September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It didn't take long to determine who was behind the attack, and a call for revenge spread across the nation. Citizens, driven by a wave of patriotism, enlisted for military service, and the United States found resounding international support for its efforts in the war on terrorism. There was little opposition to the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad waned about a year and a half later, as Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration's broader ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent various stories and in some cases would silence the truth where it would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war in which they were determined to engage. Bush had been eager to go to war with Iraq from the moment he took office, and the administration's focus was primarily on Iraq even before that. the war in Afghanistan had begun. In Where Men Win Glory, the text reveals that “in November 2001, President Bush and Vice President Cheney instructed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to secretly create a detailed plan for the invasion of Iraq” (Krakauer 192). Although it is almost unthinkable, the United States was attacked just this month by al-Qaeda. The government should have focused on capturing Osama Bin Laden and dissolving the terrorist group al-Qaeda. Instead, they were drawing up plans to invade Iraq. Krakauer provides further evidence of this by stating that "the p...... half of the document ......aq was transformed into an inspirational message that served instead to support the nation's foreign policy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" (Luo 18). An article from USNews & World Report supports this concept. The report suggests that “it is most likely no coincidence that both the Lynch and Tillman incidents occurred during periods when bad news dominated coverage” (Whitelaw 39). The toppling of the Firdos statue also helped ignite support for the war effort, leading people to believe that the invasion had been a success and that the war was almost over. Even during this organized celebration, as editors rushed to get their reporters to the scene, some journalists were unable to make it to the area due to dangerous conditions and ongoing fighting. As reported in THE TOPPLING, "[the journalist] could not report on the end of the war, because the war was not over" (Mass).