Selling the Forces

From DocuWiki

1 General Information
2 Cover
3 Information
4 Screenshots
5 Technical Specs
6 Links

[edit] General Information

Sociopolitical, War Documentary published by CBC broadcasted as part of CBC Our World series in 2007 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

This week on Our World, we present Brian Stewart's feature documentary about
the untold story behind the Afghanistan campaign. He explores how the Canadian
military is selling the mission and boosting public support for it, as it also
increases its political clout in Ottawa.

Brian writes: "In my reporting on the war in Afghanistan, I have often thought
it interesting that despite Canada's costly involvement there, we have seen
very little change in public attitudes towards the mission. If, two years ago,
one had forecast that dozens of Canadians would be killed in Southern
Afghanistan by 2007, with no clear success to the mission in sight, one might
have predicted a strong current of anti-war sentiment emerging by now.

While there has been widespread criticism of the government's "lack of clarity"
over Afghanistan, Canadians are today still equally divided; roughly half for
the misson, half against. Remarkably, Canadians on the whole still support the
mission more than civilians in European NATO countries do; even though we've
taken more casualties, and face tougher fighting. So what has held up this
level of support? It is, in part , because of a well-planned, but little
understood, campaign by the military itself to control our perceptions of the
conflict. In my regular "Inside the Mission" reports for the National News,
I've been stuck by the massive public relations campaign orchestrated by
Canada's top soldier General Rick Hillier. It led to my documentary
exploration of this military PR offensive, one unprecedented since the Second
World War. " The documentary was produced by Harry Schachter and edited by
Claude Panet-Raymond.