Iraqi Media

Radio Iraq International still operates very spasmodically, never having recovered from the battering it took during the Gulf War. But now the Iraqi Government has embraced the Internet, with the Iraqi News Agency having an extensive English-language site to match many of its Western competitors.

When it’s on the air, Radio Iraq International currently uses 11785 kHz for its foreign language programmes. In recent days, the frequency has varied up to 11787kHz, and some listeners report a noticeable increase in signal strength.

Satellite Broadcasts:
For those living within the footprint of Arabsat 3A at 26 degrees east, the Iraq Satellite Channel (TV) broadcasts on 11.938Hz vertical in PAL, with audio on 6.60 MHz. The radio services Al Iraq, Izaat Sawt Alshabah and Radio Iraq International are on audio subcarriers 7.20, 7.56 and 7.92 MHz respectively.

Embracing New Technology
The intervening years have seen the Internet develop into a major information and propaganda medium, so it’s not surprising that, after some initial resistance, the Iraqi authorities are now fully embracing it. One only has to to look at the Web site of the Iraqi News Agency to appreciate that they’re taking the Internet seriously. Other Iraqi government sites range from the Iraqi Center for Heart Disease to the Iraq Tourism Board , which bizarrely promises pages in Dutch!
The media inside Iraq may be controlled by the regime, but there are plenty of broadcasting stations outside its borders battling for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. How successful they are is open to question, but plenty of resources are being pumped into the effort.

American-Backed Stations
The US government considers Iraq important enough - or Saddam Hussein dangerous enough - to have created Radio Free Iraq, on the lines of Radio Free Europe under whose umbrella it has operated since its launch in October 1998. Broadcasts are on the air on shortwave 8 hours a day.

According to ClandestineRadio.com the Central Intelligence Agency of the US is also covertly supporting an operation run by the Jordan-based Iraqi National Accord (INA) in Amman. There is no mystery about the aims of the INA: its own Web site states that they “advocate the removal of Saddam’s regime”. The station, called Al Mustaqbal (The Future) made its first broadcast on 21 April 1996. It’s opening words were, “This is The Future, the radio of the Iraqi National Accord, a voice for all the Iraqis confronting oppression and dictatorship, a voice that looks forward to a safe future for a new Iraq.” The frequency of the 50kW transmitter, located in Kuwait, varies between 1557 and 1584kHz in an effort to escape Iraqi jamming.

A third US-backed station, Radio Hurriyeh is the subject of a special article published last October in partnership with Clandestine Radio Watch.

Other stations
Clandestine Radio.com has a comprehensive dossier on the various other stations, some of which have been around for many years. But the ‘new kid on the block’ is Radio Bopeshawa (Radio Forward), operated by the Iraqi Worker-Communist Party , which launched as recently as 1 Feb 2001.

The Kurdish Question
But that’s not the end of the story. There are no less than 11 radio and TV stations representing, or claiming to represent, various sections of the Kurdish community engaged in long-running disputes with Iraq and Turkey respectively. Some appear to be operating from northern Iraq, but others are based in neighbouring Iran. These stations are more concerned with advocating an independent Kurdistan than with the overthrow of the Iraqi regime per se. Nevertheless, their existence complicates the media landscape.

How Effective?
Opinions in the West are divided about the effectiveness of propaganda beamed into Iraq from the outside. Certainly the regime of Saddam Hussein appears to have retained its grip on power, and hostile propaganda from the country’s perceived enemies would appear to be counter-productive. But those involved in broadcast operations to Iraq would argue that propaganda is just one element of a more complex strategy. Only time will tell which of these views prevails.

Originally published by Radio Netherlands

More info:
http://www.clandestineradio.com
http://www.middleeastwire.com/iraq
Satellite to beam anti-Saddam TV to Iraq - an article by Brian Whitaker, The Guardian: