Perhaps Jon would not have been so surprised at the New York Post’s creative editing of an Associated Press story if he had watched the premiere of Bill Moyers’ new PBS series, “Buying the War,” last night. He would have still been angry and depressed after watching the parade of well-known journalists admit to giving the Bushites a pass on such important stories as Saddam’s ties to al Qaeda and 9/11, weapons of mass destruction and the Iraq war as an essential component of the neocons’ War on Terror.
While all of those stories have since come to be labeled lies, the lack of skepticism from the press at the time and the incessant drumming of the Bush admin’s messages into the ears and minds of a shell-shocked populace have resulted in the grim fact that more than half of Americans still believe that Saddam had WMDs and links to al Qaeda. That’s what happens when the press abdicates its role as watchdog over freedom.
You can watch the 90-minute documentary here or read a transcript of it here. But be prepared to get angry and depressed by what you see and read.
I watched this last night, and had the exact same reaction as you Buck. I think Moyer’s piece should be studied in every secondary and post-secondary classroom in the US. It is very important.