User:Tmarasco90/Sandbox

Power of the Media (Hypodermic Needle)

Modern day mass media has power that very few mediums or entities enjoy. The way media can sway the minds of individuals has been likened to some sort of drug that is injected with a hypodermic needle. The power that the media posses has been present for over a century, but recently it has been demonstrated in an event that has greatly impacted the first part of the twenty-first century. One of the more recent events that exemplifies the power of the media was the United States of America's decision to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which started on March 20, 2003 and is still going on this day and will continue through the end of the year 2011. To understand why the United States invaded Iraq, one must first go back two years before the invasion began. The Al-Qaeda organized terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 renewed America's involvement in the Middle East. The first combat was see in Operation Enduring Freedom. This was the United States led combat action in Afghanistan meant to rid the country of the very large Al-Qaeda population living there, as well as the government in power that supported the terrorist network. Because many American's were in a state of fear or had a strong desire for action, President George W. Bush and his administration saw an opportunity to remove a violent dictator from power. This person was Saddam Hussein, the long time leader of Iraq. Around this time is when the true power of modern media began to expose itself. The Bush Administration began using the media to spread its belief that the Iraqi nation and Saddam Hussein had and were making weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The nation, as well as the world, was told that Iraq already had and was developing nuclear and chemical weapons that could kill thousands of people in an instant. Considering the overall American state of mind at the time, it was relatively easy for the Bush Administration to garner a large amount of public support to remove Saddam Hussein from power. The Bush Administration used the media to constantly bombard the American public and the world with suggestions that Saddam Hussein's regime had these weapons of mass destruction and would not hesitate to use them against their enemies. The media was constantly showing and talking about the many atrocities that the Hussein regime had committed throughout the years, including the use of chemical weapons against people that lived in Iraq. With the media showing how Saddam Hussein treated people living in his own country, it did not take much for the American people and people throughout world to think that he would do the same or worse to other people of other various nations. To further sway public opinion in favor of invading Iraq the media attempted to exploit another fear the American public had. This was the fear of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. The media insinuated that the Iraqi Government under Saddam Hussein was working with and harboring terrorists from the Al-Qaeda organization. The media attempted to persuade people that Saddam Hussein's dictatorship was very similar to the Taliban government that controlled Afghanistan at the time. The use of the media was very effective, as it did not take long after Operation Enduring Freedom for United States troops to invade Iraq and begin Operation Iraqi Freedom. After a few months of searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction, it was concluded that Saddam Hussein never had any nuclear weapons, and had not had any chemical or biological weapons for over a decade. Additionally, it was found out the Al-Qaeda did not initially have a strong presence in Iraq and that members of the terrorist network only flocked to the country to try to get a chance to fight the American soldiers that were stationed there. The power of the media in this situation is undeniable. One country, the United States of America, invaded two separate nations, Afghanistan and Iraq, because of the power of the media. The media was used by the Presidency of George W. Bush to convince the American public that Saddam Hussein's dictatorship was a grave danger to their livelihood. Though there was little proof of the accusations of possession of weapons of mass destruction being made against Saddam's dictatorship, the media blitz made it very hard to ignore the potential threat. Unfortunately, this is not the first time in the United States where the media has influenced the nation to go to war based off of information that was incomplete or incorrect. This modern situation is very similar to the events that started the Spanish-American War in 1898. The media in the United States, meaning newspapers, incorrectly influenced the American public that Spain was responsible for the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor.

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