How To Start A War And Get Away With It

Twenty years ago the U.S. began its invasion of Iraq. What came next is a story well tread— a bloody, brutal and senseless war— but what lead up to the invasion deserves just as much scrutiny. Americans had come to believe the target for their anger and grief over 9/11, the people who’d done it and the means of perpetuating more harm against the U.S. were in Iraq, all beliefs that were later revealed to be baseless. But anger alone didn’t spur America to go to war, and it wasn’t the only thing that blinded Americans to the truth. Over the course of 18 months, the U.S. news media literally helped make the case for the country to go to war with spurious claims, dubious sources and an unquestioning deference to government talking points. Now 20 years later, Sana Saeed, in the first episode of Backspace’s second season, investigates the worst warmongering in the history of U.S. media (that makes yellow journalism look pale in comparison) and traces the line from the past to where the worst offenders, in government and media, are today. Subscribe for more videos: Follow us on Instagram: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: