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Summary: Don't Judge This Book By it's Cover!!!
Review: Don't be fooled by the cartoon on the cover. This book take some serious jabs at the Bush administration "Weapons of Mass Deception" discusses the Propaganda campaign used by the Bush administration to sell the Iraqi war to the public. Within the first 20 pgs, you learn a surprising revelation about the toppling of the Saddam statue. This is followed by a a dossier of the techniques used to persuade the public that the invasion of Iraq was imperative to National Security. With everything that's come to light since the war began in March 2003, it's safe to say, we've been had. Worth reading if you want a better understanding of how governments wage propaganda wars using mass media.
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Summary: Score one for the Watchdogs
Review: I've just finished reading this well-written and thought-provoking book that succinctly and meticulously lays out the case that the months (and years) leading up to the Gulf War were treated in the same way that advertisers use the Super Bowl to advance new products. The product was war with Iraq. The buyers were the American people. The Bush administration used PR professionals (including the Defense Department's spokesperson Torie Clarke) often in contradiction with the intelligence between offered by the CIA, the State Department and the FBI. The idea was the same kind of "branding" that gave us Coke and Nike. Say it often enough and people will believe that "It's the real thing." It still boggles my mind that there exists a majority of Americans who believe that Saddam Hussein was behind the attacks on the World Trade Center. It saddens me that the population of this country is so easily influenced by market forces and not by hard facts. Research shows that the more informed the populace is, the less they support the actions of the Bush Administration in Iraq. What does that tell you? What is tells me is that the Weapons of Mass Deception used by the Bush administration successfully manipulated a patriotic audience into a war whose only benefit is the profit being made by Halliburton and the Carlyle Group, organizations that have lined the pockets of the highest officials in this nation including the Bush family and Dick Cheney (who still receives regular checks from Halliburton). And the flag-wavers think we're liberating a country. It's very sad because the winners in this war are the terrorist organizations who are recruiting at record numbers. Thank you to the authors for such a cogent study of a terrifying and troubling situation.
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Summary: Where'd it go?
Review: I wrote a review of this long ago that was on these pages for months. What happened to it?
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Summary: Distressing
Review: This book makes me think, "Why bother." WMD was written by two experts on the use of propaganda. They do a thorough job of exposing the lies and manipulation used by the Bush administration to "sell" the war against Iraq. The authors chronicle every thing from the administration's intent to conduct a regime change when Bush first took office to the administration's ignoring critical evidence that tended to show that Iraq was not a threat to the US. The authors are careful in this book not to take sides or claim that the US should not have gone to war. All they do is point out the evidence that was in existence and how it was used (including the fabrication of evidence). This book presents a balanced look at the pre-war media campaign; however, if you were a staunch supporter of the war, then you'll probably think this book is just a bunch of liberal crap.
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Summary: How the War was Spun
Review: In this extremely well researched book, authors Sheldon Rempton and John Stauber argue that the Bush Regime generated public support for the invasion of Iraq by using a calculated public relations campaign and a series of flagrant lies. The authors base their argument on easily verifiable documents from the media, the PR industry, and a variety of respected government and research organizations. Whether or not you agree with the invasion or Iraq it is important that you understand that the Bush Regime felt the only way it could get support for this policy was to lie. There is simply no question, as this book proves, that the Bush Regime deliberately set out to lie to the American people and to the world about why it wanted to invade and occupy Iraq. BRANDING AMERICA
The first chapter of this book explains how the Bush Regime set out to change public opinion about the America in the Middle East by running a brand campaign. The regime hired a PR specialist essentially to brand America and to promote that brand in the Middle East the same way one might promote Budweiser or KFC. The problem with Brand promotion strategies, however is that they are more about manipulation and forceful persuasion than about understanding and working with your target audience. Is it any wonder that this policy failed so spectacularly? WAR IS SELL
The book's second chapter describes the numerous mechanisms of persuasion the Bush Regime employed to convince you and me that the war on Iraq was necessary. These included timing the drive to war like a product launch, publicizing the invasion-friendly views of right-wing think tanks that were recast as foreign policy experts, promoting the CIA funded Iraqi National Congress as liberators. Funny how none of these strategies had anything to do with telling the truth. TRUE LIES
As it's title implies, the book's third chapter provides the nuts and bolts of Rempton's and Stauber's argument. Here the authors demonstrate how the Bush Regime falsely claimed that Saddam Hussein had direct ties to al Quaeda (he and bin Laden are sworn enemies), lied about Iraq's weapons capability, and created the false impression that Iraq is a major sponsor of global terrorism. Oddly enough our principal Middle Eastern ally, Saudi Arabia provides much more sponsorship for global terrorism than Iraq. Fifteen of the nineteen September 11th hijackers were Saudi and none were Iraqi. Let me repeat that for you: none were Iraqi. THE USES OF FEAR
