We've heard the faulty data on Weap0ns of Mass Destruction but there must have been a reaction from the "seasoned reporters" mentioned here.

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Thank you Bill Moyers for your courageous and insightful program.

I would like to ask, in addition to the media not asking the tough questions and the administration's active propaganda, to what extent does the national consciousness and patriotism of Americans influence their willingness to go to war?

And how does this relate to what Americans are taught as children through the education system?

I think this is a very important point, and one that is not often debated.

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hey nice & informative article.this article really help me a lot to increase my knowleage

Great Job Bill.
Very Nice.Keep it up.

The job of a news media executive is not just to oversee the content of their own product(s), but to be aware of what "the competition" is saying -- and that includes not just the work done by Knight-Ridder, but foreign news sources. And it was glaringly obvious to anyone who read those sources that the Bush regime was grossly and consciously manipulating that facts that formed the basis of the case for war.?

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I just wonder how long it will be before it (the Left) begins to enact it's own version of the Final Solution, and moves to make conservative opinion punishable by imprisonment, or even death.

Thanks ... !

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It's avery nice article.

Welcome Bill :)

Bush had been threatening Afghanatan with bombing is they did not surrender some oil control shortly before 911. 911 happened the door opened Invade Afghanstan instead of consulting with the many countries who supported us at that time making a joint decision. The door opened wider, He alledgedly told a congressman in 1999 he was going to invade Iraq.International law states a ban on invading any country for their natural resources so he connected Saddam to 911. Then we progress to aiding the PKK against Iran and aid Turkey against the PKK. Arm and train Israel and Palistinians. Israel now literally destroying the Gaza strip,and blocking supplies from entering. Against International sanction on weapons to Ethiopia Bush got weapons to them so they can invade Somallia, and open another Quantanamo. Now Bush and Chaney threaten Iran( one of the countries that supported us in 911.) Bush calls everything under the sun terriorists in order to get support from the American public. He committed the acts (wire-tapping etc.) in 2002-03 that got Nixon impeached. There is a justice dept. now investigating Bush & Chaney for impeachment long overdue. They have trashed your Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The constitution stll holds today. It seems our founding fathers had great insight. Bush is now overseeing 4 wars. Your entire gov't is controlled and run by corporations Democracy is sinking into the sunset. What has,and is happening,
, James Madison once stated. 'The accumulation of all powers Legislative,Executive, & Judiciary in the same hands, whether by one, few, or many, and whether self-appointed, or elective may justly be prounced the very definition of tyranny.'

I'm Glad to see you back.

1) What about the SENSATIONAL COUNTERPOINT to the coming war? I watched the major networks and saw 3 to 4 minutes of "War: maybe yes, maybe no; then came 20 solid minutes of Scott Peterson and his thing. The sensational counterpoint is a recurring phenonomon now in American media. Take a look.
2) Bill Maher paid dearly for his opinions.
3) What about the TIME it takes for good reporting? To go beyond the dots takes research into things that are not yet understood – a form of scientific research. Look at Watergate. You can't do that when you have new deadlines and new drama appearing hourly.
4) Then ~ what can we do? Not that I expect a checklist to come from your program, but maybe a start of a dialog as to what MIGHT be tried. Who could you contact to see if they would like to begin such a dialog?
5) Finally, keep it up Bill Moyers.

This was once of the best news shows I have ever seen. Thank you.

For the last few years I have been writing letters opposing the Iraq war to the editor of the Delaware State News. They always printed my letters.

In March, 2007, they refused to print my letters. In June, 2007, I created a blog to respond to (mostly) pro Iraq war letters that appear in the Delaware State News.

I refused to be silenced. Check out my blog.

http://brendanbuschi.blogspot.com/

Brendan Buschi

This whole media world is rotten to the core. Are they going to speak the truth, and lose out on fancy free trips around the world on AirForce 1, special invitations to gourmet spreads at the White House, choice TV exposure on drilling the president with planted questions, etc, etc ? The Fourth Estate !!!!! A bumch of pompous asses, if they ever went out to make a decent and honorable living, they'd starve to death.

Bill, you naive soul you. Do you really think this will make any difference in the way the press behaves? From "Remember the Maine" to the Gulf of Tonkin to Nicaragua and now Iraq the American mainstream press has been doing the same thing, propaganda and disinformation in service to the state(as long as the state is doing something in the interests of big business). Their two new campaigns are making sure we stay in Iraq, even though it's a complete disaster and preparing the way for some kind of military strike on Iran.

Bill,

You have done the country an outstanding service by bringing to light many of the inconsistencies that existed in our pre-war intelligence. Now, that you've taken the first step, I'd recommend you do a piece on the Project for a New American Century. I think you will find a great deal of insight into the strategies employed by the neoconservative movement; as well as, insight into relationships between the war architects and the propaganda machine that moved it. I look forward to seeing more of your work soon and thanks again for doing such a great job!

So we know good and well what the Iraq War was not about: WMD's and Iraq's supposed links to terrorism.

Next Question: What WAS it about? Certainly there must have been compelling REAL reasons for the invasion, since the pretexts have been proven to be lies many times over.

This would make for an interesting program. However, such a program would be useless if it interviewed the usual suspects in the media and political establishment.

Answers need to come from outside the realm from which the crimes eminated.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on newspaper's role in the lead-up to the Iraq War:

Paul Krugman: "The Times definitely blew it; I was reading Knight-Ridder (now McClatchy) at the time, so I thought it was obvious that the war was being sold falsely — but the typical Times reader would have had no idea of that."

