Paper Topic:

Historical Analogy-

The Role of the Media in Decisions to Levy War

Evidence from Spanish-American War and War in Iraq

The politicians not without good reason consider the mass media to be the basic instrument in dissemination of ideology . Therefore , seemingly the media so often has been found themselves in the center of heated public debates and not rarely were being charged with provoking social political and war conflicts . War propaganda is perhaps as old as war itself , though in recent years means for its dissemination have been perfected with the same genius that

has improved and made more deadly the implements of war . In ancient times war propaganda was spread by word of mouth today all the resources of a highly mechanized civilization are mobilized to sway the public mind . The role of media in disposing required public opinion can be hardly overestimated especially during wartime when the mission of the media lies in convincing the public in propriety and inevitability to levy war to attain the certain goals of the state . In this we will consider the role of the media in decisions to go to war by the examples of Spanish-American War of 1898 and recent War in Iraq . To realize the place of the media among driving forces of these two wars we should scrutinize aspects of war propaganda in both cases , reveal the parallels and differences between them , and make the conclusion

During wartime the political and military leaders can be expected to deceive the enemy and the public . Not as well understood is the role of the mass media . Although sometimes accused of aiding the enemy or becoming advocates , the media actually assist authorities in a variety of ways , including keeping them informed and conveying their propaganda and disinformation . The mass media can be an ally in making war and even can make armed conflict appear entertaining (Smith , 1999

Considering the part played by the media in two war conflicts distant in time for more than a century from each other we meet the evident analogy in widespread formulation by the media of the nature of war . In both cases it was presented by the press as the war of freedom : the Spanish-American War was positioned by the media as a fight for Cuba 's "freedom from Spanish rule (Wilkerson , 1932 ,

. 131 , and one of the slogans under which the War in Iraq was initiated - to liberate Iraqis from tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein "Why You Should Oppose 2002

Unrestricted news coverage helps to assure that the armed conflict conforms to international law , and to the political and psychological dimensions of national defense . As military public affairs analyst Harry Noyes has pointed out , nations do not just fight in wars , they also "must take sound diplomatic , economic , social and cultural measures and communicate them well . He has argued that the military and the media need each other , and that press accounts are as much a part of war as the weapons , because winning in...

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