Buying the War

Buying the War

2007, Media  -   104 Comments
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Ratings: 8.78/10 from 143 users.

Over a decade ago Bush administration forced the United States into a war so poorly prepared and executed it soon turned into a complete catastrophe. The fact of how the bureaucrats misled the country has been already expressed, but they couldn't have done it by themselves; they needed an obedient and docile press, to propagate their disinformation as actual news and encourage them to continue to do so.

Since then thousands of people have perished, and many are suffering and dying to this day. Yet the story of how the media was sold to the White House has not been elaborated in depth. If we look back at the moments before the invasion, we'll see that the US media relinquished its liberty and doubt to a great extent to accompany the US government in advancing to war.

Two weeks before he'll command America to war, President Bush calls a media conference to convince the people for removing Saddam Hussein from power. His administration has been persistent to associate Iraq with 9/11. Many times during this meeting he will call upon 9/11 and Al Qaeda to legitimize a deterrent attack on a country that has not assaulted America.

The seed of this story lies in the terror of 9/11... Like everyone else media was bewildered by the horror and havoc on that day. As people responded to the barbarity of a terrorist attack a flood of unity spread across the country. And as the military prepared to attack the terrorists, there was almost zero tolerance for condemnatory inspection by the media. Walter Isaacson was then Chairman and CEO of CNN.

When American forces attacked the terrorist in Afghanistan, the media across the country started to report the civilian casualties. But soon, the "patriot police" came and started to influence the news. Isaacson sent his staff a memo: "it seems perverse" he said, "to focus too much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan." And he instructed his employees to balance the images and stories of civilian killings with reminders of September 11th.

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Steve e wonder
Steve e wonder
3 years ago

Dick cheney is a bold face LIAR, and should be in prison

Bill Farley
Bill Farley
4 years ago

nothing has changed. The yellow press has been alive and well since they provided the lies which motivated the Spanish/American War in 1898.

Urban dweller
Urban dweller
5 years ago

"How the government misled the people????" How 'bout the government murdering countless of innocent civilians and military personnel?

steve
steve
7 years ago

we should tie them all to a stake and set Petro dollars aflame beneath them and record their screams for posterity

Lita
Lita
7 years ago

Solution to bring peace in the Middle East, take both Bushes, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, et al., and execute them live in the Yankee Stadium.

truth seeker
truth seeker
8 years ago

The biggest lie ever told reinforced by the propaganda machine.
notice there was a single trace of any airplane.
jet fuel doesn't burn hot enough to bend steal
controlled demolition leveled the building in 10 seconds.
traces of termite was found.
parts of the support beams had physical proof of shape chargers.
feds are notorious for false flag operations

socalledbob
socalledbob
9 years ago

The media failed to ask questions pertaining to the 1st speech President Bush regarding 9-11. The 2 statements I find interesting " I have spoke to the VP, to the governor of NY, To the director of the FBI, And have ordered the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and the families and to conduct a full scale investigation to hunt down and find them the folks that committed these acts. Terrorism against our nation will not stand." If the nation is under attack, this was 45 minutes after the 1st plane, why wouldn't he call the Air Force or Navy or SAC? How did he know there were victims? How many victims? They could have assumed all of this. But the country is still under attack for all they really know. Or should have known. They are going to investigate. Investigate what? These statements are made 7 minutes before the Pentagon was hit. How does he know this is terrorism 26 minutes after the second plane hits the WTC? They knew or should have known that there was a 4th plane still in the air at this time. Calling for an investigation and calling for revenge while there are 2 planes still in the air seems like a foregone conclusion. How and why is he so sure that it is terrorism and not a country attacking the US?

apaulocreed
apaulocreed
9 years ago

"The most intelligent government so far" my ass.The problem is that it's the dumbest general public in the most Greed driven Corporate controlled nation that is extra reluctant to accept the truth due to it's attempt to cling on to any rare remaining reason to display patriotism.Only in America was this military manouver not labelled 'The Invasion of Iraq'. This fact was accepted as a joke by all others because it's always been accepted that American media is a stew of propaganda used to nuteur any possible motives its public may have to lead and not follow.The lesson was learned in after the Vietnam protests etc era,so since then spoon fed with jibberish the public have always been in the 'Land of the Free'!

timyak
timyak
9 years ago

Naeem, even now you end you comment with God bless America. This to me
demonstrates that you've hardly moved on from your initial brain washed
state of mind. How can you ever utter those words again after realising
what America has become. Today your 'blessed' America occupies over 150
nations, and is directly responsible for funding so called 'rebels' in
Syria, Ukraine, Nigeria and so many others who are bringing untold
terror to their nations. Only a complete understanding of where your
nation is at by a large percentage of the population MIGHT offer USA a
chance of ultimate redemption. Just yesterday I signed a petition hoping
to protect one of New York Posts journalists from imprisonment for
wanting to protect his sources, as obama attempts to take away 1st
amendment rights. Sadly your nation has had its government hijacked by
criminals and until they are removed you will be the greatest cause of
pain and suffering on this Earth.I'm from UKso I know all about evil
imperialism my friend. I suggest you take the BLUE PILL and finally and fully wake up from your dream like state.