The question now begs to answered: Why does the professional press act like they were born yesterday? Gullible, naive, and lacking any sense of critical judgement, it drives me to think of Larsen E. Whipsnade from the movie, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man. These are intelligent, well-meaning, extensively trained people. How does the news "system" churn out functionaries who appear on the face of it to be embarrassingly naive. What is it about the institutions of corporate media that tends to lobotomize the news? What do they teach in journalism 101? Don't they teach them the obvious, that communications emanating from sources of power and wealth do not arrive with a stamp of credibility?

Herman and Chomsky outlined the very dynamics of "corporate media' as propaganda functionaries more than twenty years ago in, Manufacturing Consent. The American press has been functioning at least since the Spanish American War as propaganda regurgitators. The US does not have a functional press, in general. Responsibile journalism, such as what Mr. Moyers practices, gets marginalized because it doesn't serve the interests of either power or the corporate media. As W. C. Fields once uttered, "I've been ho-axed!" That which is presented to the American public on TV and radio as "news" --isn't news. We've all been hoaxed.

Problem with this documentary is that it questions the motives of several journalists for not asking right questions when Bush and his team prepared the nation for war. However, this documentary does not interview either Jim Lehrer of PBS or Frontline correspondent of PBS for not asking the very same questions that the popular press failed to ask. Not even a word why they were not asked to appear in the documentary, were they not in the news business as well? There was a question in the documentary about whether the Knight Ridder journalists were invited to appear on any talk shows or TV programs, they replied that only CSPAN invited them. It is worth pointing out that PBS along with the popular press also did not invite these journalists. After carefully watching the documentary, I began to question the way the material was presented.

Sincerely,

CK

I have been conducting research on our government over the past 10 years. I tried to prevent this war, but people like then New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, then National Editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer Daryl Kannberg, Rep. Dennis Kucinich's legal counsel (was fired), John Loftus, and countless others chose to sit on the information. I have live video footage recorded in real time proving that the Bush lied about the Iraq war, that the 2000 election was rigged, and how and why the Federal Reserve tanked the stock market in 2000-01. This is information that has not been presented to the public till this day. Information that could change the outcome of history. Ever wonder why we have only one more choice than Russia in this country? The so-called 2 party system (Tri-angulation and on the edge of the wedge issues). Why we have no accountability from this dictatorship masquerading as a duopoly? Go to Amazon.com and click on the best seller book, "Compromised Clinton, Bush, and the CIA", by Terry Reed and John Cummings. Read pg. 277 to find out how the �2000 Selection� was really rigged. "Johnson had applied the balm, and now the message began. "Bill, you are Mr. Casey's fair- haired boy. But you do have competition for the job you seek. We would never put all our eggs in one basket. You and your state have been our greatest asset. The beauty of this, as you know, is that you're a Democrat, and with our ability to influence both parties, this country can get beyond partisan gridlock. Mr. Casey wanted me to pass on to you that unless you f**k up and do something stupid, you're No.1 on the short list for a shot at the job you've always wanted." Bill Clinton's Arkansas was the banana republic for the Iran-Contra debacle. Bill Clinton/Slick Willie is a long time Bushie/CIA asset. In 1991 at Texas A&M Univeristy George Bush the first said I'm for the New World Order and now President George W. Bush has also said he is for the New World Order. And now behold sheep, the New World Order. Bill Clinton helped pass NAFTA and changed NTR (Normal Trade Relations) for China to PNTR (Permanent Normal Trade Relations) assuring the business sector that the policy was permanent and would not be reversed once they exported our manufacturing base to China, even though Al Gore was being clobbered leading up to the 2000 election and against the overwhelming will of the American People. Wouldn't it have been more strategic to impose unfair trade down our throats after you won the election than to enjoy the ire of the American people and loose the election? All part of the New World Order's design to entangle us in a global order that over-rides our sovereignty. Hence the WTO: World Trade Organization, Fast Track Authority for President Bush which prevents debate and accountability for the actions and consequences of Unfair Trade, the United Nations(future world governing system), the world criminal court, etc. Saddam Hussein and Milosevic were the president setting cases for "Team America World Police". Milosevic�s trial was about the legitimizing of the world court. Saddam never went to the world court because Bush needed a sham trial for his illegal war in which he could ensure the outcome without accountability for his war crimes. Bush says everyone thought Saddam possessed wmds and yet no one cared, not even Bush, until 9/11 became the Pearl Harbor event they needed to scare us into war and distract us from all the previous issues we were about to zero in on. Bush said war was the last option. Yet, he now says, knowing what he now knows he still would have invaded Iraq. Really, is this an insanity plea, a murder plea, or both? I guess the fact that wmds never existed never really mattered after all. This is why we our engaged in so many unnecessary and illegal interventions. The missile defense system/shield: He who controls outer space controls inner space. No need for airspace authority from non-compliant coalitions of the unwilling. Star Wars/Death Star. It wasn't WMDs that were the reason we invaded Iraq, it was to democratize a perceived backwards and non-compliant region by the New World Order. Just ask yourself who was the last region not to play our game in the grand scheme of things. Middle East Union anyone? This is why they created the Euro to accomplish what they could never have accomplished politically. Unifying fragmented Europe into one entity financially. He who makes the money, makes the rules. One currency to bind them all. Behold the European Union. No more Milosevics screwing up their grand scheme. Fewer adversaries on the grand chessboard. Less players to rock the boat and fewer nukes in fewer hands. Free Trade is the same scheme as what they accomplished with the Euro, but on a grander global scale. Recall it was said that they will create a global trading system which no one can oppose. One world, ready or not. How Democratic. This is why they've been trying to foist a Bush/Clinton Dynasty on us for the past few decades. Recall the quote? �The beauty of this, as you know, is that you're a Democrat, and with our ability to influence both parties, this country can get beyond partisan gridlock.� Either door you choose and you still get the New World Order. This is why there is no accountability from either party. They know they must all hang together, or they shall all hang together literally, should we know the real truth. Democracy has been murdered my fellow Americans. Now what will you do about it? I offer this challenge to President Bush: Allow my information to be presented in its entirety to the American people and I guarantee I can prove my assertions beyond a reasonable doubt upon penalty of death. I do not make these assertions lightly. Please help me get this information to the people Mr. Moyers. I have devoted the last 10 years of my life to this cause. Long live the Constitution!!!

