Synopses & Reviews
It was a day for the history books. On April 9th, 2003, millions of Americans sat glued to their television sets as U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens joined together to topple the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdads Firdos Square. Like the fall of the Berlin wall, the fall of Saddams statue appeared to be one of those iconic moments that proved spontaneously and undeniably that democracy would always triumph over totalitarianism, that freedom was the great equalizer.
"If you dont have goose bumps now," said Fox News anchor David Asman as the extraordinary footage rolled, "you will never have them in your life."
"Jubilant Iraqis Swarm the Streets of Capital," read the New York Times headline.
Or did they?
In their eye-opening new exposé, Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bushs War on Iraq, Rampton and Stauber take no prisoners as they reveal headline by headline, news show by news show, press conference by press conference the deliberate, aggressive, and highly successful public relations campaign that sold the Iraqi war to the American public. April 9th seemed to confirm what Washington and pro-war pundits had been saying for months: that the Iraqi people would eventually come to see America as their liberator, not their enemy. Yet the American media chose to focus on headlines such as "Iraqis Celebrate in Baghdad" (Washington Post) rather than on a Reuters long-shot photo of Firdos Square showing it to be nearly empty, or the Muslim cleric who was assassinated by an angry crowd in Najaf for being too friendly to the Americans, or the 20,000 Iraqis in Nasiriyah rallying to oppose the U.S. military presence.
Weve always known what good PR and advertising could do for a new line of sneakers, cosmetics, or weight-loss products. In Weapons of Mass Deception, Rampton and Stauber show us a brave new shocking world where savvy marketers, "information warriors," and "perception managers" can sell an entire war to consumers. Indeed, Washington successfully brought together the worlds top ad agencies and media empires to create "Operation: Iraqi Freedom" a product no decent, patriotic citizen could possibly object to. With meticulous research and documentation, Rampton and Stauber deconstruct this and other "true lies" behind the war:
- Top Bush officials advocated the invasion of Iraq even before he took office, but waited until September 2002 to inform the public, through what the White House termed a "product launch."
- White House officials used repetition and misinformation the "big lie" tactic to create the false impression that Iraq was behind the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, especially in the case of the alleged meeting in Prague five months earlier between 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and Iraqi intelligence officials.
- The "big lie" tactic was also employed in the first Iraq war when a 15-year-old Kuwaiti girl named Nayirah told the horrific but fabricated story of Iraqi soldiers wrenching hundreds of premature Kuwaiti babies from their incubators and leaving them to die. Her testimony was printed in a press kit prepared by Citizens for a Free Kuwait, a PR front group created by Hill and Knowlton, then the worlds largest PR firm.
- In order to achieve "third party authenticity" in the Muslim world, a group called the Council of American Muslims for Understanding launched its own web site, called OpenDialogue.com. However, its chairman admitted that the idea began with the State Department, and that the group was funded by the U.S. government.
- Forged documents were used to "prove" that Iraq possessed huge stockpiles of banned weapons.
- A secretive PR firm working for the Pentagon helped create the Iraqi National Congress (INC), which became one of the driving forces behind the decision to go to war.
Weapons of Mass Deception is the first book to expose the aggressive public relations campaign used to sell the American public on the war with Iraq. It is a must-read for those who want to know how and why they bought this war.
Review
"No more bed-time stories...these guys are here to wake you up." Greg Palast
Review
"A major contributions for those who want to take control of their own future, not be passive subjects of manipulation and control." Noam Chomsky
Synopsis
Weapons of Mass Deception reveals:
- How the Iraq war was sold to the American public through professional P.R. strategies.
- "The First Casualty": Lies that were told related to the Iraq war.
- Euphemisms and jargon related to the Iraq war, e.g. "shock and awe," "Operation Iraqi Freedom," "axis of evil," "coalition of the willing," etc.
- "War as Opportunity": How the war on terrorism and the war on Iraq have been used as marketing hooks to sell products and policies that have nothing to do with fighting terrorism.
- "Brand America": The efforts of Charlotte Beers and other U.S. propaganda campaigns designed to win hearts overseas.
- "The Mass Media as Propaganda Vehicle": How news coverage followed Washington's lead and language.
The book includes a glossary "Propaganda: A User's Guide" and resources to help Americans sort through the deceptions to see the strings behind Washington's campaign to sell the Iraq war to the public.
About the Author
Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber are the bestselling authors of
Weapons of Mass Deception,
Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!,
Banana Republicans, and
Trust Us, We're Experts! Stauber is the founder and director of the Center for Media and Democracy. He and Rampton write and edit the quarterly
PR Watch.
Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber are the bestselling authors of Weapons of Mass Deception, Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!, Banana Republicans, and Trust Us, We're Experts! Stauber is the founder and director of the Center for Media and Democracy. He and Rampton write and edit the quarterly PR Watch.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION: Liberation Day
CHAPTER 1: Branding America
CHAPTER 2: War Is Sell
CHAPTER 3: True Lies
CHAPTER 4: Doublespeak
CHAPTER 5: The Uses of Fear
CHAPTER 6: The Air War
CHAPTER 7: As Others See Us
INDEX