Perhaps the most important part of this book is it's fifth chapter entitled "The Uses of Fear." Here, the authors argue that the mass media, PR industry and advertising-all of which were used by the Bush Regime to promote the war in Iraq-and terrorism all share a common mindset best described as "the propaganda model." This model, according the authors aims to indoctrinate the audience with a pre-defined set of beliefs rather than to engage in the kind of critical thinking and communication that characterize a democracy. Put another way, the process that the Bush Regime used to persuade you and me that invading Iraq was a really cool thing was anti-democratic in nature. Where democracy is based on the premise that the people are capable of rational self-governance, argue Rempton and Stauber, propagandists regard rationality as an obstacle to efficient indoctrination. In other words, the Bush Regime could not permit a reasonable national discussion to take place about the invasion of Iraq. Instead it needed to indoctrinate us with the same false themes again and again and again, until by virtue of consistent reinforcement they became a truth in themselves. The most distressing part of this process, as the authors point out, is not only how the Bush Regime used fear to promote false concepts to the American people but also how they did so to justify withholding information from us. THE AIR WARS
The authors also demonstrate that the Bush Regime-largley through corporate cronies-used the air waves both to promote the war and to censor or punish any pubic opposition to it. Pro war rallies were launched by Clear Channel a radio monopoly owned by a long time Bush business partners and campaign contributor. After reading this book, I hope that people-regardless of their political beliefs-will ask themselves some hard questions about what they know about their government and more importantly, how they know it. Now, more than ever, it is essential for us to distance ourselves from our personal feelings, and especially our sense of fear, in order to take a good hard look at the facts. We may not have the authors' resources or expertise, but we can read this book and others like it and we can verify its source material most of which is publicly accessible. It may not be a fun or easy process, but when we do this, we begin to take control of our lives and to see things as they are instead of how powerful interests want us to see them. This book and others like it do much more than exposing the mendacity of the Bush Regime's drive for war. It shows us how we can begin to think for ourselves and in the process it frees us from indoctrination.
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Summary: The Bush Administration's Push for War
Review: Politicians have always used propaganda during times of war to help build support for military action. From Lincoln, to Hitler, to Roosevelt, there has always been an element of propaganda built into the complex war machine. With the war against Iraq, propaganda has been especially critical to the Bush administration. The use of propaganda in the war against Iraq is the primary focus of this book, "Weapons of Mass Deception", written by authors Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber. This book centers on several of the basic elements of propaganda: selling the idea to the people, using deceptive statistics, relying on fear to encourage support for war, etc. In each of these areas, the two authors explain how these methods are used, in general, and then how the Bush administration used them to build support for the war against Iraq. One of the primary tasks of the propaganda effort in this war was the act of convincing the people that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction" and could attack the U.S. at any time (hence, the title of the book). Now, experts have come forward to claim that the weapons charges were false, adding more validity to the author's claim that this was the main deception of the war. Many critics of the war had doubts about the weapons claim and now this book presents its ideas on how and why the false charges were made. No direct finger pointing takes place, but the authors feel that several military and/or political leaders in the present administration are responsible. It's interesting how politicans use the various deceptions described in this book. Some of the methods are more subtle, like the use of public relations firms to present the most patriotic take possible on everyday issues and events. Others are more direct, like the weapons claim itself. The authors present many of these war deceptions in the book, showing how the Bush administration misled the people into backing the war. The "weapons of mass destruction" claim was, of course, the biggest deception of all. Many nations have stockpiles of dangerous weapons but the U.S government has never suggested attacking them. But in this case, Bush officials had to convince the people that Iraq was a "dangerous enemy" that "had to be stopped immediately" if security would ever have a chance to become reality. The truth is, Iraq had no chance at all against the U.S. military and senior Bush officials knew this well. But the element of fear was useful to convince the public to support the war, so the claim was made nonetheless. This book doesn't provide extensive coverage on the war and the blantant use of propaganda. It's only about 250 pages in length, and once you account for the notes and index, there are only about 210 pages to read. The authors meant for the book to be a reference tool for discovering the various acts of deception without going too deep in its analysis. As a whole, this book makes for a pretty good read. Pro- war individuals will probably not like it, and many will stick by the president's "weapons" claim no matter what happens. But whether you are pro- war or anti- war, "Weapons of Mass Deception" is still a book worth reading. It uncovers some of the different uses of deception that the Bush administration used and it helps to educate the reader on how governments use propaganda to sway the masses of people during wartime.
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Summary: Exposes all the lies that led to the war in Iraq.
Review: If there is any book that should be used as evidence to impeach George W. Bush this is it. Rampton and Stauber have done an amazing job collecting and analyzing all the lies that were used by the Bush administration to convince the American people why we should go to war with Iraq. Some of this stuff is truly frightening. It's not the lies themselves but the fact that there was a deliberate PR campaign by the Bush administration to decieve the American people. After reading this book I don't believe for a second that President Bush got "bad intelligence" from the CIA. The Bush administration knew exactly what they were doing, and what they were doing is lying nonstop.
Just a few examples:
Bush lied about the Iraqi nuclear program. The UN inspectors confirmed that there was NO nuclear program, and that Iraq never tried to buy uranium from Niger. This was confirmed before Bush's 2003 state of the union adress.
