Framing the six-day war : the role of the media and the U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East and Israel.

• Main Author: Mariani Yahya.
• Other Authors: Long Shi Ruey, Joey
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Military and naval science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/41808
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper examines the delivery of information through the American mass media prior to and after the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbours in 1967. The role of the media at that time, particularly in conjunction with the significantly more limited media availability compared to today, did create a significant impact on public opinion. In a strong manner, the image of the Orientalists created by Hollywood and other mass media eom the 1950s onwards, influenced the way of reporting on the Middle East conflict as well as the public opinion and ultimately the United States foreign policies. In that era, the United States government made use of the media to propagate its foreign policy in the Middle East region and hence media acted as a tool of public relations arm to the govenunent. During and aRer the Six-Day War, United States foreign policy keeps its status quo established by the Truman Doctrine in 1948. The relationship between Israel and the United States defined in the late 1940s, still continues in its core aspects until sixty years later. This dissertation will focus on the role of the media and the impact it has on the decision-makings of United States foreign policy. The complexity of the media's influence, particularly in one of the United States' key influence areas, is analyzed by showing the biasness of news angles presenting the decades-old conflict between Israel and its neighbours. It will start prior to the Six-Day War and its ramifications of the War to date.