1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910464085903321

Autore

Bonn Scott A. <1957->

Titolo

Mass deception [[electronic resource] ] : moral panic and the U.S. war on Iraq / / Scott A. Bonn

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick, NJ, : Rutgers University Press, c2010

ISBN

1-283-38319-5

9786613383198

0-8135-4996-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (209 p.)

Collana

Critical issues in crime and society

Altri autori (Persone)

WelchMichael

Disciplina

956.7044/31

Soggetti

Iraq War, 2003-2011 - Deception

Iraq War, 2003-2011 - Causes

Deception - Political aspects - United States

Rhetoric - Political aspects - United States

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Chapter 1. George W. Bush and the Drums of War -- Chapter 2. Why Do Many in Society Drink the Kool-Aid Served in a Moral Panic? -- Chapter 3. Empirical Evidence of an Elite-Engineered Moral Panic over Iraq -- Chapter 4. How the Bush Administration Sold the Iraq War to the U.S. Public -- Chapter 5. The Power Elite, State Crime, and War Crime -- Chapter 6. The Higher Immorality and Crimes of the Bush Administration -- Chapter 7. What Are the Lessons of the Iraq War? -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author

Sommario/riassunto

The attacks of 9/11 led to a war on Iraq, although there was neither tangible evidence that the nation's leader, Saddam Hussein, was linked to Osama bin Laden nor proof of weapons of mass destruction. Why, then, did the Iraq war garner so much acceptance in the United States during its primary stages? Mass Deception argues that the George W. Bush administration manufactured public support for the war on Iraq. Scott A. Bonn introduces a unique, integrated, and interdisciplinary theory called "critical communication" to explain how and why political



elites and the news media periodically create public panics that benefit both parties. Using quantitative analysis of public opinion polls and presidential rhetoric pre- and post-9/11 in the news media, Bonn applies the moral panic concept to the Iraq war. He critiques the war and occupation of Iraq as violations of domestic and international law. Finally, Mass Deception connects propaganda and distortion efforts by the Bush administration to more general theories of elite deviance and state crime.