Foreign media routinely barred from White House coverage during special "security alerts." Foreign press barred from June 8 meeting between Chile's Pr

Sept. 2/3, 2006 -- More Bush regime restrictions on foreign media in the United States. On Aug. 28, WMR reported on how the Bush regime has been using the I-Visa to restrict foreign media coverage of the United States. We have also learned that the White House Press office routinely bars foreign journalists from the White House Press Pool during increased security alerts. Such was the case on June 8, when Chile's Socialist President Michelle Bachelet visited the White House. The visit came on the same day that Abu Musab al Zarqawi was claimed to have been killed in a U.S. air strike in Iraq.

According to the foreign press that normally covers the White House, including the Spanish-speaking media that had a keen interest in Bachelet's visit, the White House immediately went into "No Foreign Media" mode after the attack on Zarqawi. Latin American, Iberian, and other foreign print and broadcast journalists, with White House press credentials, were barred from covering the Bachelet visit. However, no such restrictions were placed in Fox News, MS-NBC, CNN, or other U.S. media.

Foreign media routinely barred from White House coverage during special "security alerts." Foreign press barred from June 8 meeting between Chile's President and Bush.

The "No Foreign Media" restrictions on White House coverage continue to apply during periods of increased security.

Wayne Madson Report