During the months leading up to the Iraq War, Bush administration officials carefully and masterfully used language to distort facts, to generate fear and confusion, and to oversimplify issues in order to promote their agenda. They often created false connections by giving intentionally vague or misleading answers to reporters’ questions.
The following 12 sections, beginning with ‘Epic Struggle,’ demonstrate the administration’s various uses of rhetoric and spin to shape and steer public opinion to support a war.
Epic Struggle
Bush officials often used grandiose declarations about the Iraqi threat and the threat of terrorism – such as “This is a fight to save the civilized world.” They also used sweeping phrases like “history has called us into action” and “free people will keep the peace of the world,” which framed an invasion of Iraq as a heroic obligation to save and preserve world peace – when in reality there was little threat at all from Iraq. .... CONT/-
HOW THEY SPIN STORIES ; Rhetoric and Spin
ReplyDeleteDuring the months leading up to the Iraq War, Bush administration officials carefully and masterfully used language to distort facts, to generate fear and confusion, and to oversimplify issues in order to promote their agenda. They often created false connections by giving intentionally vague or misleading answers to reporters’ questions.
The following 12 sections, beginning with ‘Epic Struggle,’ demonstrate the administration’s various uses of rhetoric and spin to shape and steer public opinion to support a war.
Epic Struggle
Bush officials often used grandiose declarations about the Iraqi threat and the threat of terrorism – such as “This is a fight to save the civilized world.” They also used sweeping phrases like “history has called us into action” and “free people will keep the peace of the world,” which framed an invasion of Iraq as a heroic obligation to save and preserve world peace – when in reality there was little threat at all from Iraq.
.... CONT/-