CNN invented 24-hour war coverage with this. Your doomscroll origin story.
An historic presentation by CNN documenting the lead up to and the beginning of the war in Iraq.
Production
CNN's war-as-entertainment prototype.
Editing
Breathless cable news pacing, unhinged.
Director
Bob Bahr
Bernard Shaw
Self
George H. W. Bush
Self (archive footage)
Barbara Bush
Self (archive footage)
Saddam Hussein
Self (archive footage)
Mikhail Gorbachev
Self (archive footage)
Adolf Hitler
Self (archive footage)
Bob Dole
Self (archive footage)
Ruhollah Khomeini
Self (archive footage)
James Baker III
Self (archive footage)
George W. Bush
Self (archive footage)
Willy Brandt
Self (archive footage)
Wolf Blitzer
Self (archive footage)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This broadcast trained a generation to consume war as content—commercial breaks and all.
The Gulf War was the first fully televised conflict, and this CNN special essentially beta-tested modern military propaganda.
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