The Turkish government has succeeded Saddam Hussein as the primary oppressor of the Kurdish

http://www.counterpunch.org/dimaggio12282007.html


Worthy and Unworthy Victims
Turkey's Bombing of Iraq

By ANTHONY DiMAGGIO

The U.S. delivered an early Christmas present to the people of Iraq this year in the form of logistical support for Turkey's war against the Kurds. The Turkish government has succeeded Saddam Hussein as the primary oppressor of the Kurdish people, and it undertook its most recent round of U.S. supported attacks this last week with a renewed round of bombing of Kurdish areas in Northern Iraq. U.S. support for the Turkish campaign has been justified under the rubric of fighting terrorism, as Turkish officials claimed the December 23rd bombing targeted only Kurdish secessionist rebels, and resulted in no civilian deaths.

Turkey's war on the Kurds provides an ideal test of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's "propaganda model." Mass media coverage, they argue, is characterized by a dichotomy between "worthy" and "unworthy" victims of state violence. Those who are "abused in enemy states" receive substantial attention in the news, as their oppressors are subject to the "high moral and self-righteous tone" of reporters, columnists, and editors. Herman and Chomsky analyze news coverage in the New York Times, CBS, Newsweek, and Time of religious leaders killed in Soviet-dominated countries such as Poland, contrasting it with coverage received by religious figures killed in U.S. allied capitalist states in Latin America.

The propaganda model continues to be relevant today when reviewing the "newsworthiness" of Kurds killed by enemies and allies of the U.S. Under the expectations of the propaganda model, civilian deaths caused by the U.S. and its allies receive little to no media attention, while coverage of the violence of "enemy" states or groups is extensively highlighted. This work examines U.S. media coverage of three types of victims: Iraqi Kurds killed by the Turkish government, Iraqi Kurds killed by the government of Saddam Hussein, and Turkish Kurds killed by the Turkish government. A propaganda model would predict that coverage of Kurdish civilian deaths will be prominent in regards to the violence of the enemy government of Saddam Hussein, while the violence of the Turkish military against Kurds will be downplayed, ignored, or framed as a relatively minor problem (when compared to the killings of Hussein).

In reviewing recent events in the Middle East, one sees that mass media coverage deemphasizes Turkey's attacks on Kurds (both in Iraq and Turkey), instead heavily emphasizing the deaths of Turkish soldiers and civilians at the hands of Kurdish rebels. Extensive attention was devoted to the conflict between Kurdish guerilla groups (framed as aggressors) and the Turkish government (framed as the victim) throughout the October to December period. The Turkish parliament voted in October to authorize a military invasion of Iraq, and amassed 60,000 troops near the border after Kurdish rebels killed at least a dozen Turkish soldiers. Due to pressure from the U.S. and its allies, the Turkish government eventually backed away from its proposed invasion, announcing it would first pursue a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Turkish government did eventually retaliate militarily against Kurds based in Northern Iraq, bombing targets on three separate occasions in ten days, and with U.S. logistical support. Kurdish members of the secessionist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have also reportedly conducted attacks against the Turkish government, attempting to establish an independent Kurdish state in parts of Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq.

Research the PKK & you will know why that is so.