The 2003 war against Iraq was not the first instance of a president taking the nation into
foreign conflict assisted by a submissive Congress and national press corps that did not
adequately challenge the case for intervention. All foreign U.S. military action since World
War II has been undertaken without the constitutionally required declaration of war and with
the support of the national press corps. Factors behind this press complicity - which is at
odds with the traditional press role of watchdog over government policies - include political
economic and national security ideologies the press shares with administration and government
officials - the same sources upon whom the press relies for credible information. Sending
troops to fight in foreign lands is the most difficult and most important decision a
president can make. Assisting this decision has been a press that in failing to meet its
watchdog responsibility during this key pre-war period has instead helped construct and
maintain a war agenda. With a comprehensive overview of all conflicts from the Korean War to
intervention in Libya this book examines the supportive relationship of press to power in
building a conflict rationale during the vital period leading up to combat.
