The 9/11 Report, Iraq, and Al Quaeda
- 18 June 2004
Yesterday I complained about the mischaracterization of the 9/11 commission findings in the Globe reporting as “contradicting what the administration has been saying“. It may seem a relatively minor point, but today’s headlines (both in the Globe and elsewhere) illustrate why such small points can be so important.
Today on the Globe front page we have:
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“Bush stands firm
The president defends his assertion of a Baghdad-Al Quaeda tie despite the panel’s finding”
So now we have a story seemingly about a dispute between the president and the 9/11 commission, one which, it appears, will continue for days and in which the administration seems defensive and dissembling.
But since the commission never actually contradicted what the administration said in the first place, this is a controversy entirely created by the media. The conflict is not between the administration and the 9/11 commission, but between the administration and the press which mischaracterized what the commission had to say.
But that is not the impression that will stick. I would bet that if you went out and surveyed a bunch of typical people who’ve read about this (or heard it on TV) but not done their own research, the overwhelming “facts” they would remember are not what the commission actually reported but that “the independent and bipartisan 9/11 commission says the President lied about the Iraq/Al Quaeda connection, and now he’s trying to cover it up”.
In effect, the media have inserted themselves into the political fray as players rather than as observers, and have successfully manipulated the coverage to tell a “story” that satisfies their agenda (on whether that agenda is defeating Bush or merely selling more newspapers I won’t comment – although I have my suspicions).
© Copyright 2004, 2005, Augustus P. Lowell
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