[Propaganda, Iraq]

The War is Going Well, Really It Is.

In the last segment on the media--ah, propaganda--here is a selection of what the apologists were writing. I'm sure it's unnecessary, but I'll go ahead and say it--these quotes underscore how deeply deluded the right was before, during, and after the war.

Not surprisingly, the New York Times gave Saddam's recent speech more exultant coverage than they did Bush's State of the Union address. Since the first bomb hit Baghdad, everyone at the Times had been itching to use the word "quagmire." Somewhat surprisingly, Saddam beat even Maureen Dowd to the punch, thus allowing the Times to use "quagmire" with abandon the day after his speech. Not only that, but according to Saddam and the Times the invading forces are "in real trouble." The Times isn't afraid we'll do badly in Baghdad; it's afraid we'll do well.
--Ann Coulter, "The Enemy Within," March 28, 2003

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Recycling has its place, but reporters who are trying to conserve the English language by bringing back the Vietnam War expression "quagmire" are also premature. (Besides, calling a desert a quagmire would seem to be a literary gaffe.) Thinking of Vietnam, I would like to nominate two early contenders for the Jane Fonda aid-and-comfort-to-the-enemy award. ...

We talk a lot about Iraqi morale, but much depends on what media presentations do to American morale. ...Unsurprisingly, Fox has generally given positive stories about the American war effort, CNN and NPR negative ones, and Arab media lying ones.
--Marvin Olasky, "The Iraq War, Act 1" April 1, 2003

*

The anti-war grouches, naysayers, and quagmirists in the mainstream media were so, so sure there would be no jubilation at the Iraqi liberation.

When Vice President Dick Cheney promised on NBC's Meet the Press that "We will be greeted as liberators," Newsweek's anonymous "Conventional Wisdom" column writers sneered that Cheney's remark was "An arrogant blunder for the ages. ..."

The surly opponents of Operation Iraqi Freedom can spin, but they can't hide the simple, Kodachrome-colored truth: Tyranny brings only misery. Liberation kindles joy.
--Michelle Malkin, "Persistent Pockets of Liberal Media Resistance," April 11, 2003

Of course, the propagandists didn't make the war, they just sold it. Responsibility lies with the administration, to which I'll turn next.