Tough Sell
Fighting the Media War in Iraq
by Tom Basile
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Pub Date May 01 2017 | Archive Date Jun 30 2017
University of Nebraska Press | Potomac Books
Description
The U.S.-led coalition wasn’t merely engaged in a fight to build a more tolerant, participatory society against incredible odds. It was also in a constant clash with forces that influenced public perception about the mission. During those difficult years, it became clear that warfare was now, more than ever, a blend of policy, politics, and the business of journalism.
Basile critiques the media’s reporting and assesses the Bush administration’s home-front communications strategy to argue that if policymakers fail to effectively articulate their strategy, manage their message, and counter misinformation, they will find themselves unable to execute that policy. That, Basile argues, places the United States at great risk. Tough Sell blends Basile’s personal story with lessons from the media war in Iraq that can improve our ability to communicate about and prosecute the War on Terror.
Advance Praise
“This fair, honest, and intensely personal story should inform journalists, policymakers, and the public as we make tough decisions in the fight against ISIS.”—Dr. Bob Arnot, New York Times bestselling author and former NBC News foreign correspondent
“Tough Sell is a must-read for students of conflict, practitioners of war, and a public eager to understand what is really at stake as we continue forward in a multidecade struggle against radical Islamic terror.”—Gary Berntsen, former senior CIA operations officer and station chief and the New York Times bestselling author of Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda
“This candid and engrossing first-person account of communications and media relations in the early days of the occupation in Iraq is full of lessons for ongoing conflicts today.”—Max Angerholzer III, president and CEO, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress
“It’s the war in Iraq like you’ve never seen it before. A must-read for truth seekers about the courage, progress, and challenges we faced, and still do, to prevent media bias from dictating our foreign policy.”—Jerry Doyle, nationally syndicated radio host and author of Have You Seen My Country Lately? America’s Wake-Up Call
“Tough Sell gives readers his unique insight into forging the delicate balance between winning wars and informing the public about realities on the ground in foreign conflicts. . . . Basile’s perspective will become a classic and help readers understand the dangerous politicizing of foreign policy coverage by today’s media. It is an easy and necessary read that uses media coverage of the Iraq war to help Americans select better sources of information and make their own judgments about critical policy issues.”—Walid Phares, author of The Lost Spring: U.S. Policy in the Middle East and Catastrophes to Avoid and Fox News national security and foreign policy contributor
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781612349008 |
| PRICE | $32.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 320 |
Featured Reviews
Librarian 391714
In Tough Sell, Basile promises to show the nitty-gritty of post-conflict communications and media relations of the Iraq War that is often times so bizarre that it seems implausible and wow, does he deliver!
As someone who remains far more pacifist than anything else no matter what political climate I find myself in, I think the observations and revelations that Basile makes in Tough Sell is extremely important. Society has to remain actively engaged at all times since the governments and media will constantly try to sell and sustain policy wherever they see a need to accomplish whatever goals they currently desire.
I find a lot of Basile's narrative to be full of propaganda and bias toward his own personal experiences but having a completely different perspective than him politically, I find this useful in challenging my own thought and belief structure.
Stefan F, Reviewer
An interesting book. I've been reading about the Bush administration and its fateful decision to shift focus from Afghanistan to Iraq ever since it happened. Most recently, I finished Robert Drapers excellent, exhaustive "To Start A War" (possibly the best book about the Bush administration's foreign policy available).
In "Tough Sell", Basile offers a first-person account of communications and media relations in the early days of the occupation in Iraq. It's an important account, too, showing readers how decisions were (and are) made in "selling" a conflict and foreign policy.
Regardless of where you stand on America's invasion of Iraq, this book contains some interesting insight and information.
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