Part 6/11:
To garner public support for the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration engaged in a calculated media campaign. Throughout early 2002, rhetoric surrounding Iraq morphed into increasingly alarming declarations about Hussein’s WMD capacity. Key figures, including Dick Cheney, asserted confidently that Iraq was amassing dangerous arms, manipulating public sentiment by invoking fear.
The State of the Union Address of January 2002 saw Bush labeling Iraq as part of an "Axis of Evil," further solidifying the U.S.’s narrative that intervention was not merely an option but a national imperative. This emphasis on fear and threat played into the hands of the administration, which understood that public opinion could be swayed with a well-orchestrated presentation of 'facts'—or often, fabrications.