Unchecked sources
The media and a culture of fear
May 15, 2007
by James M. Wall
Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser in the Carter administration, believes that the Bush administration’s use of the term “war on terror” has created a culture of fear that’s had “a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America’s psyche and on U.S. standing in the world” (Washington Post, March 25).
A compliant U.S. media, eager for slogans to toss to the public, has been a partner in promoting the “war on terror.” The Washington Post, to cite just one example, carried at least 140 front-page stories making the case for the attack on Iraq, and editorialized in favor of the war at least 27 times. The press contributed, says Brzezinski, to turning the term “war on terror” into “a national mantra”:
A compliant U.S. media, eager for slogans to toss to the public, has been a partner in promoting the “war on terror.” The Washington Post, to cite just one example, carried at least 140 front-page stories making the case for the attack on Iraq, and editorialized in favor of the war at least 27 times. The press contributed, says Brzezinski, to turning the term “war on terror” into “a national mantra”:
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