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War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death

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This book opens with a disturbing prologue. The U.S. media has refused to give serious coverage to the Downing Street Memos on the grounds that they are "old news." In the initial pages of his book, and supplemented by the rest, Solomon makes a case that both outdoes and undoes that claim.

Solomon outdoes the "old news" claim by providing evidence that the Bush Administration's campaign to take the country to war in Iraq on the basis of lies was remarkably similar to President Lyndon Johnson's use of the media when he wanted to attack the Dominican Republic and Reagan's when he was inclined to invade Grenada, not to mention Bush the First's when Panama was his chosen victim. In fact, Solomon draws disturbing parallels to Johnson and Nixon's lies about Vietnam, Reagan's about Libya and Lebanon, Bush the First's about the First Gulf War and about Haiti, Clinton's about Haiti, Yugoslavia, the Sudan, Afghanistan, and Somalia, and Bush Jr.'s all too recent lies about Afghanistan. There just doesn't seem to be anything new about a president taking this country to war on the basis of laughably bad lies that anyone who was paying attention never fell for.

Solomon undoes the "old news" claim by documenting how hard the media has always made it for people to be paying proper attention. Not only are the Downing Street Memos not old news to most American media consumers, who've never been told what's in them, but the facts about many past wars are still not known to much of the country. The Washington Post has never apologized for or retracted the Jessica Lynch fictionalization, but that itself is nothing new. Solomon writes:

"In July 1998 I asked a number of Washington Post staffers whether the newspaper ever retracted its Gulf of Tonkin reporting. Finally, the trail led to someone with a definitive answer. 'I can assure you that there was never any retraction,' said Murrey Marder, a reporter who wrote much of the Washington Post's political coverage of Tonkin Gulf events in August 1964. He added: 'If you were making a retraction, you'd have to make a retraction of virtually everyone's entire coverage of the Vietnam War.'"

The Washington Post further distinguishes itself in Solomon's account of past media coverage of wars with this opinion it published when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out against the Vietnam War:

"King has diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people."

Damn liberal media!

Of course, many of the facts that Solomon employs in his critique of the media's role as megaphone for presidential warmongering falsehoods come from the media. But they come from passing stories in lower paragraphs on back pages, not from endlessly repeated headlines and sound bites. Solomon does not present a lot of new information in his book, but by gathering together key facts from extensive research he performs the reporting that he criticizes the media for failing to have done.

A good analogy for much of the U.S. media's coverage of war, I think, is the coverage Samuel Eliot Morison, the Harvard historian, gave to Columbus in a text book critiqued by Howard Zinn in the opening pages of "A People's History of the United States." Zinn writes:

"One can lie outright about the past. Or one can omit facts which might lead to unacceptable conclusions. Morison does neither. He refuses to lie about Columbus. He does not omit the story of mass murder; indeed he describes it with the harshest word one can use: genocide.

"But he does something else - he mentions the truth quickly and goes on to other things more important to him. Outright lying or quiet omission takes the risk of discovery which, when made, might arouse the reader to rebel against the writer. To state the facts, however, and then to bury them in a mass of other information is to say to the reader with a certain infectious calm: yes, mass murder took place, but it's not that important - it should way very little in our final judgments; it should affect very little what we do in the world....

"To emphasize the heroism of Columbus and his successors as navigators and discoverers, and to deemphasize their genocide, is not a technical necessity but an ideological choice."

Of course, there's plenty of lying outright in the US media's coverage of wars, but there's a lot more Morisonizing.

Solomon's book is not a chronology and does not have any plot that progresses from event to event. Nor is it organized in a predictable manner around an argument. In fact, it reads a little like a book written by someone who's used to writing 700-word columns. But that is, of course, something that Solomon does with a brilliance that is seldom surpassed. And, while there is something I prefer about his columns, this book doesn't fall far short of brilliant itself.

