5 Years Ago: When Media 'Zombies' Helped Bush Go To War
Greg Mitchell
Editor & Publisher
Next week, we will mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Amazingly, at this late date, we still have 150,000 troops there, and nine U.S. troops were killed just yesterday. So it is vital to refresh our memories on how the American media helped grease the path to war.
On March 6, 2003, less than two weeks before he ordered the country to war, President Bush conducted a nationally televised press conference, stating in his intro, "We will not wait to see what terrorists or terrorist states could do with weapons of mass destruction."
Some of the questions from the press were sharp, many others weak, but one asking about his religious strength gave him an opportunity to say, "My faith sustains me because I pray daily. I pray for guidance and wisdom and strength.... But it's a humbling experience to think that people I will never have met have lifted me and my family up in prayer. And for that I'm grateful."
It was the mood of the affair that was most noteworthy. Bush smiled and made his usual quips, and many of the reporters played the game and did not press him hard. This was how these press gatherings had gone throughout the run-up to war. But this meeting was heavily scripted with Bush looking at a slip of paper and calling on reporters in a pre-arranged order. No one challenged him on this.
When it was over, I asked Ari Berman, then an intern with Editor & Publisher and now a talented veteran at The Nation, to come up with a few questions we wished reporters had asked that night. I added a few myself, and published them at our site, under the heading, "Questions We Wish They'd Asked."
(Continued here.)
Editor & Publisher
Next week, we will mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Amazingly, at this late date, we still have 150,000 troops there, and nine U.S. troops were killed just yesterday. So it is vital to refresh our memories on how the American media helped grease the path to war.
On March 6, 2003, less than two weeks before he ordered the country to war, President Bush conducted a nationally televised press conference, stating in his intro, "We will not wait to see what terrorists or terrorist states could do with weapons of mass destruction."
Some of the questions from the press were sharp, many others weak, but one asking about his religious strength gave him an opportunity to say, "My faith sustains me because I pray daily. I pray for guidance and wisdom and strength.... But it's a humbling experience to think that people I will never have met have lifted me and my family up in prayer. And for that I'm grateful."
It was the mood of the affair that was most noteworthy. Bush smiled and made his usual quips, and many of the reporters played the game and did not press him hard. This was how these press gatherings had gone throughout the run-up to war. But this meeting was heavily scripted with Bush looking at a slip of paper and calling on reporters in a pre-arranged order. No one challenged him on this.
When it was over, I asked Ari Berman, then an intern with Editor & Publisher and now a talented veteran at The Nation, to come up with a few questions we wished reporters had asked that night. I added a few myself, and published them at our site, under the heading, "Questions We Wish They'd Asked."
(Continued here.)
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