For several years I have pondered how the Bush administration managed to hoodwink so many people into believing that it would be a good idea to go to war in Iraq. Of course, their main tool was fear. Fear that the smoking gun would become a mushroom cloud. But this is America, home of the brave. Why did so many pundits and politicians fall for this deception? Much has been blamed on the media and there certainly is culpability there. But why did the message of fear resonate with so many Americans? Why did fear sell newspapers, magazines and TV shows? Certainly 9/11 was a scary event, but instead of responding to it with rational efforts to combat terrorism in Afghanistan, our nation was led into war with a sovereign state that had nothing to do with 9/11. We know that the Bush administration had come into office with a plan for this war, but how did they manage to distort the events of 9/11 into a rallying cry for the war they so dearly desired? And why did some people resist the fear mongering and oppose the war? Why did part of our country see the evidence and reject Bush’s claims, while others preferred to be led down the path to war with Iraq?
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