Media Shame
This is an interesting commentary on the servility of the US media during the leadup to Iraq. Within is a hypothetical query - would the US have gone to war if the media had been doing their jobs properly? This isn't a new question, it's been posed quite a lot as the truth about the missing WMD is revealed.
I think though that the answer is still very much a resounding 'yes'. It's clear from whistle blower testimony and the credentials of the whitehouse officials involved that Iraq has been a long-standing priority... the instability of the Saudi regime is threatening to Western control over Persian Gulf oil, and Iraq offers a potential treasure trove of natural resources... even more than is officially reckoned since so much of the region has never been probed for goodies.
The situation in the UK during the leadup to Iraq was somewhat different from that in America. True, only a handful of papers opposed the action (the Independent being the most eloquent), but there was massive opposition to the plan, with huge protests in London, Glasgow and Belfast. The leader of the Liberal Democrats political party argued forcefully and articulately against the action in Iraq.
Gallup conducted a poll about the looming military intervention in Iraq - the results may be downloaded from here. The third question on the poll is:
Q3: Are you in favour of military action against Iraq?
For the UK (excluding Northern Ireland), here were the results:
Under no circumstances (41%)
Only if sanctioned by the UN (39%)
Unilaterally by America and its allies (10%)
Don't know / No opinion (10%)
The largest proportion of the country was always against the war - and a vast, vast majority were against the war that was actually waged. And yet, the UK went to war.
The situation in the UK is of course not directly applicable to the situation in the US - after World War 2, a very definite decision was taken by foreign policy planners to set the United Kingdom up as a 'junior partner' of the US hegemony... choosing to listen to the voices of the electorate would have compromised our 'special relationship' with the United States. It all just goes to show - it's not just a compliant media that undermines genuine democracy.
I think though that the answer is still very much a resounding 'yes'. It's clear from whistle blower testimony and the credentials of the whitehouse officials involved that Iraq has been a long-standing priority... the instability of the Saudi regime is threatening to Western control over Persian Gulf oil, and Iraq offers a potential treasure trove of natural resources... even more than is officially reckoned since so much of the region has never been probed for goodies.
The situation in the UK during the leadup to Iraq was somewhat different from that in America. True, only a handful of papers opposed the action (the Independent being the most eloquent), but there was massive opposition to the plan, with huge protests in London, Glasgow and Belfast. The leader of the Liberal Democrats political party argued forcefully and articulately against the action in Iraq.
Gallup conducted a poll about the looming military intervention in Iraq - the results may be downloaded from here. The third question on the poll is:
Q3: Are you in favour of military action against Iraq?
For the UK (excluding Northern Ireland), here were the results:
Under no circumstances (41%)
Only if sanctioned by the UN (39%)
Unilaterally by America and its allies (10%)
Don't know / No opinion (10%)
The largest proportion of the country was always against the war - and a vast, vast majority were against the war that was actually waged. And yet, the UK went to war.
The situation in the UK is of course not directly applicable to the situation in the US - after World War 2, a very definite decision was taken by foreign policy planners to set the United Kingdom up as a 'junior partner' of the US hegemony... choosing to listen to the voices of the electorate would have compromised our 'special relationship' with the United States. It all just goes to show - it's not just a compliant media that undermines genuine democracy.
1 Comments:
Interestingly, Radio 2 ran a poll at the beginning of the mess asking if people were more afraid of Bush or Saddam. 80% were more afraid of Bush.
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