[NeonKnight]

Not necessary. I think you agree it was a stupid thing to do. Probably Bush I's biggest mistake. I actually consider him one of the great Presidents in the last half century. The press didn't like him and he wasn't very photogenic, but he built the largest coalition this planet has ever seen...and for a worthy cause. GHWB was a good man.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

RE: Not necessary

I want to. Googling is the only exercise I get. :^)

The CNN factor was the conventional assumption that "emotive TV coverage of the humanitarian disaster in Somalia in late summer and early fall 1992 was pivotal in forcing President Bush to approve a U.S. involvement." But not everyone agreed.

"Humanitarian Crises and U.S. Foreign Policy: Somalia and the CNN Effect Reconsidered," by Steve Livingston and Todd Eachus, Political Communication, Vol. 12 (1995): pp. 413 -- 429. See also "The CNN Effect: How Much Influence Does the 24-Hour News Network Really Have on Foreign Policy," by Warren P. Strobel, American Journalism Review, May 1996, pp. 32 -- 37. Strobel confirms Gowing's finding (see note 4) and details what he calls the "five myths" of the CNN effect and its claimed impact on the making of foreign policy.