How corrupt the media?

[Undertoad]

Why the Bush admin. didn't make the humanity case: well now that I think about it, they DID -- the case just didn't "take".

They didn't press it and make it the major point for war, and the reason they didn't do that, I think, is that it's generally a good idea to use only as much political capital as you have to.

There are worse hellholes on this earth and if humanity is the major reason to go, there were several places we should have gone to before Iraq. But the real case for war is a very complex mix of security, needs, interests, international relations, etc. as well as cases that HAVE to remain hidden. Bush could NOT go on TV and say "We need to turn Iraq into a successful democracy because it will probably destabilize Syria and Saudi Arabia, and we can't do that any other way without screwing up the oil market and hosing the whole world for a decade." (I don't know how much that point really sways the case, but you get the idea)