The selling of the war continues. I recently sent the comment below to Angela Tuck, the public editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution about a very misleading headline on an article about "the surge". I have yet to receive an answer.

(12 April 2007)
"Today's AJC front page has a headline reading, "Army Widens Tours of Duty in War of Terror", a reprint with a changed headline from the Washington Post which headlined the same article, "Strained Army Extends Tours To 15 Months" with a subheading "Move Is Needed for Iraq Troop Increase." The Wall Street Journal covered the same subject under the heading, "Bush Lengthens Tours of Duty In Combat Zones" with a subheading, "Step May Further Strain Military, Vex Congress; Political Timing in Play?"

I'm curious why your paper chose a heading that conflates the war in Iraq with the "war on terror." It's precisely this sort of conflation that misinformed the public leading up to the start of this disaster in Iraq. Who chose that heading?"

I followed up a few weeks later asking about an answer, but never received one.

Mike

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Mr Moyers addressed something that has been within our government for a long time. There are people who are inclinded to believe that since JFK being shot in Texas . That corporations have been responsible for much actually of what has been going on with government. Let's face it who pays for politics mainly? The wealthy ofcoarse pay for what they want our country to be or not to be - quote. What if any government do you have left at all after that? I truly believe is a sham if you say there is a government at all anymore.Perhaps a money pit is better ? Something that only produces people who are at the top of cream who are ruthless business types who truly have very little conscience. Money does not insure that this country will be a democracy does it? What juvenile minds would believe otherwise? And why is it so difficult to think outside of our own arrogant control as a country that we are unquestionable? We drive the cars that pollute we allow for the divine chemical companies to put extras in our products and only if it becomes an issue via the media hype do we do anything other than ignorantly accept what we are given unquestionably.(Which brings JFK to mind*) Why discuss an issue if you do not elementally believe in the reality of the issue? Say money to me is the issue here not the conscience of individuals who are claiming that they have an opinion about any government. It is uncanny how so many of us can and do say that believe in something - yet that something only advocates death. What discussion can there be? Again, if elementally you are speaking about something that undeniably does not concern itself with life?Personally only someone who is lacking mental emotional experience could only be dreaming if there is room to say anything here*
Until we learn to truly question ourselves and be unafraid of life as it is will we be a government that is of people. In the meanwhile personally I think we need to understand that people like Valerie Plame, Mr. Moyers are our truer heros to date. And if you truly know enough about our history and government you will find that our founding fathers were rarely as brave as Mr. Moyers . If there is something in the everyday experiences of mankind that needs to be done we do it - correct? And yet we survive correct? Why then is it so tough to see that certain acts of common sense, bravery ,and caring are not elementally the same on all of our part potentially? If I am optimistic than perhaps I am amongst cowards who would prefer childrens games to reality? Yvonne*

hey bob,
Why weren't you crying about clinton going and killing all those people in Kosovo, wasn't that a civil war? or maybe ethnic cleansing? what is the difference between Iraq, then.
Where did clinton take the refrugee's? They put them in camps in America, then they bought guns and tried to kill people at Fort Dix

The U.N. was collecting inteligence and giving it to the U.S. so when the inspectors wanted to look into Hussein's palaces he didn't want any Americans in the group. The U.N. was comming to an agreement with Hussein but Bill Clinton decided to bomb Iraq. Many feel it was to divert attention from the Lewinski situation. Therefore the U.N. was pulled out for their own safety and they did not leave because Hussein was not co-operating.

Best program on Iraq so far on TV. Too bad that it seems that there will be a price paid in the form of right-wing propaganda, such as The Mormons...

where is the out rage from the media, and the left. about harry reid saying the war is lost. why we have men and women in harms way. why doesn't the same standard apply when Sen Trent Lott said something to an old man who's time fading. I don't know bias. How come the media never covers a story when someone with a gun defends themselves with it. and says without the gun they would probably be dead. oh I see we will only post the blogs we agree with

Thanks Bill for thoughtful and intelligent analysis about the Iraq War and all of the nonsense from the Bush Administration concerning the reasons for going to war in the first place.

Neil from Canada

Your powerful documentary, �Buying the War,� affirms that there are courageous individuals who will fearlessly work to safeguard our democratic freedoms. By daring to speak truth to power, Mr. Moyers, you embolden our pursuit of Jacksonian ideals of journalistic integrity, including our right to question our government, its leaders, and its policies � a right that is crucial to maintaining an informed electorate. In 2002, I completed a Masters thesis that dealt with how American television�s reporting on 9/11 framed a war narrative. In the introduction I wrote, �Within the 24-hour period following the implosion of the Twin Towers, programming executives at CBS had devised an episodic theme: America Under Attack�America Rising�America Fights Back. Similar story lines were spun by the other major networks as well � variations included NBC�s America at War and CNN�s War Against Terror.

Over the ensuing five years, my thesis has been supported by a growing chorus of media analysts. Rather than report on the destruction of the World Trade Center as a despicable criminal act and, indeed, a national tragedy, the mainstream corporate media used words that fostered a national predisposition to preemptive war, conveniently opening the way for the Bush administration to prey upon the American public�s fears. They needed only to demonize an old nemesis � the tyrant Saddam Hussein, even though he had no connection to the WTC attack � to bolster their case for invading oil-rich Iraq.

Thank you, Bill Moyers, for giving us a healthy �speed bump� on the slippery slope to corporate media-enabled totalitarianism.

Dennis Day
www.ddaymedia

This was a fantastic report (sadly, a few years too late).

I strongly believe that everyone in congress should be given a copy of this video. It is now more than obvious that the blood of all of our fallen troops during the Iraq debaucle is on the hands of George W. Bush and each individual in his regime.

I have a son serving in Iraq of whom I am very proud, and for whom I am very worried because of misleading Bush policies and mistaken Bush missions. When will he and his cronies be impeached??? So many crimes have been committed here!!! This is not the America I grew up in. We have become lemmings in this increasingly dictatorial country, and apparently the media have been jumping the cliff along with the rest of us -- the media, who should know better.

Please, PBS/Bill Moyers, please send copies of this video to our representatives, ASAP. This is the kind of factual information they need, from outside the bubble. Hopefully the "mainstream" (NYT, WP, TV Networks, etc.) are watching this too, and feeling well spanked.

It is a shame so many of the media pundits proven wrong about the war are still working! In some cases promoted! Great to have you back Bill.

Mr Moyers, I have never thought that you were very objective on any issue. I may be wrong on one. Although I believe that you are still a far left wing activist, I believe that it is interesting that you dug up this info. However, you did get your facts from the Knight-Ridder journalists and then interviewed your favorite experts to support it. I think there always has been doubt on WMD but we all wanted a scapegoat.
You did do a decent job and FOX-Ailes will probably rip you for it on their shows. I also think it is now obvious that Bill O' has turned into Rush II now and I am on the conservative side.
I do think the truth is, that Mr. Cheney, with support from friends, did stretch the truth about WMD to get this war started. Colin Powell did resign, later, in part, because they forced him to lie at the UN-from my Pentasgon source. In Dick Cheney's mind, war is a money maker and the Middle East has lots of rich buyers and his friends will be happy to sell. When Cheney's own country is attacked then he has to get back at them, and make a profit at the same time. THAT thought process is what has caused every previous war we've been involved in. Got a problem with that, then you are not a capitalist pig? If so, vote in a dove. The problem is, though, Dove's won't attack at the right times, i.e. Clinton/Saddam and Neville Chamberlain.
What your story proves is, that the media is liberal when liberals are in power and weak when conservatives have a majority, but they are still a 95% liberal group.
Mr. Moyers, take this same desire for the truth and look into climate change and ask the question, are the left pilling on top of each other, like the press did for Bush? Can you decide the end of the world based on 150 years of temperature data? When Krakatoa blew, and the earth was covered for over a year, why didn't the end come?
Pollution must be cut way back, here, but how about China? We must stop our Chemical-reliant polluting society because it is killing us and our food supply, not based on weak ozone science. That is the same type of data that is like the lack of science that Bush and Cheney used for WMD.
5 years from now, will liberals admit they were wrong? Admit wrong if someone does look into the truth that liberals are pushing on the ozone? Yes it is changing, do we know if it changed 1,000 years ago? NO, we don't, science has to guess.
You must admit one thing, when those in Hollywood get behind a story, all of the rational thought about the issue has been long forgotten.
So look at the other side of the ozone, did it ever look like this 10,000 years ago? What caused the climate change of the Ice Age? Nothing, it's part of history, which the global warming crowd doesn't have, history.
Where is the voice of reason anymore, the intelligent person that says, "Step back and let's look at the facts before we make any judgements?"
Name one, please!
Our media has now turned in to the same as the Fleet Street in England, no facts, just farce.

Your return to television is mose welcome--and overdue. "Buying the War" is something that every citizen of this country should see and ponder. As a nation, we have allowed ourselves to become something we should abhor, an imperial power, using its military power carelessly to pursue the ambitions of men and women who should probably be locked up. Thanks for the wake-up call.

Good job of indicting the co-conspirators.

What was missing was the Israel connection.

Kristol, Safire, Perle, Wolfowitz, Woolsey, Libby, Feith, Krauthammer, etc, are all part of the U.S. branch of the Likud, supporting Israeli colonialism on the West Bank and placing the defense of Israel above U.S. interests.

Their code is "spread democracy in the Middle East" (except when groups like Hamas win fair elections) which they have used to support knocking over the governments of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and maybe Saudi Arabia.

Whose interests does that serve?

It was because they believed that Saddam had secreted his nuclear weapons program underground that they agitated for an invasion of Iraq. It's because of Iran's putative nuclear program that they are clamoring for an invasion of Iran.

Oh, yeah...anyone who criticizes them is anti-Semitic, the first defense of the Israel-first crowd.

Your expose of those making the errors in thier information and judgement both in the govt and press was excellent. This is a good first step.

The issue next is: What price are they going to pay to deter similar negligence in the future?

Or are we going to allow them (and others) to feed us even more of the same on other issues of foreign policy.

Mr. Moyers,

This certainly has a different tone than your "Winning the War on Terror" from 4/8/2004. I certainly liked the comment posted by Doug Fuda about your doing a show highlighting the initial antiwar movement, people who had it right from the start. Any chance of that happening?

