Full Description
The first comprehensive study of the contentious issue of the public's right to know in time of war or limited conflict. The book traces the uneasy relations between the military and a generally unprepared and gullible media, from the Crimea to the present day. It shows how the advent of nuclear warfare has outlawed the nationalistic wars of survival of the past, and freed the citizen from his age-old obligations in time of war, able to make up his or her own mind on the merits of the situation. It is here that the battle lies, in the struggle for public opinion as a necessary precursor to war. This book details how the military discovered the secret of media and public manipulation in the Falklands, tested it in Grenada, and refined it in Panama before deploying it in all its glory during the Gulf. This book is essential reading for every soldier and journalist, or any student of military history as it points the way to the future.
Contents
Acknowledgements - The Changed Nature of War and Duties of the Citizen in Time of War - The Evolution of the Conflict between the Media and the Military - Post-War Self-Determination: The Unheeded Warning - Northern Ireland: A Classic Democratic Dilemma - Vietnam: Deception on a National Scale - The Falklands Conflict: A Policy of Media Manipulation - Grenada: An Emerging Pattern of Control - Panama: A Deliberate Policy of Exclusion - The Gulf Conflict: The Ascendancy of the Military - The Media and United Nations Peace-Keeping - Somalia: The Uninvited Intervention - Cambodia: The War the Media Forgot - Haiti: A Domestically-Driven Intervention - Conclusion: An Uncertain Future - Notes and References - Select Bibliography - Index
