Summer 2002.                   The drumbeat for war commences in louder earnest from June through August 2002, with the doctrine of preemption getting boosted by the highest office in the land. The spin allies in media are apprised of their talking points and rapidly fall in line; by the end of summer, the fall offensive – leading up to the congressional elections of 2002 – is fully ready to launch. Also in June 2002, “Operation Southern Focus” begins, with U.S. aircraft dropping over 600 bombs on Iraqi air defenses up until the beginning of the invasion of Iraq...   more »