Iraq war's cost: Loss of U.S. power, prestige and influence

[babylonsister]

Iraq war's cost: Loss of U.S. power, prestige and influence
By Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers

* Posted on Saturday, March 15, 2008




WASHINGTON — It was a decision that only President Bush had the power to make: At about 9 a.m. on March 19, 2003, in the Situation Room in the basement of the West Wing of the White House, he gave the "execute order" to begin Operation Iraqi Freedom, the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Now, five years later, the consequences of that act will soon be beyond Bush's grasp. In 10 months, they'll land on the desk of his successor.

Thanks in part to the Iraq war, the next U.S. president — Republican or Democrat, black or white, man or woman — will take office with America's power, prestige and popularity in decline, according to bipartisan reports, polls and foreign observers.
Coming on Monday: Daily life in Baghdad.

"The winner of the 2008 elections will command U.S. forces still at war in Iraq, Afghanistan and against elusive terrorists with a deadly reach. The U.S. economy will remain burdened. ... America's moral leadership and decision-making competence will continue to be questioned," begins a study of foreign-policy choices for the next president, which a Georgetown University task force released last month.

"Restored respect will come only with fresh demonstrations of competence," the study said.

The numbers don't inspire confidence: Oil prices are at an all-time high, the dollar at new lows against the euro. Surveys find the United States' popularity and respect slipping in every part of the globe except Africa. A poll of 3,400 active and retired U.S. military officers by Foreign Policy magazine found that 88 percent agreed with the statement that "The war in Iraq has stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin."

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/30413.html

[Breeze54]

1. I'm watching PBS - Bill Moyers Journal - "Buying the War" right now

"Buying the War" - Bill Moyers Journal

http://www.wgbh.org/schedules/program-info?program_id=3274425&episode_id=3274430

In the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, the US government's claims about weapons of mass destruction and terrorist ties to Saddam Hussein went mostly unchallenged by the media. Four years after "shock and awe," how the government sold the war has been much examined, but a big question remains: how and why did the press buy it?



Bill Moyers and his team piece together the reporting that shows how the media were complicit in shaping public opinion toward the war, and ask what has happened to the press's role as skeptical "watchdog" over government power. The program features the work of some journalists who didn't take the government's word at face value, including the team of reporters at Knight Ridder news service whose reporting turned up evidence at odds with the official view of reality. Buying the War includes interviews with Dan Rather, formerly of CBS; Tim Russert of NBC's Meet the Press; Bob Simon of CBS's 60 Minutes; Walter Isaacson, former president of CNN; and John Walcott, Jonathan Landay, and Warren Strobel of Knight Ridder newspapers, which was acquired by the McClatchy Co. in 2006.


WGBH 2/44

Sun, March 16, 11am, WGBH 44

BUYING THE WAR: Watch the Show Online http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html

:kick: & Recommended

[babylonsister]

2. That's one of Moyers' better programs, though they're all good.

Shows how duped journalists were and how they duped us. But they're still doing it, and there's simply no excuse now except kowtowing to their corporate goons who reimburse them for turning the other cheek.

[Breeze54]

3. Yup except McClatchy Co. newpapers DID catch the lies!

;) But no one was paying attention to their stories.

[spanone]

4. the press bought it because the feds own their licenses...this is not a free press

[Breeze54]

6. If you watch Moyer's 'the Press' were just to stupid to add up the facts.

with the exception of the McClatchy Co. news reporters who knew it didn't add up and reported about it.

[uppityperson]

5. k&r for graphics with thanks

[dailykoff]

7. K&R

What a waste, except for Dumbya's pals.