Wikileaks will soon release almost 400,000 documents on the US war in Iraq since 2003. Late last night, under an agreement with the organisation, certain news outlets were allowed to run advance stories based on the material. The similarities and contrasts in the coverage, even amongst these privileged few, is striking.
The New York Times features "A Grim Portrait of Civilian Deaths in Iraq" but makes clear at the outset that "most civilians, by far, were killed by other Iraqis", citing "systematic sectarian cleansing" as the leading cause. Then the report, by Sabrina Tavernise and Andrew Lehren turns to the American military, adding a striking bit of comment linking to another US intervention: "The documents also reveal many previously unreported instances in which American soldiers killed civilians --- at checkpoints, from helicopters, in operations. Such killings are a central reason Iraqis turned against the American presence in their country, a situation that is now being repeated in Afghanistan."
Tavernise and Lehren also begin with an Iraq-centred focus in "Detainees Fared Worse in Iraqi Hands". There is little mention of direct US involvement --- "the documents disclosed by WikiLeaks offer few glimpses of what was happening inside American detention facilities" --- but the reporters set out the charge of neglect, "While some abuse cases were investigated by the Americans, most noted in the archive seemed to have been ignored, with the equivalent of an institutional shrug: soldiers told their officers and asked the Iraqis to investigate." They again offer a warning: "It is a frightening portrait of violence by any standards, but particularly disturbing because Iraq’s army and police are central to President Obama’s plan to draw down American troops in Iraq."
As we have noted in a separate analysis, the Times also gives a villain's role to Tehran with two stories by Lehren and Michael Gordon: "Leaked Reports Detail Iran's Role for Iraq Militias" and "Iran Seized US Hikers in Iraq".
Al Jazeera, in a report by Gregg Carlstrom, leads with "US Turned Blind Eye to Torture". Carlstrom uses quote mark to put a different emphasis on the Tehran angle, "Iran's 'Involvement'", and uses the same framing with "Syria's 'Complicity'".
Carlstrom's most challenging and distinctive piece is on the "Awakening Councils", formed with US support in 2007/8 and held up as an example of the success of the American "surge": "Programme of Sunni militias was a key factor in Iraq's improved security, but also empowered dubious local strongmen."
Al Jazeera has a series of further stories on civilian deaths, violence, and "collateral damage".
The Guardian of London goes big on one story: "Secret Files Show How US Ignored Torture". Other articles focus on civilian deaths. There is a piece on "Iran Accused of Plotting Attack", but the treatment is far different from the Blame Tehran approach of The New York Times:
Several reports admit that their sources are untested or of low reliability. The secret logs' main evidence for Iranian involvement in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 consists of low-level arms smuggling and the detention of Iranian nationals entering Iraq illegally.
Le Monde's headline story is "The Ordinary Horror Revealed by Wikileaks", with supporting articles on civilian casualties and torture. The French newspaper also has a distinctive feature on the role played by mercenaries in US operations.
In Germany, Der Spiegel focuses more on interactive features than articles, but there is one highlighted article, "Iraq War Logs Reveal Details of Dubious Apache Attacks".
The Times of London's coverage is tucked away behind its paywall.