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118 Pol. Sci. Q. 569 (2003-2004)
Misperceptions, the Media, and the Iraq War

handle is hein.journals/pclscceqry118 and id is 569 raw text is: Misperceptions, the Media, and the Iraq War STEVEN KULL CLAY RAMSAY EVAN LEWIS The Iraq war and its aftermath have raised compelling questions about the capacity of the executive branch to elicit public consent for the use of military force and about the role the media plays in this process. From the outset, the Bush administration was faced with unique challenges in its effort to legitimate its decision to go to war. Because the war was not prompted by an overt act against the United States or its interests, and was not approved by the UN Security Council, the Bush administration argued that the war was neces- sary on the basis of a potential threat. Because the evidence for this threat was not fully manifest, the Bush administration led the public to believe that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and providing substantial support to the al Qaeda terrorist group. The challenge for the administration was later intensified when the United States occupied Iraq and was unable to find the expected corroborating evidence. From the outset the public was sympathetic to the idea of removing Saddam Hussein, though only a small minority of Americans was ready to go to war with Iraq without UN Security Council approval.' The majority was inclined to believe that Iraq had a WMD program and was supporting al Qaeda. However, 'Asked in a Chicago Council on Foreign Relations poll in June 2002 about their position on invad- ing Iraq, 65 percent said the United States should only invade Iraq with UN approval and the support of its allies; 20 percent said the US should invade Iraq even if we have to go it alone; and 13 percent said the US should not invade Iraq. STEVEN KULL is the director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), a joint pro- gram of the Center on Policy Attitudes and Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland of the School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland. CLAY RAMSAY is the director of research at PIPA. EVAN LEWIS is a research associate at PIPA. Political Science Quarterly Volume 118 Number 4 2003-04 569

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