Going to War in Iraq

It is now widely accepted, even by the news media themselves, that they failed to adequately scrutinize the Bush administration's arguments for the invasion of Iraq. With neither party voicing much opposition, the press followed their leads, and public opinion passively followed suit...that at least is the conventional wisdom. Going to War revisits this critical time and comes back with a different story. Drawing upon the most comprehensive survey done on the Iraq conflict designed to monitor public reactions, the authors show that not only did the administration's carefully orchestrated campaign for war fail to raise the level of Republican support for the war, but Democratic and political independents' opposition to the war significantly increased.  By all previous accounts, this should not have happened. Going to War explains how and why it did. The authors' analysis of public opinion in the months before the war sheds light on the specific conditions that enable the American public to sensibly evaluate complex information surrounding government policy. In particular, they find that, whether Republican or Democrat, the individuals who regularly read newspapers were the most likely to question or resist what was coming out of Washington. Most effective were the newspapers that went beyond simply reporting what was said to offer investigative journalism that in a sense created or found the news. This is a kind of journalism that is almost non-existent on television and internet-based news sites...and is now at risk of disappearing from print media as well. Ultimately, Going to War makes the case for the crucial role of a free press that lives up to the best norms and practices of print journalism, especially in the case of war but also for the effective functioning of democracy.