WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION by Shelden Rampton & John Stauber

"The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq"

This is one of my trade-sized paperbacks that I first finished on Thanksgiving Day, Th 11/27/03, and this was a 'bathroom read' from Mo 6/27/17 through Mo 7/17/17.

 "Information warriors and perception managers" - This was my favorite phrase in the book! It all comes back to this. There is no search for Truth, but only how it can be subjectively portrayed.

An observation on the comments page at amazon-

"The facts and observations in this book paint a chilling picture of a Whitehouse that functions almost exclusively as the propaganda wing of the exclusive Carlyle Group by manufacturing public opinion, manufacturing a state of endless war (thus creating a market for the Carlyle Group's principle product: arms) and making legal and acceptable activities that would otherwise be unthinkable.
This book helps cut through the rhetoric and makes it clear that we are no longer in a situation that can be defined as Republicans vs. Democrats, or Conservative vs. Liberal values. What is made clear is that the highest offices in our country have been hijacked by criminals, ideological extremists and terrorists. It's a shame that most Republicans will dismiss this as so much "liberal propaganda"; it's their party that's been hijacked and if they ever face the truth, I suspect they'll be mighty cheesed off."


Office of Strategic Influence was headed by General Simon P. Worden

https://www.google.com/search?q=General+Simon+P.+Worden+office+of+stategic+influence&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US751&oq=General+Simon+P.+Worden+office+of+stategic+influence&aqs=chrome..69i57.8439j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=General+Simon+P.+Worden+office+of+strategic+influence

Center For Media and Democracy- this is a watchdog group of progressives out of Madison, Wisconsin.

Carlyle Group- financial services, leveraged buyouts, multinational private equity. George Bush Sr. was a leader of this group.

After reading this book it is impossible to fully believe in almost anything. There are so many 'influence peddling' groups that are designed to distort reality that I think the average citizen can never really be informed.

From the book's page on amazon-

"Weapons of Mass Deception reveals:
How the Iraq war was sold to the American public through professional P.R. strategies.
"The First Casualty": Lies that were told related to the Iraq war.
Euphemisms and jargon related to the Iraq war, e.g. "shock and awe," "Operation Iraqi Freedom," "axis of evil," "coalition of the willing," etc.
"War as Opportunity": How the war on terrorism and the war on Iraq have been used as marketing hooks to sell products and policies that have nothing to do with fighting terrorism.
"Brand America": The efforts of Charlotte Beers and other U.S. propaganda campaigns designed to win hearts overseas.
"The Mass Media as Propaganda Vehicle": How news coverage followed Washington's lead and language.
The book includes a glossary — "Propaganda: A User's Guide" — and resources to help Americans sort through the deceptions to see the strings behind Washington's campaign to sell the Iraq war to the public."