Media Allowed Bush to Mislead the Public Into War

"Critics of the war ... blame the news media, asserting that they failed to challenge the administration aggressively enough as it made a shaky case for war. In an interview, Eric Alterman ... argued, 'Support for this war is in part a reflection that the media has allowed the Bush administration to get away with misleading the American people.' ... The strongest indictment of the press, many of these critics argue, are recent polls that suggest many Americans see Iraq as being responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bush administration's assertion of a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda was an important part of its case for military action against Saddam Hussein, but that link was a matter of some dispute. Still ... nearly half of Americans said they believed that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the Sept. 11 attacks" and "half said they believed at least some of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were Iraqis. None were."