Thank you for your work, Mr. Moyers. I agree with Mr. Aucoin's post. If the American people genuinely desire an end to "endless war" then we must face what is difficult for many and work together to expose the 9/11 cover up. The attack of 9/11 has been used to justify pre-emptive war, the erosion of civil liberties here at home, and will continue to be invoked for political purposes until the truth is exposed. 9/11 Truth leads to peace.

Mr Moyers I don't know you personally and I don't like to write. In fact this is my first time I'm doing so. After viewing your special on "Buying the War" I commend you and you staff for the truth about what I belive since the Bush Administration started. Finally, there are people like yourself who are courageous in carrying out a revelation of the truth. I hope you continue with all the other people behind the scenes involved with getting us into the Bush/Cheney War(i.e. Paul Wolfowitz, Michael Ladeen, Doug Feith, Richard Perle, etc.) I support you and all those who are part of your work in what you are doing. Please continue in your efforts to unravel the current Skull organization that is currently undermining all of the principles our early Fathers have established in this country.

Now we just need the truth about the media's coverup of 9-11. For that, we must watch the horrifying documentary "9-11 Press Fro Truth."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3979568779414136481

Bill, two comments: (1) can I buy a DVD of "Buying The War"? and (2) I love the blog feature but I think you should require people to use a name when posting.

Mr. Moyers,

Instead of spending 90 minutes of precious TV time interviewing celebrity newspeople and intellectuals who are complicit along with the government and the War Party in enabling and promoting a war of aggression and possible war crimes, why don't you do a show about the many courageous people in the antiwar community who got the story right from the very beginning. I will be happy to provide you with a list of experts and activists (not just liberals and progressives, but people from across the political spectrum) who consistently stood for peace and non-intervention. Such a show might give us a fighting chance to head off the next installment of "the long war" in which we are now embroiled by our so-called leaders.

It would be a lot more interesting than a bunch of media honchos sitting around wringing their hands and whining about all the "pressure" they were under from the big bad neocons.

for more see this blog:

http://antiwarleague.net/blog/index.php?itemid=63

Thank you for speaking truth to power. Your show was such a refreshing change from the usual ClapTrap on MSM news parodies. Moyer,Stewart,Marshall, yours are the voices of real America. Let's hear from people like Marcos "KOS", Marcy Wheeler and Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, Arianna Huffington or anyone speaking reason in these Unreasonable times.

Mr. Moyers, we've turned a corner. No longer is intelligent reasoned discourse such as yours so easily buried under an avalanche of hateful, scared and ignorant scorn, wrapped in swaths of false patriotism, as that exhibited by some whiners below.

While the echo chamber is not dead, I can't help but feel that we can more and more laugh them off now and continue again to talk with simple reason and truth, unburdened by their jingoism.

Thank you so much for wading through the hatred spewed at you by those too fearful or foolish to understand, and continuing to bravely speak truth to an increasingly aware America.

You sir, are a true national hero and history will duly note you as such.

"nobody does it better,
makes me feel sad for the Rest..."

I wonder if the Partridge, Parks, Clements, Alpert, Rapoport, & those other magnificent PBS Foundation sponsors who support this oh-so needed project could be convinced to start a Moyers Journalism Scholarship Fund in North America??

We're heading into seriously deep waters... we need all the help we can get!

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... but wear the Glove!

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great job mr moyers....i hope you can also include "the new american century" in one of your reports....this is at the root of our problem......thanks for being a great american........kevin barber

'Twas a great show. Finally--FINALLY--the word "lie" was used. Finally the "mainstream" media compliance with power has been exposed.

Perhaps have an additional show referring to the concepts of "embedded" journalists and associated institutions of bad media.

Moyer you are so full of crap! I can't believe people are actually starting to believe your anti American B.S! You have not changed a bit and you are trying to make your Sadam loving anti American ass sound like you take the stand of the American people. I disliked you then just as much as now and if people believe your B.S I feel this country is going to get hit even harder then the last time. You, and the democrats, are going to help our enemies bring a dirty bomb to this country.

Have you no shame! You suck!

Well done, Mr. Moyer! Finally a journalist who is not afraid to report the truth.

If Mr Moyers feels the media did not do its job and the President lied to get us into the war against Iraq, why not remind the public that other countries had the same intelligence, as well as congress that supported the war? Presenting "clips" of other networks, OUT OF CONTEXT, is not a lie? I am not glad Mr. Moyers is back, more bias views instead of reporting the news.

Politicians and Journalist could learn a great lesson from our Military: Country before self/party!

I can't help but think that if the media had done it's job, we wouldn't be in the position we're in right now with Iraq.

Sure, they were afraid of the bully's intimidation (remember Mccarthy), yet business priorities, "The Scoop" (which were freely handed out I might add), drove the fevor. Made ya'll feel special, huh? Important? TV Personality?

Old hands, secure in their importance and young folks, who pined away as teenagers to be "A JOURNALIST", all lost sight of the reason and participated in the grand circle-jerk. And played it safe. God forbid you get hollered at (used to be, that was a badge of courage!).

Yet few, very few asked the $64 questions that may of stopped this maddness by exposing the deception and hidden agendas.

Journalism, by it's very nature is supposed to ask the hard questions. If it's not you, then whom? When politics has become simply the advertisement for an agenda, who then. is our "consumer reports"?

And then, what good are you but to sell yet another product accomplished simply by putting yet another ego on the front page or on TV? Are we all on auto-pilot?

The show last night reminded me of a wonderful quote attributed to Richard Whately: "Everyone wishes to have the truth on his side, but not everyone wishes to be on the side of truth."

