International Telecommunication Union,
http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?
arab_country_code=12.
8. The New York Times, “An Internet lifeline for troops in
Iraq and loved ones at home,” July 8, 2006,
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/us/08FAMILY
.html?ex=1310011200&en=4980662c7ca1ae71&ei
=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.
9. http://www.asharqalawsat.com/details.asp?
article=362940&issue=10028§ion=3.
302
Country Summaries