The Front-Page War

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the function and history of the media in the Iraq conflict, addressing the two central issues of the way in which the conflict was created in the media and the truths about censorship and government, both American and Iraqi/Arab, sponsorship and control over media. The paper explores these issues so that the reaction of the American and Iraqi response to these media presentations may be most fully understood.

From the Paper:

"Two thousand years ago, an empire did not need justification to go to war. If the populace was unsupportive of the war, they could always be placated with mass executions, with bread and circuses. Two thousand years ago, if the military and its commanders wanted a war, all they needed was the command to march -- and if their victims were going to resist invasion, they did so through love of the fatherland, not because of some sort of multimedia spin control. Unfortunately for the hawks of the new American Empire, times have changed. America is an aging republic in which the opinions of the populace are still at least moderately important. Though the rulers of the nation may often go about their business impervious to the concerns of common folk, the national administration still cannot afford to go to war without the support --or at least generalized apathy -- of the voting public. Likewise, in the international environment today, an invaded nation cannot hope to continue fighting without the sympathy of the global community."

More papers on The Front-Page War:

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• Analytical Essay # 46490 : "Embedded Journalists"

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