Thank goodness for those real journalists who are not afraid to search for the truth and put it out there for all of us to see.

Will the show that aired last night "Buying the War" be rebroadcast?

If so, please advise.

Thanks,

Susan Kirshenbaum

Thank you for another excellent, though deeply disturbing program. I knew, from reading independent media sources, that the WMD, terrorist links and such were outright lies, and I knew that Judith Miller of NYT was a shill for the administration.

But the sections on the Knight-Ridder team deeply discouraged me anew , as they demonstrated just how thoroughly the WP, NYT, CNN, CBS and most of the others failed to even attempt due dilligence by questioning the administration line. Russert was the most disturbing as he was so smug and content that he surely did the right thing.

I will continue turning to Bill Moyers, Frontline, and to other independent media for my news.

Peace,
Randy Gabrielse

But looking back, it was informative to see just how the propaganda machine worked, how the papers of record surrendered real journalism and replaced it with repeating official statements, and confirmation of just how symbiotic the relationship between Russert et. al. and the administration really is.

Great show last night. Thank god you're back! Looking forward to the new series with high expectations! I will now renew my membership to KUHT!!

The press has always been lied to; it's part of the subjectivity of human thought and its presence in the flow of communications. How much of it is actually orchestrated at any given time is unknown. Starting a war by the Bush administration in this manner was not a good idea to say the least. One must wonder 'why?'--why was it necessity to interrupt tribal cultures to 'set them straight'. Sometimes news organizations suspend their search for root facts in hopes of serializing an immediate perception without the presence of dense facts. The press was (and often is) all too willing to suspend their judgment in favor of another: In this case, The White House Crew. It happens everyday. Bill Moyer's piece illustrated this point once again. And now, as he pointed out: more US soldiers have died in Iraq then in the Twin Towers

Great show mr moyers. it was great to see you back on the air.
The corporate news media in the usa is pretty sad in its lapdog subserviance to this and other admininstrations. It is no wonder that they were completely embarrassed in the last 2 years when they just were happy to recycle the bush admin pre iraq war garbage. the networks are loaded with all kind thumbsuckers and pundits as the guy from cnn said.

So much for honesty?

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The press will always be lied to considering the subjectivity of human thought and its presence in the flow of communications. How much of it is actually orchestrated at any given time is unknown. Starting a war b the Bush administration in this manner was not a good idea to say the least. One must wonder 'why?' the necessity to interrupt tribal cultures to 'set them straight'. Sometimes news organizations forget their deep researched roots in hopes of serializing an immediate perception without the presence of dense facts. The press was all too willing to suspend thier judgment in favor of another: The White House crew. It happens everyday. But sometimes the stakes are considerably higher-- such as in invading Iraq (and Afghanistan for that matter). Bill Moyer's piece illustrated this crisis of judgment by individual press members and their employers, an brought this point home once again. And now, as he pointed out, more have died over there in Iraq then in the twin towers. It seems each of us are responsible for searching and turning up our own facts. The results may well with less bias or dilution presented by popular media, left or right. Seek the middle ground, always looking over the shoulders of those who live by their own 'belief systems'. They are the troubled ones.

I suppose the press is lied to all the time; considering the subjectivity of human thought and its presence in the flow of communications. How much of it is actually orchestrated at any given time is unknown. Starting a war b the Bush administration in this manner was not a good idea to say the least. One must wonder 'why?' the necessity to interrupt tribal cultures to 'set them straight'. Sometimes news organizations forget their deep researched roots in hopes of serializing an immediate perception without the presence of dense facts. The press was all too willing to suspend thier judgment in favor of another: The White House crew. It happens everyday. But sometimes the stakes are considerably higher-- such as in invading Iraq (and Afghanistan for that matter). Bill Moyer's piece illustrated this crisis of judgment by individual press members and their employers, an brought this point home once again. And now, as he pointed out, more have died over there in Iraq then in the twin towers. It seems each of us are responsible for searching and turning up our own facts. The results may well with less bias or dilution presented by popular media, left or right. Seek the middle ground, always looking over the shoulders of those who live by their own 'belief systems'. They are the troubled ones.

I wish the broadcast HAD been produced with taxpayer monies. It would have been the most productive, responsible expenditure in recent years...remember this broadcast when your taxes go up....and up...and up - - to pay the bill for this Iraq fiasco; made all the more expensive, because it is based on a lie and it could have been avoided - if we all would have stepped up to create the market forces necessary to insist upon the responsible use of our airwaves... better late than never - but the meter still runs...can we afford to advance another trillion dollars just to 'save face'? That's one helluva mirror we're gonna need!

I suppose the press is lied to all the time; considering the subjectivity of human-- thought and its presence in the flow of communications. How much of it is actually orchestrated at any given time is unknown. Starting a war b the Bush administration in this manner was not a good idea to say the least. One must wonder 'why?' the necessity to interrupt tribal cultures to 'set them straight'. Sometimes news organizations forget their deep researched roots in hopes of serializing an immediate perception without the presence of dense facts. The press was all too willing to suspend thier judgment in favor of another: The White House crew. It happens everyday. But sometimes the stakes are considerably higher-- such as in invading Iraq (and Afghanistan for that matter). Bill Moyer's piece illustrated this crisis of judgment by individual press members and their employers, an brought this point home once again. And now, as he pointed out, more have died over there in Iraq then in the twin towers. It seems each of us are responsible for searching and turning up our own facts. The results may well with less bias or dilution presented by popular media, left or right. Seek the middle ground, always looking over the shoulders of those who live by their own 'belief systems'. They are the troubled ones.