Naeem
Naeem
9 years ago

When all this stuff was going on I was 12 years old. I sat in front of the televison and watched the greatest country the world has ever seen, bring to justice the people who comitted the biggest crime that had ever been done against it. That day was the day when I realized I was truly American. The complete joy that overwhelmed me when my nation dropped bomb after bomb and fired bullet after bullet. Seemingly rewriting the wrongs of a tyranical dictatorship overnight. There was no greatest feeling I ever experienced in my life. Now 12 years later and 12 years more elightened, I cringe at the idea that I am no better morally than those people who allowed this to happened. I am numb, cold, cut-throat and unmoved by this documentary and couldn't tell you why. I want to help, but my sociopathic tendancies won't allow me. I pray that someday I will relearn compassion and be infused with a large dose of humanism and I pray that my country will too and then and only then we will return as the true leaders of the world again. Until then it was good while it lasted. God Bless America.

UBK
UBK
9 years ago

Q. What was the original name of the war plan ?
A. Operation Iraqi Liberation.
Q. What was it changed to ?
A. Operation Iraqi Freedom .
Q. Why do you think it was changed ?

UBK
UBK
9 years ago

Cui bono ?
1. Watch, September 11: The New Pearl Harbor.
2. How was it done ? See, Prof.Judith Woods: Where did the Towers go ?
3. Which people believe they are destined to rule the world and all that is in it ?
4. How many of them were members of PNAC ?
5. How many of them have dual nationality ?
6. If these questions do not fit as pieces of a jig-saw, how many more do you need ?

chard01
chard01
9 years ago

And it was all so Hokey,badly Acted and Scripted and yet it got a 2 Trillion Dollar Budget" Days of our Lives Washington"

Sacco Svd
Sacco Svd
9 years ago

My only question is, why if this is so clear why aren't these guys behind bars? Why is the North American people so slow about this?

And, is there anyone who still believe 9/11 wasn't staged by the Bush administration itself as the perfect excuse to start it all?

Just a remark, is not "America at war" as the MOFO news said, is "The United States of America at war" ....people from Mexico all the way down to Chile had NOTHING to do with this genocide.

DocHollywood_2
DocHollywood_2
9 years ago

It could have been worse, Obama could have been in Commander and Chief.

larm007
larm007
9 years ago

There was info out there before we actually went to war, but you had to really want to research it. Most Americans just believed what they heard. Scott Ritter (weapons inspector--none found), Ambassador Joe Wilson (researched selling of yellowcake out of Africa to Iraq--found not true) , Bush's Chief Counter-Terrorism Advisor Richard Clarke's book "Against all Enemies" and The Plan for the New American Century (written in the early 90's by Wolfowitz and signed by mostly neo-cons (saw Dan Quayles sig on it, though) and it was proposing American Globalization and US space supremacy. It's where you'll find the phrase 'another Pearl Harbor' being necessary for the public to get behind our going to war again. The reason I wanted to research this so much? I believe shenanigans got Bush into the White House in the first place. The idiocy in Florida (where I lived) notwithstanding, SOTUS wasn't using the Electoral College and so it would seem more than reasonable to use the popular vote where Gore was ahead by a little over 500,000 votes. I was a Republican at the time, but voted for Gore because of his environmental views. I started reading and nothing that was reported on TV was substantiated and voices against war were heard on Free Speech TV but nowhere on mainstream news. This whole chapter in our history is catastrophic and inordinately shameful.

pat
pat
9 years ago

This piece seems to me, to be a poor attempt at exoneration of the media as being 'swept up' rather than bought off, by corporate government rule that openly uses propaganda to sway public opinion.
There is no patriotism among the heads of corporate governance.. they will ship patriotic trained human beings to kill and be killed under the guise of "God and Country" when the real agenda is for furthering Imperialist corporate revenue streams or to break ground for the corporations of USInc to get into virgin territory to establish the commerce system and central banking like they've used coca cola to do since Germany, and Vietnam. Coca-Cola and Mcdonalds are the flagships that have been planted as soon as possible after invasion.
We have believed that Vietnam was a senseless lost war but if you check the dates, you'll see that the powers that started it got Coke and McDonalds into Vietnam shortly after peace was declared. You'll find suspicious timing of Coke/McDonalds in Iraq even before Saddam was tried, shortly after invasion as Saddam wouldn't allow US corporations to have a presence.
Go search Venezuela and the battle over coca-cola and the 'death' of Chavez, or even the history of Libya, and why Ghaddafi was portrayed as he was in the media.
All of those countries refused to let outside corporate commerce into their countries, and denied central banking, ultimately leading to them being put on a hit list.
This so called government is not the American government we were taught to trust and respect, its become a global corporate governance with the interchangeable titles of president/CEO, pretending that the constitution is still something of importance for the show to the half interested TV viewer, while blatantly shitting all over every so called right and freedom we in America have been hypnotized into believing is still real.
There is a corporation called the United States, which is an incorporated entity, and the story of the United States of America which was superseded in Bankruptcy twice, the last in the 30s as the banksters pulled the rug from under an over inflated economy to steal back the land and place the country into receivership.
Since then every birth must be recorded in a hospital with a record that it monetiized, because each of us is the surety for that bankruptcy to keep this facade afloat. The gold and silver was removed from circulation and from backing the paper currency... so these debt notes we consider money are IOUs, and we as the human energy that keeps the system running are the "full faith and credit' of the commerce system. This is why they want to track our every move. They've put a value on each of our lifetime of revenue and energy, equated to a sum and if we are not in their territory they can't exact that sum whether through labor, taxes or the medical and insurance costs or through the courts, family law, criminal penal system. This is why the war on drugs, they protect those manufacturing and supply chains but once they are here, it makes for a great revenue stream. Criminalization which we all know is verrrry profitable.

