Eric Boehler's new book Lapdogs has launched a debate on whether an honest and objective U.S. media could have stopped Bush from invading Iraq on the basis of lies.

In truth, Bush never could have ordered the invasion of Iraq -- never could have sold the idea at home -- if it weren't for the help he received from the MSM, and particularly the stamp of approval he received from so-called liberal media institutions such as the Washington Post, which in February of 2003 alone, editorialized in favor of war nine times.

Tristero disagrees:

I'm not entirely sure that Boehlert is, in fact, right. I remember 2002 and early 2003 quite well. This country had gone insane with fear after 9/11. Friends of mine, lifelong liberals, believed every word Bush said and were perfectly happy to believe that Saddam was somehow involved with 9/11. Had the press reported the truth, Bush would have demonized the press and invaded anyway, imo. Had Congress objected, Bush would have ignored them and invaded anyway. He made it quite clear in the spring/summer of 2002 that he believed he had the legal right to invade Iraq without consulting Congress; the resolution in the fall of 2002 was, from Bush's standpoint, simply redundant. And what the UN does is irrelevant.

Atrios triangulates:

My take is that there was probably only one man who could've stopped this war (aside from George Bush of course) and that man was Colin Powell.

Sure, Colin Powell could have stopped the war. Tenet could have too - Bush gave him a Medal of Freedom to thank him for not stopping the war. Rumsfeld could have stopped it, and Gen. Richard Myers or Gen. Tommy Franks could have. National Security Advisor Condi Rice could have stopped it. All they had to do was object firmly in private, and if they were ignored, they could have resigned in protest. Several diplomats did - including Ann Wright, who eventually lent her terrific skills to Cindy Sheehan's protest in Crawford and beyond.

But what about the media? Absolutely it could have stopped the Iraq War. Here's all it needed to do:

1. Report the facts
2. Demand the evidence 
3. Give equal time to opposing views
4. Report on the massive protests
5. Ask about the costs
6. Ask about Bush's true motives