I suppose the press is lied to all the time; considering the subjectivity of human-- thought and its presence in the flow of communications. How much of it is actually orchestrated at any given time is unknown. Starting a war b the Bush administration in this manner was not a good idea to say the least. One must wonder 'why?' the necessity to interrupt tribal cultures to 'set them straight'. Sometimes news organizations forget their deep researched roots in hopes of serializing an immediate perception without the presence of dense facts. The press was all too willing to suspend thier judgment in favor of another: The White House crew. It happens everyday. But sometimes the stakes are considerably higher-- such as in invading Iraq (and Afghanistan for that matter). Bill Moyer's piece illustrated this crisis of judgment by individual press members and their employers, an brought this point home once again. And now, as he pointed out, more have died over there in Iraq then in the twin towers. It seems each of us are responsible for searching and turning up our own facts. The results may well with less bias or dilution presented by popular media, left or right. Seek the middle ground, always looking over the shoulders of those who live by their own 'belief systems'. They are the troubled ones.

No wonder many Republicans are so eager to cut funding to NPR and PBS. They fear serious, honest, critical journalism and reporting that rises above the level of Fox and Cnn "news" and commentaries. Bill, you have given them additional reason to fear. Several years ago when we met in Mexico I mentioned to you that I had noticed a pervasive collective expression of cynicism, helplessness and hopelessness in our society. I said we needed individuals like you to speak up. You have, and in one brilliant documentary shown up not only the deficiencies of our media but also the many lies, hypocracies and deceptions of this executive branch of government and its supporters. More than any politician, you have given hope to the true patriots of this great country that the situation can change.
Welcome back and thanks.

This was a truly valuable piece of work.

Bill's former PBS show, "NOW" promised to continue "traveling across the Country" to get the facts and report on difficult issues. In fact the show suffered serious dilution under David Brancaccio, who never seemed to venture far from NYC. Let's hope PBS understood it drifted far from the roots of its viewers and it now committing to stronger reporting.
Bill Moyer's first 90 minute show overstretched this viewer's attention span in an effort to "pound too many nails" in the subject. You could have edited to 60 minutes and still had a great show.
The real costs of this War are yet to be realized. Our Soldiers were rescued from death, only to return with horrific head and extremity trauma of a magnitude not previously seen. Will we have the perserverance truly to save the lives of our Veterans?

A good show Bill to help balance the normal shows dedicated to shopping, scandal and sports. But this is supposed to be a democracy so I do not blame the political, media, business or religious leaders. They just do what many humans tend to do when left to their own devices without proper oversight or control. It all comes down to the people. Do we take the time to pay attention or not. The buck does not stop at the president’s desk, the buck stops with each and everyone. The American people must demand political, business and religious leaders who are not overly fearful, greedy and ignorant. We must treat other people around the country and the world as we would be treated.

"I know we were lied to ... however, the problem isn't the past, it's the future. What do we do now and how do we get out of this mess?

Posted by: STacey"

I think the first step is to have OPEN government. Why do we need to keep secrets from the people & how can we possibly have the consent of the governed if we don't know what we're consenting to?

Is there a reason Cheney had to set our energy policy in secret & refuse to give any information to congress about who those corporate heads were, & what they decided was in our best interest. The beginning of my distrust of this regime happened then when Cheney so condescendingly dismissed conservation as quaint, & deepened after 9/11 when they told us that the best way to secure our country was to consume & fear others.

Perhaps the greatest insight of our founding fathers was the checks & balances. It seems to me that a FULLY OPEN & honest government is the only way to maintain those checks & balances.

Mr. Moyers,

Good report, but it was very one-sided and biased one. It was so obvious that you and your staff are trying to bash this administration and President Bush. While I do not always agree with all this administration policies such as immigration, taxes, Medicare, etc, but I am very disappointed that PBS would use the public money to hire you to produce a mere propaganda to lobby your supporting party for upcoming election. However, I have to agree with you that both liberal and conservative media were buying the “bad” intelligent about Iraq’s WMD. But who would not when all high-ranking democrat, republican senators, world leaders, and ever UN inspectors said so! And nobody could deny that Saddam had used WMD to murder his own people before. Plus, the 9/11 strategy had just happened, and its aftermath affects were so huge that nobody dared to not side with the administration’s reason for war with Iraq. We were all scared of another attack with even deadlier than the last one. I was wondering how you felt and what you were doing as journalist at that time. My last point is that it is true that the administration does not do a good job to finish the war, which currently causes so much pain for the Iraqis and specially for our armed forces, but I believe it is a good cause for a better future for Iraqis people – like the old saying “No Pain, No gain” – didn’t we have to fight the England to get our freedom. And for our fallen soldiers, they are definitely remembered for their sacrifice which will help our nation security and have better position in dealing with Iran and North Korea. Imagine if we did not go to war to remove Saddam’s regime, he would definitely have WMD just like Iran has now and that region would be chaotic and troubled for everyone around the world. And the US, as nation leader, would have a difficult time to resolve that situation. Can you guys see it now why we are in Iraq? If the 9/11 happened during the Democrat administration, I firmly believe they would do the same thing.

It is wonderful to have Bill Moyers return to the air! We need his courageous voice. Many thanks also to John Walcott and Warren Strobel for their work on behalf of our country. Kudos to them and others who continuously search out truth.

From the beginning, it was clear to many that the beltway and the press were immobilized by fear of the Bush administration. The question was "why?" The "patriot police" and other forms of pressure help to answer that question. When "media" is "big business" and in need of Washington's favor, true "freedom of the press" cannot exist! When bullying and fear control the beltway and the press, we have lost much of what makes our country great!

