The Media at Work

It's true that I don't spend my entire day scanning all the media in the U.S., so I may have missed any reporting of the National Security Archives release of an extensive study of documents produced by Britain and the U.S. as they sold the 'necessity' of the Iraq war to their citizens. Fortunately, I do look at the Nieman Watchdog site every so often. It was there that I learned of these documents. True, they don't say much that is new if you are of the persuasion that Bush and Co. were not exactly paragons of virtue in the period leading up to the start of the war. But the chicanery is explicit - and the media has been comparatively silent.

I should preface my comments by noting that I have not read all three parts of the study. I have however read the Nieman article by John Prados, one of the editors of the study. It is damning. Here are the summaries posted by the National Security Archive:

THE IRAQ WAR -- PART I: The U.S. Prepares for Conflict, 2001
U.S. Sets "Decapitation of Government" As Early Goal of Combat
Talking Points for Rumsfeld-Franks Meeting in November 2001 Outline Policy Makers’ Aims for the Conflict and Postwar Rule of Iraq
Declassified Documents Show Bush Administration Diverting Attention and Resources to Iraq Less than Two Months after Launch of Afghanistan War
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 326
THE IRAQ WAR -- PART II: Was There Even a Decision?
U.S. and British Documents Give No Indication Alternatives Were Seriously Considered
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 328
THE IRAQ WAR -- PART III: Shaping the Debate
U.S. and British Documents Show Transatlantic Propaganda Cooperation
Joint Drafting & Editing of White Papers “Fixed the Facts”
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 330