U.S. Progressive Media Coordinate Coverage on Iraq Privatization

In These Times | Feminist Majority Foundation | Link TV

AlterNet, The American Prospect, ColorLines, In These Times, Link TV and Ms. Magazine have published interviews, reporting and analysis in coordination with the release of Robert Greenwalds new documentary, Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers.

These media outlets delve into the untold stories spawning from this hard-hitting film, with the goal of covering many of the unknown issues and individuals impacted by privatization in Iraq. Each media outlet released a story on their own Web site and linked to the stories of their media partners. The stories will also be linked on the Iraq for Sale Web site.

All media partners are members of The Media Consortium, a new network of leading progressive independent journalism organizations. Reporters and media representatives are available for interviews individually and as a group. All links to stories are available below. Highlights of stories include:

AlterNet staff writer, Joshua Holland reports in Bush's Worst Pentagon Downfall: Outsourcing Torture, that there couldn't be a more appropriate symbol of the Bush era than the Pentagon outsourcing torture in the war zones of the New American Empire to profit-hungry companies like CACI.
The American Prospects senior editor Tara McKelvey uncovers the legal limbo in which the 25,000 independent contractors in Iraq operate in The Unaccountables. Some may have engaged in torture -- and, by evident design, they cant be prosecuted for their crimes.
ColorLines reports in Doing the Dirty Work, that today, Asian migrant workers perform the menial labor on U.S. military bases in Iraq, where trafficking has been standard practice since the invasion began.
In These Times details how it's been a bad season for military contractors and their Bush administration backers, and the release of the new film Iraq for Sale will only turn up the heat. Bill Scher of LiberalOasis.com reports in Privatized Warfare: The Summer of Discontent.
Link TV (www.linktv.org) produced a report about Iraq for Sale for its Media Watch series, including an interview with producer Robert Greenwald. This will be released on Friday, September 8.
Ms. Magazine examines how U.S. war policies in Iraq sell out women in favor of big oil. Whether supporting gender apartheid abroad, or sacrificing feeding programs for U.S. women and children at home so that ExxonMobil can get a tax breakU.S. priorities are consistent: Oil wins over women's rights hands down. Martha Burk reports in Crude Awakening: U.S. Policies in Afghanistan and Iraq Sell Out Women in Favor of Oil.
MotherJones has also compiled past investigative reports on contracting and corruption in post-war Iraq.

Iraq for Sale is an inside look of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war and gives an inside look at the lives of the people who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so.