How the Bush Administration Sold the War – and We Bought It - by Joe Wlison and Valerie Plame Wilson

Published on Thursday, February 28, 2013 by The Guardian

How the Bush Administration Sold the War – and We Bought It

We knew WMD intelligence was flawed, but there was a larger failure of officials, media and public to halt the neocon juggernaut

by Joe Wlison and Valerie Plame Wilson

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We did not do nearly enough to prevent this tragedy perpetrated on Iraq, on the world, and on ourselves.

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The Powell address to the UN and the Niger-Iraq saga are but two examples of the efforts of the Bush administration to manipulate intelligence to support its political objectives and the lengths to which it went to secure support for its war. As former White House press secretary Scott McClellan put it:



That it was so successful is an indictment of a corrupt administration. But it is also emblematic of the failure of the checks and balances that are the hallmark of our democracy. As Obama appointees John Kerry and Chuck Hagel can attest, the US Congress was ineffective, to say the least, in the exercise of its oversight responsibilities. (The same applies to the UK Parliament.) The Washington press corps was dilatory in its investigative reporting – valuing access and cozy relationships with senior officials above the search for truth; ultimately, the media served as lapdogs rather than watchdogs.

And the public, still reeling from 911 and whipped up by the fear-mongering since, instinctively trusted its leaders. Given the full force and power of the administration's efforts to sell the war, it is no wonder that nearly 60% of Americans were in favor of the invasion in the early part of 2003.

Not surprisingly, that figure has flipped, with nearly 60% of Americans now saying that the Iraq war was a mistake; more than 70% of the British public agree. We owe it to ourselves and to our partners in the "coalition of the willing" to confront the fact that, when it mattered a decade ago, our Congress, our press, and we as citizens were not vigilant enough in holding our government to account for its statements and actions.



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the rest:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/27/bush-administration-sold-iraq-war
https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/28-9