About The Book

Have you wondered:

How George W. Bush was able to convince the U.S and its allies to go to war under false pretenses?

How members of the Bush administration can say that an increase in terrorist attacks worldwide is a sign that the U.S. is winning the war on terror and that terrorists are "running scared"? How the American media can allow such an illogical explanation to be repeated without asking for clarification?

Why some simple questions about the 9/11 attacks have not been answered or why some relevant questions about that day have not been asked?

How the debate after 9/11 shifted from Afghanistan and al Qaeda to Iraq and Saddam Hussein?

How major laws (such as provisions of the Patriot Act II) were passed without public notice or media attention?

Why there remains little accountability � and even less public anger � for an administration that started what appears to be an unjust war that left thousands of American soldiers dead, two countries in shambles and thousands of civilians dead, injured or homeless?

Why there is little media coverage in the U.S. of recent revelations that the Bush administration was determined to invade Iraq and �intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy?�

Why the American media ran dozens of stories about the �Runaway Bride� and Michael Jackson child molestation trial but ignored the �Downing Street Memo� story for at least five weeks?

Why members of the media continue to allow themselves to be bullied by the administration and cower rather than fight?

If so, No Questions Asked is a book you will want to read. The book takes a hard look at the American media and points out glaring errors in judgement. Journalists claim they are being tough on the president when they ask a question. Being tough on a president does not mean asking a question � it means asking follow-up questions and persistently searching for answers.

No Questions Asked takes a look at media coverage inside the U.S. and outside of it from the Sept. 11 attacks through the 2004 presidential elections. The focus is not on the Bush administration and its policies, but the American media and the choices journalists made in the years following the 9/11 attacks.

I believe the press has a responsibility to inform the public and the public has a responsibility to hold members of the press accountable when they do not do their jobs. The Fourth Estate is an important part of the checks and balances system in America. Without it the government rules without fear of criticism or public accountability.

In this book I present examples of how the American media failed and some explanations why.

I had several goals when writing this book. I wanted to help the public recognize when the whole story was not being told and to know what questions to ask. I wanted to chronicle news coverage in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks through the 2004 presidential elections because in order to prevent history from repeating itself, you have to have a clear understanding of what happened. I tried to present an accurate picture of media coverage (albeit a critical one), so the American public could understand where the process went wrong and perhaps recognize when it occurs again. (Here's a hint: If Iranian or Syrian or any county's defectors begin appearing in news stories with tales of horror about the government and its nuclear program, pause for reflection.)

And lastly, I wanted to highlight the errors of those in the profession who should have known better. It is easy for journalists to blame corporate conglomerates, a lack of public interest and group think for their decisions to skew the news after the 9/11 attacks. But make no mistake about it, members of the media made choices and the American public has suffered because of those choices. They deserve to be held accountable. If they are not forced to take responsibility, then they will continue to do a haphazard job reporting the news.

I spent more than a year studying the news in the U.S. and abroad. The book is the result of 100s of hours of research in Lexis Nexis and foreign media. I have tried my best to remain focused and impartial in my writing. This book is not about the Bush administration, but about the American media and its failures. No Questions Asked is about how one of the checks in the system failed and what it meant in terms of public policy and public understanding.