Media Spin Can Separate War From Death

"A dozen years after the Gulf War, public perceptions of it are now very helpful to the White House," media critic Norman Solomon writes in his Media Beat column. "That's part of a timeworn pattern. Illusions about previous wars make the next one seem acceptable." Reminding readers that during Operation Desert Storm reporters in the Pentagon's press pool had to submit all copy and footage for approval by their military handlers before filing a story, Solomon quotes Patrick Sloyan, who covered the Gulf War for Newsday: "In manipulating the first and often most lasting perception of Desert Storm, the Bush administration produced not a single picture or video of anyone being killed. This sanitized, bloodless presentation by military briefers left the world presuming Desert Storm was a war without death."