One example for such confliction is the coverage of the 2003 Iraq invasion. The invasion was largely supported by the press with the justified ideology of eliminating terrorism and liberating Iraq people from the tyranny reign of Saddam Hussein. However, according to The Guardian, very few media have accurately reflected the real purpose of the war – “oil”. Apparently, the phrase “war on oil” has become a taboo for many Americans since it describes dark pages of the nation’s history when the US invade and spread terror on other nations for the benefit of the wealthy. However, the following analysis were presented by The Guardian,
Apparently, the real reason of the Iraq invasion was not outside political analyzers’ awareness. Yet, the majority
September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It did not take long to determine those who were behind the attack and a call for retribution swept through the nation. Citizens in a wave of patriotism signed up for military service and the United States found resounding international support for their efforts in the war on terror. Little opposition was raised at the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad diminished approximately a year and a half later when Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration’s larger ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent several stories and in some cases remain silent of the truth where would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war they were resolved on engaging in.
I searched a lot to find an article that talks about the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. The article by Peter Fitzgerald “The Invasion of War” explores the reasons of the war between Kuwait and Iraq, considering that they were great allies in the past. He suggests that the differences between these two countries were economic and diplomatic. In the past the two were great allies and they greatly assisted each other during wars providing a protective edge in their territories. Their friendship was brokeup when the Iraq government realized that they owed them billions. Although at that particular time after the Iraq-Iran war Iraq used much of their resources and could not pay their debt to Kuwait. In a desperate move to resolve this problem, they requested for a reduction in oil prices (Fitzgerald 45).
Shaheen, J. (1985). Media Coverage of the Middle East: Perception of Foreign Policy. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, v482, pp. 160-75.
In this paper, I intend to analyze Iraq war of 2003 from Realist and Marxist/ Critical perspectives. I intend to draw a conclusion as to which theoretical framework, in my opinion, is more suitable and provides for a rational understanding of the Iraq War. While drawing comparative analysis of two competing approaches, I do not intend to dismiss one theory in entirety in favour of another. However, I do intend to weigh on a golden balance, lacunas of both theories in order to conclude as to which theory in the end provides or intends to provide a watertight analysis of the Iraq war.
reasons why is that the government bases its actions according to the majority, even if it is
In early 2003, the threat of Saddam Hussein and the possibility of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq captured the attention and concern of the world. One nation decided to illegally act on these unsubstantiated claims, invading the country, violating the UN Charter and breaking several international laws in the process. The penalizations that were subject to the invading country, the United States, were never carried out. The United State’s role and influence over the UN and the Security Council, along with the nature of the unenforceable, politics and power-based international laws, allowed them to escape sanctions after their invasion of Iraq. The United States did not have a legitimate reason for invading, and their ability to repudiate international law would be unacceptable for any other country. Their decision to invade Iraq was one based on money and politics, and the US should be subject to penalties just as any other nation would have to face after unnecessarily waging war on a nation.
To begin with, it is very important to bring up media bias and the news representations of war. As some may know, "during times of war when the government puts pressure on the media to support its pro-war stance and help to mobilize public support in their readers, viewers, and listeners. (Edkins, Zehfuss 157, 158). This phrase is essentially explaining that the news media many of the times will present a biased opinion for their government during times of war, but in this case an escalated crisis within Ukraine, where the actions and risks are still being considered by all countries. Why this is important to bring up, is because this paper may contain several news articles sources from such countries that may present a biased opinion against Ukraine and Russia. However, this will not necessarily sway the momentum of the paper to provide an anti-Russian perspective. That is not the point of the paper. It is still very possible for the media to argue against the media bias of the...
For an example of the authors use of specific examples while describing what the media decides as news worthy the author writes, “The public rarely hears about the routine ceremonies at state dinners, but when President George Bush threw up all over the Japanese prime minister in 1992, the world’s media jumped on the story” (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p. 398). This is an indication of how the media decides what is newsworthy. This quote demonstrates some of the strengths of the article because, not only does the quote support how the media decides what is news worthy, but it also shows no bias and is a factual, specific example. Another quote that demonstrates the strengths of the article is “Journalists and politicians have a symbiotic relationship, with politicians relying on journalists to get their message out and journalists relying on politicians to keep them in the know”. (p.400). this quote demonstrates the strengths of the article because, it shows how the media gets its news, how politicians gains their influence, and shows no bias. One last quote that emphasizes the strengths of this excerpt is “The media can even have a dramatic effect on how the public evaluates specific events by emphasizing one event over others. When during a 1976 presidential debate, President Ford incorrectly stated that the Soviet Union did
clear. But as you can see in the chart from the Pew Research Center, the majority of Americans
What does the United States have to gain from a war with Iraq? Supporters of a war with Iraq say it will help prevent the risk of an attack by a weapons of mass destruction developed by Iraq. Critics of a military action that say nothing will be gained, and the U.S. just wants to obtain the oil that Iraq controls. They claim that casualties will be too costly for America to afford. Nonetheless, America should act while others will not for fear of disturbing global peace. Iraq poses a “clear and present danger” to the security of the United States and the security of countries around the world.
Uscinski, J. E. (2009). When Does the Public's Issue Agenda Affect the Media's Issue Agenda (and Vice-Versa)? Developing a Framework for Media-Public Influence. Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 90(4), 796-815. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00663.x
The Iran – Iraq War started on September 22, 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran (Steele 14). Iraq had many reasons to invade Iran. A couple reasons were border territory issues between the nations, political issues, and the fear of the Islamic Revolution in Iran spreads into Iraq. The war continued on for eight years. In 1988, the United Nations stepped in and created a peace agreement for the two nations. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 was the official document that ended the Iran – Iraq War in July 1988. At that point, both nations were drained by the war. Both nations faced a drop in their economy, high death tolls, and other issues (Steele 17), but what was the main reason Iran accepted the peace agreement proposed by the
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition. The US wanted to destroy Saddam Hussein’s regime and bring democracy. To addition to that, US and its allies believed that Iraq had secret stocks of chemical and nuclear weapons, hence Iraq was a threat to the world (Axford 2010). In March 2003, US air bombed Baghdad and Saddam escaped Iraq. The invasion disarmed the government of Saddam Hussein. President Bush in March 2003 gave a premature speech, that tyrant of Iraq has fallen and US has freed its people. President Bush flew into Iraq to show the world that the war is over, even though nothing was accomplished (Kirk et al. 2014). Iraq was facing 13 years of scantions, therefore regime diverted its resources to flexible networks of patronage that kept it in power (Dodge 2007, 88). Iraq faced widespread of lawlessness and after the violent regime changed US could not control the situation. Iraqi civilians were looting, attacking ministries building and this resulted into a series of event (Kirk et al. 2014) . From a military perspective the regime was taken down, but they made no commitment to rebuild or secure the country.
...he general population. In the end, we have to keep in mind that those in government will always have their hidden agendas.
Althusser (1971) explains that, as an ideological state apparatus, media doesn’t use pressure as a way to bind society together under one dominant ideology, but instead uses the will of the people to make them accept the dominant ideology. However, media is also used as a way for people to challenge the dominant ideology. Newspapers, for example, will have articles that openly criticise and oppose the dominant ideology for what it is, whilst at the same time providing perspectives and opinions on different ideologies (such as feminism) that society can believe in. Although these alternate ideological perspectives exist, they are usually overlooked and only ever reach small audiences. Ideology can also help us understand the media because of the way in which it distributes ideology.