Media Propaganda and Spectacle in the War on Iraq: a Critique of U.S. Broadcasting Networks

Abstract

The author shows how, during the 2003 Iraq war, the U.S. broadcasting network provided a conduit for Bush administration and Pentagon propaganda. Whereas the explicit war aims were to shut down Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction” and thus enforce UN resolutions that mandated that Iraq eliminate its offensive weapons, there were many hidden agendas in the Bush administration offensive against Iraq, such as the promotion of a new doctrine of preemptive strikes, control of Iraqi oil, and producing a major media spectacle that would help Bush win the 2004 presidential election. In this study, the author analyzes the forms of media propaganda promoted by the Bush administration. He argues that the U.S. broadcasting networks helped Bush advance his agenda, but that the media spectacle of a U.S. military triumph is turning into a negative spectacle of a morass that undermines the Bush administration rationale for the invasion.