WHIG Develops "Smoking Gun/Mushroom Cloud" Systematic Fear Campaign

| Importance: 8/10 | Status: confirmed

In a pivotal White House Iraq Group (WHIG) meeting, chief Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson proposed the “smoking gun/mushroom cloud” metaphor to systematically exploit nuclear fears and generate public support for the Iraq War. This meeting exemplified the group’s sophisticated propaganda tactics, designed to escalate rhetoric about Iraq’s alleged threats and build momentum for invasion.

Key Actors

Michael Gerson Karl Rove Andrew Card Condoleezza Rice Karen Hughes I. Lewis Libby

Tags

whig fear-propaganda systematic-messaging crisis-exploitation iraq-war bush-administration

Sources (3)

Help Improve This Timeline

Found an error or have additional information? You can help improve this event.

✏️ Edit This Event ➕ Suggest New Event

Edit: Opens GitHub editor to submit corrections or improvements via pull request.
Suggest: Opens a GitHub issue to propose a new event for the timeline.