It's organized by a series of statements often made by our media pundits. These serve as chapter headings. If they strike you as false and damaging, this book will provide you with the ammunition to refute them. In that way, this is a resource book that can be regularly consulted. If any of the statements strike you as true, then you really must read this book. Here's a sampling from just the first five chapters:

1. America is a Fair and Noble Superpower
2. Our Leaders Will Do Everything They Can to Avoid War
3. Our Leaders Would Never Tell Us Outright Lies
4. This Guy Is a Modern-Day Hitler
5. This is About Human Rights

Over the years, Norman Solomon has distinguished himself as one of the pre-eminent analysts of the American media and political "culture." An everyman's scholar whose knowledge derives from both exhaustive research and first-hand experience, his insights are always cogent and honest. In "War Made Easy," Solomon dissects the time-proven slogans and propaganda techniques that have been used by Administration after Administration to--in effect--motivate the American people against themselves and their own best interests--not to mention those of citizens in many other nations. And Solomon "calls out" president after president for their "dupes" and backs up his castigations with cold, hard history. His analysis of the conjunction/collusion of the media and the body politic in this process is especially enlightening...and frightening. In short, this is a book that every American who cares about kin and country should read; and every citizen who sees beyond our borders simply must. At times scathing but never preachy, "War Made Easy" is a set of tough truths for tough times. And better still, it is written for us all: One doesn't need a master's degree in politics to understand Solomon's words. A fine book by a fine human being.

The media must take a longer and more informed look at itself. We the reader need to do the same. The facts are clearly presented and documented/verified. Solomon has provided us with facts; can we conscientiously make use of them? "War Made Easy" and many other volumes and articles which are noted in the book supply us with the information we need to become fair and objective about what is printed for others to read. The text opens us to an awareness that helps to serve the objectivity which is required from all, in all walks of life, given the disastrous situations which exist today. I encourage others to read this book and put our understanding to work in whatever field of activity we find ourselves. Norman Solomon's closing insight about conscience, yours and mine, needs to become a collective conscience.

Two quotes near the end of Norman Solomon's book, War Made Easy, explain well the situation the United States currently finds itself in. The first is by Voltaire, and reads: "Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit atrocities." The second, by infamous Nazi field marshal, Hermann Goering, reads: "...the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country." The content of this exceptional book exposes both presidents and media outlets as having a virtually incestuous relationship in perpetrating the incarnation of these two quotes. Solomon lets no one off the hook--not either political party, not so-called "liberal media," not the US American public. If, by the title, you are tempted to think this is a book written in blind rage against the current administration, you would be incorrect. Though Solomon is clearly not a fan of the current president, he shows in a very sober way the historical continuity between President Bush's practices, and those of previous presidents. Additionally, he documents clearly the striking similarities between media coverage of the invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq and those of Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, the Gulf War, and others. What makes this book somewhat unique, is that each chapter deals with a truism or myth that is pulled out of a virtual propaganda toolbox, used by the White House and amplified by the media, that creates a palatable picture of war, and why the U.S. must "stay the course." You will immediately recognize the title of every chapter, and I believe you will be impressed by how Solomon critiques each one. The only thing that pains me about this book is that there may be some who won't bother reading it. That would be a real tragedy.

Norman Soloman has made spent his career analyzing the media, and how the media frequently misrepresents facts and fails to report on important stories. In War Made Easy, he turns his attention to the War on Terror, and fully dissects current US policies. He conclusively demonstrates how the government spin has been the key to enabling our leaders to sell us a never-ending war and how they have used this to boost their popularity. The media has played along, I hope the sales of this book will be large enough to open many eyes around America.

I host the radio program "The Progressive Forum" on pacifica station kpft in houston. In doing the show, I read lots of books and interview lots of authors, and I must say that "War Made Easy" is one of the most important books I have seen in a long time. Norman Solomon's writing cuts through the lies that we have been fed to get us into one war after another. this book can be a very useful tool for understanding the messages we are getting from the government and from the mainstream media. Norman Solomon is always insightful, and this is some of his best work yet. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

We topple governments, devastate roads, bomb power plants, water supply, and anything else that breeds independence, all in the name of bringing democracy. It's not easy pretending to lead a beneficent Free World, while running a ruthless global empire. Perception management is needed. Solomon catalogues a number of control mechanisms, which are more like self-serving homilies. Thus, the story is told in chapter headings detailed by the text -- "America is a Fair and Noble Superpower", "They Are the Aggressors, Not Us", Opposing the War Means Siding with the Enemy", et al. The sum total amounts to a massive rationale allowing empire to intervene again and again under the guise of advancing democracy, while a befuddled American public stumbles through the maze of platitudes, wanting desperately to believe no matter what their eyes or ears tell them.

