Page 289 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

A Game Plan for Infinite War?

In early 2005, President Bush addressed reporters' questions regarding whether
a U.S. attack on Iran would define the next stage in the "War on Terror." Al-
though Bush explained that the "notion that the United States is getting ready to
attack Iran is simply ridiculous," he conceded that "all options are on the table."'
Bush's evasive answer was significant in that it represented a neglected oppor-
tunity for reporters to challenge the confusing messages the President was shar-
ing about possible attacks against countries labeled as part of the "Axis of Evil."
Important questions remain which should be asked by media institutions inter-
ested in informing the public about potential U.S. involvement in future military
conflicts. Was the administration actually planning an imminent attack on Iran;
and if so, what concrete and indisputable evidence, in light of the Iraq debacle,
did the President possess to show that Iran posed an imminent threat to the
American people? Most importantly, should the U.S. go to war with Iran over
the alleged possession of weapons the United States itself already possesses?
What are the implications of such a war when other nation-states continue to
possess such weapons and retain U.S. support nonetheless?
Whether reporters and editors should take an explicit stand by answering
these questions is up for debate, but it is vital nonetheless that these questions at
least be posed to the political establishment, so that the public may be better
informed over the possibility for, and soundness of, military action against Iran.
These necessary questions have often been glossed over by media still intently
focused on the war in Iraq. Reporters, outside of a few exceptions like Seymour
Hersh of the New Yorker, have been reluctant to push the administration too
hard to reveal hrther details on whether it is planning on going to war with Iran.
Media deference, in the face of the Bush administration's attempts to por-
tray Iran as an emerging threat, continues unabated, and in light of the quandary
of Iraq. An important example of the lack of skeptical coverage of the U.S. de-
monization of "enemy" states was seen in the release of the Nuclear Posture
Review (NPR). The NPR, published in 2002, was a high-level military policy
document that identified a number of potential targets as part of a military