Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jay Bookman points out that Vladimir Putin is learning about the MSM’s power the hard way — just as Israel did during the Second Lebanon War:
That’s because it got outfought on the battlefield on which most modern wars are now decided, in the media.
“I am surprised at how powerful the propaganda machine of the so-called West is,” Putin admitted, calling it “awesome” and “amazing.”
More specifically, Putin said he had been struck by the media’s silence when Georgia’s military started the war by trying to retake two rebellious provinces by force. . . .
The recent war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon offers another example of the media as the deciding battlefield.
By traditional standards, the war was an overwhelming Israeli victory. The Israeli Defense Force moved deep into Lebanon, inflicting many more casualties on Hezbollah than it took in return and destroying civilian and military infrastructure.
But as even Israeli officials acknowledge, they lost the war.
International opinion swung so hard against them that they were forced to abandon the fight before achieving their goals, leaving Hezbollah to claim victory.
Bookman hits the nail on the head. It doesn’t make a difference whether journalists are all over the frontlines or whether the fighting’s in an area that’s usually off the MSM’s radar. In wartime, military and political leaders have to worry like never before about what kind of “conventional wisdom” will be concocted by the media.
