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| Africa North |
| French army tight-lipped on Mali |
| 2013-03-05 |
| [News24] More than seven weeks into its intervention to root out Salafist tough guys in Mali, the French army keeps a tight lid on details of the operation - a policy some call a public relations fumble. Instead of using the chance to portray itself in a good light, the military is keeping the public in the dark and rubbing the media up the wrong way, say observers and industry commentators. "The army is missing out on a chance to put itself forward at a time when it is doing something impressive all on its own, without our American allies," said Michel Goya of the IRSEM defence research institute, who described the information blackout as "counter-productive". "The defence ministry and the army have always had a defensive take on communication, of which they only see those aspects that are negative, disruptive and need to be restricted," he added. The French military has kept the area where the main fighting is taking place, around the city of Kidal in Mali's far north, virtually off-limits. Three television crews were allowed into Kidal early last month but were confined to the airport. Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) last month criticised La Belle France for an "excessive" media lockout. "We've never seen such unanimous frustration among news hounds on the ground," said Ambroise Pierre, head of the RSF Africa desk, condemning a "serious attack on the freedom of the media". |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Hey Jacques ... tighten the thumbscrews - he's not talking yet. And pass the cognac. |
| Posted by: Raider 2013-03-05 14:10 |
| #6 Fuck the media, we're fighting a war. Good for the French and good for the French Military. Dang they really hitched up their britches and became hard headed about all of this. The Moslem dickheads that started all of those riots are going to regret that action. The riots were a wake up call and the French have answered it. Geez, the Fucking French are now the tough guys of the Western World while we have a guy hiding under his desk wanting to fight a war with drones and tersely written letters. AND oh please don't forget the ROE. We suffered terrible casualties in Nam because of those obscene ROE and we did the same damn thing to ourselves in Afghanistan. Can we keep the press out of one war just long enough to finish one without whining and sniveling over casualties, civilians, puppies, bunnies, and collateral damage? |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2013-03-05 10:27 |
| #5 they are fighting a vicious barbarian horde. Nobody needs a bunch of p[anty-waist hand-wringers mewling about ROE and tactics and giving away Ops/Tactics to the enemy |
| Posted by: Frank G 2013-03-05 09:31 |
| #4 I guess the French figured out not to permit |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-03-05 08:41 |
| #3 From the nuus you've read time and time again section: Red Arsenals Arm The Simbas Russian and Chinese weapons airlifted to the Congo Rebels. These warriors are Congolese rebels, the dreaded Simbas. Not long ago they and thousands like them were rag-tag renegades who ranged over countless square miles, making a sport of butchering and pillaging. Now they are bcomeing a coordinated fighting force - with the full and open backing of the Soviet Union and Communist China. Massively, and competitively, the two Communist countries are supplying the Simbas with guns and ammunition. The new weapons - plainly marked by the manufacturers - come chiefly from stockpiles to Communist-oriented Algeria and the United Arab Republic, and are flown into areas in countries bordering the Congo. From there the consignments are carted overland to Simba strongholds. The best efforts of the Congo's army and its tiny hired air force to halt the traffic are of little avail, and even the recent expulsion of the Red Chinese from neighboring Burundi made scarcely a dent. To document this menace, Life sent a team of four correspondents into areas where the build-up is taking place. Their eyewitness accounts, whjich appear on the following pages, underscore the dilemma facing the U.S. and her allies: whether to go openly to the aid of the Congo's Premier Tshombe and further alienate the African nations which regard him as a white man's puppet, or see the Congo go to default. For the entire article and lekker fotos see: Vol 58, No. 6 'LIFE' February 12, 1965 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-03-05 07:47 |
| #2 portray itself in a good light, the military is keeping the public in the dark and rubbing the media up the wrong way, say observers and industry commentators. It's all about how we the elite media perceive you. You don't count. Real accomplishments don't count. Real failure doesn't count (see Zero). The only thing that counts is how the elite, as buffered by the MSM, perceive you and how that perception can increase the elites power & money. If I get any more cynical I may just implode 8^( |
| Posted by: Alanc 2013-03-05 07:38 |
| #1 "The defense ministry and the army have always had a defensive take on communication, of which they only see those aspects that are negative, disruptive and need to be restricted," he added. And the positive aspects are : " ? ". |
| Posted by: Willy 2013-03-05 07:07 |