Bush lied about Iraq al-Qaeda connection. It turns out that Mohammed Atta never met with any Iraqi intelligence agent before 9/11. According to Czech government officials and official FBI investigation Mohammed Atta was in the U.S. at the time the alleged "meeting" took place. Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda and an Iraqi nuclear program were two fundamental reasons for war. But now we know that these allegations were false. The war in Iraq didn't help us at all in the war on terrorism and in fact, as Rampton and Stauber point out, it actually increased Anti-American hatred in the Muslim world. Weapons of Mass Deception should be required reading before the election.
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Summary: scapegoats and sheep
Review: an enlightening, largely objective review of the nefarious tactics of propaganda done to our minds. If our minds on drugs are like fried eggs, then our minds on lies must be scrambled well-done with an unhealthy dash of hot sauce for good measured drama. Where is Osama? Does anyone really care anymore now that we got the boogeyman? This kind is a terrible thing to taste.
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Summary: The Truth Under Cover
Review: Do not judge a book by it's cover, that should have been the second part of the title of this book. What were the authors thinking putting this cover and this book? When I picked the book up I thought it was gong to be a rather humorous, sassy slap at the Bush Administration and their war on Iraq. I was all prepared for laugh after laugh with a few good facts tossed in for good measure. In stead I got a very well written book that detailed the PR "propaganda" effort the Bush Administration used to sell the war on Iraq and get the average TV watcher to hop on the patriotism band wagon for the full ride. The book was great at detailing out how the misstatements (a kind way to say lies) were put out into the press and used to beat the war drums. I do not know if the real beauty of this book is a record of how the Bush Administration did everything it could to make the average American forget common sense and believe the WMD and terrorism excesses for the war or to spell out how the Bush administration will sell the next war. This book almost reads like a case study on how to get it done. The thing that got me was I remember having arguments with my pro war friends about some of these same lies told by team Bush and how they were believed by my friends. Overall this is a very informative and well-written book. I wish they would have used a more fitting cover.
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Summary: Why Everybody Should Vote Against the Bush Administration
Review: In this book, authors Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber offer piece after piece of irrefutable evidence denouncing the propaganda and lies employed by the Bush administration to obscure the lack of reasoning for the war in Iraq.
In the introduction, titled "Liberation Day", Rampton and Stauber(referred to as RS from here on) point out a scene from the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein which not many Americans have probably ever given any thought to. They point out that the Iraqi people there are all waving American flags, which had to have been handed to them by American soldiers, which serves as a publicity stunt to embolden American citizens in thinking that they did the right thing because the Iraqis must love America to have it's flag. In doing this, the Bush admin. is shown as a malignant force, twisting the facts and manipulating what the American public sees in an effort to come out looking like the savior of the day.
In the subsequent chapters, RS goes into deeper analysis of all of the different techniques employed by the Bush admin., including hiring public relations people in an effort to maintain their hold over the public. Chapter Two is titled "War is Sell", and opens with a quote from the White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. stating that "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August"(37), with regards to the war in Iraq. He is essentially equating going to war with Iraq with a marketing ploy, attempting to sell a product to the public, in this case the product being a war.
What may be the most chilling part of this book is that there are implications made that the war was planned even before 9/11. In a sub-chapter in chapter two, titled "Chronicle of a War Foretold", RS talk about the Project for the New American Century(PNAC), a group of well-known, powerful neoconservatives. This group has lobbied for millions of dollars in spending against Iraq since its founding, as well as spending against other "threatening" countries. The members of this group are, surprisingly, not simply wealthy, heretic Republicans. They include Dick Cheney, Steve Forbes, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz, to name a few. That such a group exists, and is essentially in control of the country is frightening, and as RS prove grounds for suspicion about anything the Bush admin does in the "best interest" of the American people.
Perhaps the most obviously vindictive chapter, "True Lies", offers the greatest arguement against the Bush administrations reasons for war, including made-up sob stories designed to instill a sense of hate and disgust against Saddam Hussein, while at the same time endearing the idea of war as a means of vengeance. Also, the Bush admin. has not attempted to dispell the contortion of facts in the average American's mind as to who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. None of the men involved in the hijackings were Iraqi. In fact, the majority of them were Saudi, a country with whom the U.S. has been attempting to befriend. So RS set up this juxtaposed image of the U.S. attacking one country in no way connected to any of the attacks on 9/11 with another country with direct connections to the terrorists involved, which the U.S. has done no investigating into.
The rest of the book expands on the ideas presented, that the Bush admin. has used "Doublespeak" (title of a chapter)in order to manipulate the public's perception, and not showing the way in which other countries opinions of the U.S. have spiraled downwards, viewing us as an arrogant, imperialistic country set on conquering any who disagree with us. This is not how I want other countries to see me, or America. I resent the lies told to me for my "own protection". This book, if you are uncertain as to how you will vote in the upcoming election, will undoubtedly aid you in you quandary, shedding light on many questions to which the answer has been serruptitiously side stepped by Bush and his administration. I recommend this book to any and all interested in a serious analysis of the distorted facts and blatant lies told to the American people.
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