Nayirah Kuwaiti girl testimony

Nayirah al-Ṣabaḥ (Arabic: نيره الصباح‎), called “Nurse Nayirah“ in the media, was a fifteen-year-old Kuwaiti girl, who alleged that she had witnessed the murder of infant children by Iraqi soldiers in Kuwait, in verbal testimony to the U.S. Congress, in the run up to the 1991 Gulf War. Her testimony, which was regarded as credible at the time, has since come to be regarded as wartime propaganda. The public relations firm Hill & Knowlton, which was in the employ of Citizens for a Free Kuwait, had arranged the testimony. Nayirah’s testimony was widely publicized. Hill & Knowlton, which had filmed the hearing, sent out a video news release to Medialink, a firm which served about 700 television stations in the United States. That night, portions of the testimony aired on ABC’s Nightline and NBC Nightly News reaching an estimated audience between 35 and 53 million Americans. Seven senators cited Nayirah’s testimony in their speeches backing the use of force. President George Bush repeated the story at least ten times in the following weeks. (Wikipedia) Full video at c-span video website. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN KUWAIT, Oct. 10, 1990 The Congressional Human Rights Caucus conducted a hearing to investigate alleged Iraqi human rights violations in occupied Kuwait. Cases of rape, execution, imprisonment and the destruction of hospitals in Kuwait were heard by the committee.