The book presents a highly readable account of forty years of imperial interventions and deceptions, and how these are retailed to an American public who must pay the price in blood and taxes. All the high-profile engagements are present, including some not so high-profile, particularly the neglected 1966 foray into the Dominican Republic whose reformist president Juan Bosch struck fear into the heart of Washington's imperial managers. A snippet of secret transcript reveals the true mind-set of President Johnson, contrary to the rosy rhetoric then being fed to the rest of us. (I love the way these guys talk when they think no one else is listening.)

The book is more a compilation of ironical fact than analytic discussion. More of the latter, I think, would have provided better insight. Still and all, the facts reveal a fascinating tale of political hypocricy and deception aided and abetted by a compliant corporate media. On the down side, the chapters follow in no particular order, while I get the impression that Solomon put the book together from previous writings. More importantly, a summational last chapter in place of the brief Afterword would have sharpened the focus and assembled the high points which otherwise tend to scatter. Nonetheless, the author remains one of the most astute and uncorrupted observers of the media scene, while this update of imperial spin provides useful rescue for those still trapped amidst the maze of popular platitudes.

Library Journal Reviews July 15, 2005:

Media critic Solomon (Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You ) looks at the pro-war propaganda generated by the U.S. government during military interventions, emphasizing the influence of the media upon public opinion. He begins in 1965, when President Johnson crafted public messages as he sent troops to the Dominican Republic. Solomon claims that LBJ's handling of this invasion established the prototype for a media agenda employed by subsequent presidents to create public approval for their actions. He finds several formulaic messages that help persuade the public to support military intervention. These include portraying America as a fair and noble superpower, whose honest leaders work hard to avoid war, and the enemy leader as an aggressive, [...]-like violator of human rights who will do much harm unless the United States intervenes. Solomon's timely analysis, which continues through the current war in Iraq, provides the public, analysts, and journalists with useful tips on how to evaluate the prewar messages of any administration, current or historical.

--
Harsh insight into how we make war
Los Angeles Times June 29, 2005 Wednesday

Does the unspooling Iraq saga fill you with a disquieting sense of deja vu? Feel like you've been there, done that, been lied to and spun in this manner somewhere else, at some other point in time? Well, that's because you have.

Norman Solomon, a longtime media critic, lays out the elaborate hustle in his new book, "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death." It's all there -- Vietnam, the invasions of Panama and Grenada, the first Gulf War and more. (Including a first chapter about the 1965 U.S. invasion of the Dominican Republic, an unfortunately labored and obscure choice to lead off an otherwise compelling read.)

The villains are the government and the media: the government because time and again it remorselessly falsifies the reality of war, and the media because major press and broadcast outlets can't seem to wriggle free from self-interest long enough to speak truth to power.

Solomon offers 16 brutally persuasive chapters, each centered on a perennial falsehood, such as "If This War Is Wrong, Congress Will Stop It," "This Is About Human Rights" and "This Is Not at All About Oil or Corporate Profits."

One insidious whopper -- that American war leaders always yearn for peace -- runs counter to such evidence as the Nixon tapes, in which the president, who publicly expressed concern about the Indochina carnage, is caught on the White House recording system discussing with Henry A. Kissinger an extension of the bombing to new targets in North Vietnam:

Nixon: "I still think we ought to take the [...] out.... Will that drown people?"

Kissinger: "About 200,000 people."

Nixon: "No, no, no.... I'd rather use the nuclear bomb.... I just want you to think big, Henry, for Christ's sakes."

