The propaganda battle

The propaganda battle

By Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent

Campbell fears Blair may lose public opinion

There is no more dangerous a creature than a spin doctor who believes he has lost control of the agenda.

But wars have an unhappy habit of refusing to stick to any plans, no matter how carefully laid.

So it is understandable that, as the conflict in Iraq appears determined not to go according to the politicians' plans, there are mounting fears that the coalition is losing the propaganda battle - and the spin doctors are preparing to fight back.

Tony Blair's spinner-in-chief Alastair Campbell, in the sort of interview he refuses to do for British media, admitted to an Australian journalist that he is facing an "uphill battle" combating propaganda from Arab outlets.

He said that the major task facing the coalition's information chiefs was keeping public opinion behind the war.

And he said reporters sometimes allowed dictatorships like Saddam's to tell lies about themselves and the west without any opportunity to question them.

Not helpful

The fact that such regimes were not open to examination gave them a clear propaganda advantage, he said.

The coalition's job was to: "get out there, knowing that it is happening, dealing with it, challenging it, rebutting it," he said.

Mr Campbell's frustration is entirely understandable.

Despite the fact that there are hundreds of journalists "embedded" with the military the coverage has not always been seen by the politicians as helpful.

The nature of modern warfare and media is that live reports can be beamed around the globe before any spin doctor gets a chance to "contextualise" them.

And it is precisely that immediacy which is frustrating Mr Campbell and his colleagues.

What clearly worries them is that their inability to control the agenda, and therefore put the best possible gloss on events, may have a serious impact on the conflict.

If the effect of stories about stiffer-than-expected Iraqi resistance and civilian casualties is to weaken public opinion it could land the government in seriously dangerous water.

Tony Blair went to war with the majority against him. That, as predicted, changed once the conflict was underway.

But there is no rule stating that public opinion has to remain supportive.

And that is Mr Campbell's greatest fear.