Why Embed? Explaining the Bush Administration’s Decision to Embed Reporters in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq

This article explores the sources of the Bush administration’s decision to embed reporters in military units to cover real-time, frontline combat for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In doing so, the authors have two primary goals. First, the administration’s embrace of the embedded reporter program is explained by reference to events transpiring during the war in Afghanistan, the communication technologies at the disposal of the media, and the policymaking context in which the U.S. Department of Defense determined its media-management strategy. Second, the structure of the embedded reporter program is delineated, and it is shown that the administration sought to provide domestic and international media from coalition and noncoalition countries with as much frontline access as possible.