The free press of the world fought to be recognized as the guardian of truth and as a pillar of good governance. It cannot now deny culpability and reject criticism, or avoid the growing sentiment that it as with all aspects of public life requires constant review, and reform. It is evident from Brock s vital and eminently readable book that for freedom to perish, all it takes is for the media to exempt itself from its ethical responsibility toward impartiality. If Watergate was the modern starting point for agenda-based reporting, then the Balkan wars showed that, unchecked, the media could, without accountability, bring about the downfall of nations. The resultant emergence of terrorist coordinating centers in the Balkans, intimately involved in the 9/11, Madrid, and London attacks, can be laid directly at the door of the editors who allowed bias to rule their coverage of the Balkan wars.

We have yet to see the full consequences of the media s shameful unprofessionalism in the Balkan wars of the 1990s. But to start to remedy the problem it is essential that Brock s Media Cleansing: Dirty Reporting be widely read, and its message taken to heart. Peter Brock s book should be the basis for both Congressional and independent media enquiries. --Gregory R. Copley, Editor Defense & Foreign Affairs

(General) Lewis MacKenzie expected journalists to call him frequently in Etobicoke, but what he did not expect were the kinds of questions they asked. What is interesting is that most of the calls now deal more with: "Could you tell us again what happened on such and such a date because we are taking another look at the way we covered it in our reporting." My message to them when they start wallowing in their anguish is. "Do not feel too guilty about all of this because you only reported what you saw, and what you saw was only 150 meters on either side of the Sarajevo Holiday Inn." --Lewis MacKenzie, Major General (retd) UNPROFOR

Peter Brock s devastating portrayal of the role played by western journalists in distorting the truth about what was really happening during the break up of Yugoslavia is a major accomplishment. The book underlines the terrible power of the media in influencing governments to make unwise policy decisions affecting the very course of history. It also exposes the close affinity that exists between media and government. Both are capable of telling lies and both are unwilling to admit mistakes. This is a must read book. It is a sad and shameful story but one that should be mandatory reading by every politician and by every practicing and aspiring journalist. --James Bissett, Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia (1990-1992). --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.