This is a brutal machine that doesn't give a rats ass about human beings lives or standard of life, it's only concern is how much profit this quarter, and global domination. These shilll media talking heads should be held accountable and all should see the media for what it is. This half ass attempt at holding a few scum reporters accountable falls far short because all of them are guilty today as propaganda and fake terror events are staged and reported just like the puppets they are.

Francis
Francis
9 years ago

Oil, that's why...Iraq is the 7th world oil producer...Syria is the 32nd and not profitable to justify invasion despite the brutal civil war...

Horst Manure
Horst Manure
9 years ago

This is no different than some medieval fool pointing to some innocent and proclaiming he/.she is a witch and sadly people to this day support this war...Bush Dumbasfelt et al have moved on collected their pension and promotion and retires in grace.

Horst Manure
Horst Manure
9 years ago

Workers in the CIA were shorting air line stocks before 9/11 they knew what was going to happen and airlines would be on the nose for awhile.
And so now we are getting ready to go again pick a fight with any one just pick any country and lets go.

awful_truth
awful_truth
9 years ago

I have always enjoyed Bill Moyers, and for that matter PBS (frontline) for their ability to ask the tough questions. This is a great documentary, in that it acknowledges the inherent weakness of professional journalism, especially after 9 11. With that said, there were many people around the world raising important facts and questions, (couldn't get air time) that basically all the major media outlets were ignoring.

This to me, is no different than trying to find an economist who wasn't supporting the status quo prior to the collapse of 2008. (they exist, but you will not find them on television, or working for any of the major players in investment banking)

I guess the real question is why would anyone listen to journalists, or economists to begin with, as long as they are 'plugged in' to the big boy's club? Perhaps the lesson to be learned is how many of these so called experts, and pundits have been brought to justice, or exposed after the fact? The only one I can think of was Scooter Libby, who was subsequently given a presidential pardon after being found guilty for ousting Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. (revenge for her husband Joseph Wilson's letter to the media confirming that Iraq did not receive nuclear material - yellow cake)

In reality, nothing has changed since, and few people have awoken from their dogmatic slumber. The situation in the Ukraine is no different. I posted some important facts, and questions regarding an article on Frontline PBS, only to have it removed from the site, and 'deemed as spam'. This was several days after it was passed by the moderators. The most disturbing part was this was on Frontline PBS, one of the few places I felt that was actually interested in the truth, and asking the tough questions. (kind of like finding out there is no Santa Claus at age 6 - what a let down)

2 weeks before the first bombs dropped in Iraq, I got a chance to speak to Allan Gotlieb (ex Canadian ambassador to the U.S) on CBC television during a phone in. After stating some raw facts regarding the track record of the U.S for breaking international law, I asked the simple question, "who is going to keep the U.S in check?" Of course he couldn't answer the question, because the result would not weigh favorably for him in the future. (can you blame him?)

The awful truth is, 'the truth' is only a threat to those who have the most to lose from it. Yes, It may eventually surface long after the fact, and only if it serves their purpose. (when no one guilty will be held accountable)

For myself, and many others, the second Iraq war was a scam from the get go, and obviously had nothing to do with 9 11; not because we were purvey to special information, but because we were not scared to apply the sniff test, (critical thinking) and call people on their bulls**t.
Ergo, asking tough questions after the fact, (like this documentary) may have value, but it ultimately falls on deaf ears because there is nothing at stake, and it pales in comparison to those who risk everything, when it can actually make a difference! (Phil Donohue, Bill Maher) Take care, and best wishes everyone.

sonibvc
sonibvc
9 years ago

Why is these debate still on? Its clear to everyone outside the usa that the americans did the 9/11 themselves so they could an excuse for wars....all contries use similar strategies i dont see why usa should be any different.

dmxi
dmxi
9 years ago

....& one should consider that it's getting worse!

happyMephisto
happyMephisto
9 years ago

What is happening right now is exactly what Dwight D. warned us about.A bloated and tedious military lollygagging about the world looking for someone to bully.(by statesgirls and generals who seem to have doubts about their masculinity)but this time they have picked upon a target who can bite back just as hard as they can.And if pushed-THEY WILL.

Lancev32
Lancev32
9 years ago

But but but... BUSH! Was more than just GW that "forced" the US into War... Libs have a very selective memory....

rngfarrell
rngfarrell
9 years ago

This makes me so angry I can't even watch it. Please somebody tell me how it ends.