It was obvious from the beginning, as Bush boldly told the UN what he intended to do, with or without them, that the administration had an agenda it intended to accomplish, no matter what. The arrogant mentality of "my way or the highway" continues. Now Bush cries "party politics" when he doesn't get his way. The administration doesn't care that the American public, whom it "serves" absolutely does not agree with its agenda and is disguested by its arrogance and deceit. Despite the message of the last election, the administration continues to live in a self-constructed "reality" and mis-uses power at the expense of us all.

People around the globe watch with wonder as they witness the events occurring in the world's "model" of democracy. We have lost much credibility and respect in the world, and it will take decades for us to recover, both inside our country and around the globe.

What if?

What if the Bush administration had come in, and found out, that all of this about the existing view, when he was elected; the view that Saddam did not posess WMD's, that he did not have the will and programs to reconstitute WMD's, that he was not a threat to the security of the US and our allies and it's neighbors, that Saddam had not already caused the death of something approaching 2 million people, that he did not have enough nerve gas to kill every person on the face of the earth?

What if Bush presented to the American people that all of these things that the Clinton adminsitration had been brainwashing us with for several years, notabably accelerating the effort just in front of each and everyone of his military campaigns in Iraq, that most of this was false - that the Clinton team had misrepresented and hyped all of this to the people and to the media?

Would not it had just been called just another right wing conspriacy - out to smear Pres. Clinton?

Want to do Kosovo? At the trials in the Hague, it was determined that some 6,000 persons had been murdered. The Clinton administration (the one that fired Gen. Wesley Clark -oh, you didn't know that?)
"Thus, a week before the bombings began, David Scheffer, U.S. State Department ambassador at large for war crime issues, announced that "we have upwards of about 100,000 [ethnic Albanian] men that we cannot account for" in Kosovo. A month later, the State Department claimed that up to 500,000 Kosovo Albanians were missing and feared dead. By mid-May U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen stated that 100,000 military-aged men had vanished and might have been killed by the Serbs. Not long after-as public support for the war began to wane-Ambassador Scheffer escalated the 100,000 figure to "as many as 225,000 ethnic Albanian men aged between 14 and 59" who remained unaccounted. He considered this to be one of the greatest genocidal crimes against a civilian population. Indeed it was, if true."

All of this to convince the public and to acquire the wanted UN resolution - that we never got. Possibly this is why J. Carter, N. Mandela, Annan, and Susan Sarandon condemned our actions.

The common thread runs deep.

I know we were lied to by the government and those lies were perpetuated by the media, however, the problem isn't the past, it's the future. What do we do now and how do we get out of this mess? I consider myself a conservative on most things, but I am disgusted by our government and some serious consequences need to come down on those in power.

Now that the media is shown as the propaganda medium they are... what about investigating what motivates (hint: $$$) them into helping the politics spread the lies...?

I have to say to Dan Rather's comment when he referred to himself..."who am I to ask these questions of the President...?" You're the guy with the job...it's your job! That's what you were hired for! We had faith in you to do your job! I was amazed as I watched you all let us down. We, so many of the public, knew he was lying, how did you not?!? You gave Bush credibility that we knew in our hearts he didn't deserve. I know my generation, (your's), doesn't have too much faith in our government telling us the truth, but we still had hope that the press was there for us, our watchdogs. Like the Watergate reporters! Now what do we have...how disheartening?!

This show was a bunch of lberal partisan nonsense. I can only laugh at Bill Moyers' hypcrisy. It is unfortunate that my tax dollars go to fund partisan propoganda.

As every single post on this board is an accolade for Moyers, it is clear that posts are being censored for not applauding Moyers and his venom. So much for mulitple points of view right. Thanks for proving again the liberals are intellectually dishonest hypocrites.

I was a bit disappointed with last night's episode. I am a teacher in Detroit and active in the fight for equality and justice in education for my students, but certainly not a Washington journalist with contacts at the White House and Defense Department, and I knew there were never any WMD's. I knew that the build-up to the war was being orchestrated by the Bush administration, and Dan Rather and Tim Russert damn well knew that too. Bill Moyers treated them with kid-gloves. Russert and Rather were complicit in the Administration's march to war. These two well-respected journalists made conscience decisions to report distortions and outright lies rather than the truth. They lacked the courage and integrity to do their jobs honestly and as a result thousands are now dead. I don't buy the lines "if only I got a call" or the tears and "we all were swept up in the moment." Tens of thousands of Americans were NOT swept up in the moment and were fighting like hell to get the truth out and the news media and their reporters ignored it.

M. Heather Miller
Marquette Elementary School Teacher
Detroit Public Schools

Amazing. I stumbled on this show last night and was just stunned by some of the revelations. The most important show in the last 20 years. Should be mandatory viewing for every journalism student.

Thanks Bill. Great work.

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
- Sir Winston Churchill

Shame and shame again for what all the "press" allowed itself to be suckered into . The "press" is our most trusted media for giving the nation facts and information so the citizens may decide if we are right in what we do as a nation , not just a few in an elite circle . And please never forget its the soldier that gives the press its freedom to do just that .

Welcome Back Bill now you can't leave again.

Bill has opened my eyes. I thought the Administration was just too aggressive in promoting WMDs in Iraq. Now I see that if 2 journalists knew the whole thing was fabricated, then it is obvious the CIA knew it was. If the CIA knew, then their boss knew - Bush/Cheney lied to America.
They knew an easy war would get them re-elected.
They need to be impeached for sending our sons, daughters, moms & fathers to die.