The American public relies on the media to keep them apprised of important events and developments around the world. Through story selection and reporting practices, the media has great influence over public opinion, which in turn drives government policy in some areas. It is vital that the military understand how media methods drive public opinion so that these methods can be used to a strategic advantage and US national policy is not adversely affected by isolated trigger incidents such as the Abu Ghraib incident of 2004 (Bly, 2002). The impact of such events can be used by our enemies to turn a relatively minor incident into a strategic defeat.

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