It tells the story of “perception manager” John Rendon and his role in selling wars for imperial America. James Bamford discovers connections throughout the media and political elite in London, Washington and Australia. The New York Times’ Judith Miller, Ahmad Chalabi, WMD, bogus intelligence and media manipulation all play key roles.
The Iraq war was never about democracy or freedom. And an all-too-willing media and cynical cheerleaders contributed to the deception.
I dare anybody to read this long piece and not realise that unaccounted individuals are greasing the wheels in Washington. Lies become the “truth.” And war becomes a seeming necessity. Corporate media cannot be trusted:
“As the acknowledged general of such propaganda warfare, Rendon insists that the work he does is for the good of all Americans. “For us, it’s a question of patriotism,” he says. “It’s not a question of politics, and that’s an important distinction. I feel very strongly about that personally. If brave men and women are going to be put in harm’s way, they deserve support.” But in Iraq, American troops and Iraqi civilians were put in harm’s way, in large part, by the false information spread by Rendon and the men he trained in information warfare. And given the rapid growth of what is known as the “security-intelligence complex” in Washington, covert perception managers are likely to play an increasingly influential role in the wars of the future.”