The belief that the media will remain vigilant to government misconduct in times of war is belied by an internal MSNBC report cited by Solomon, which explains why Phil Donahue's show (with which Solomon was associated) was canceled shortly before the Iraq invasion. Keeping Donahue on the air, says one MSNBC executive, would "present a difficult public face for NBC in a time of war ... [and become] a home for the liberal antiwar agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity." Solomon also notes that less than 1% of the sources featured on CBS' "Evening News" during the Iraq War's first three weeks could be considered "antiwar."

For sheer chutzpah, nothing tops the story of U.S. troops during the 1989 invasion of Panama seizing a huge cache of dictator and former U.S. ally Manuel Noriega's cocaine. Well after the event, the military was forced to admit that the reported stash was actually tamales wrapped in banana leaves. This was followed by the military's claim that Noriega had used the stash for "unspeakable acts of witchcraft and voodoo."

Solomon is most outraged by what he sees as the utter disconnect between Americans and the true horror of wars carried out in their name and with their approval. He cites James Baldwin on denial, on "the [...] and expedient nature of the American innocence which has always been able to persuade itself that it does not know what it knows too well."

And Solomon adds, "Aren't we at least dimly aware that -- no matter how smooth and easy the news media and elected officials try to make it for us -- in faraway places there are people not so different than us who are being destroyed by what journalists and politicians glibly depict as necessary war?"

"War Made Easy" is largely an amalgam of material from others' books, speeches and articles. But Solomon is a formidable thinker and activist in his own right. He traveled with Sean Penn to Iraq shortly before the invasion, and one wishes he had shared more of his considerable experiences in the media trenches.

Solomon's voice, when he gives it full throat, is appropriately sardonic. Here he comments on a USA Today headline from June 2004, about the incoming Iraqi prime minister's support for the U.S.: "The banner headline was a classic of occupation puppetry and media gimmicky," Solomon writes, noting that Iyad Allawi was long close to the CIA but a virtual stranger to the Iraqi people. "All in all, by Washington's lights, the man was eminently qualified to be Iraq's 'new leader.' And his superb judgment was immediately apparent: 'New Leader Asks U.S. to Stay'! "

"War Made Easy" is a must-read for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee, or to arm themselves for the debates about Iraq that are still to come.

Solomon cites a 2003 Los Angeles Times article, in which top Pentagon officials "are studying the lessons of Iraq closely -- to ensure that the next U.S. takeover of a foreign country goes more smoothly." Says a top assistant to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld: "We'll get better as we do it more often."

Russ Baker [...] is a contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review and founder of a new nonprofit, the Real News Project, dedicated to investigative journalism.

It's hard to find significant fault with "War Made Easy," as it presents a sound progression of arguments debunking the progression of reasons presented by the Bush administration in the lead-up to the invasion of, and during the resulting occupation of, Iraq.

Norman Solomon tackles each assertion and declaration from the White House chapter by chapter. Starting off with a primer of U.S. history, including the past decade and more of U.S. policy in the Middle East -- which might cause a typical believer of typical high school history classes to question what was left out -- Solomon frames the arguments presented further down the line and is consistent within this context. Many of the arguments he presents were previously presented to the world and thousands of journalists; Sent out in real time by the non-profit Institute for Public Accuracy, of which Solomon is the Executive Director, these releases featured experts on international law, activists around the world, including the U.S. and Iraq, and others with relevant insight and experience, as events unfolded.

This book is a rehash of what is already known to the critical progressive mind with a fast hold on the news, though it may find its place with such a reader as a refresher or tool to present the shared knowledge coherently. While bound to incite a militaristic patriot, "War Made Easy" is a worthy volume from which to learn the criticisms and context of the Iraq war for someone coming of age, or just coming-to, in the context of current events. It is a good gift for progressives and anti-war activists to give to friends and family as the press catches up with points made months and years ago by critical observers.

I have heard Mr. Solomon, fairly often, on the radio so I'm not unbiased. He simplifies and "nails down" much that is obvious in showing how honesty seems to be no consideration in manipulating public opinion. Actually the spins do have a reference to honesty inasmuch as they are intended to look like unchallenged truth. The state of our nation saddens me but the book heartens me by knowing that it is one more beacon for critical thinking.