It’s hard to believe now, but 72% of Americans approved of the Iraq War at the time of the invasion.

The propaganda was powerful across the aisle — at the time of the invasion, 69% of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was “personally involved” in the 9/11 attacks. The war effort’s chief pamphleteer, the New York Times, used every ounce of its prestige to rally the educated set by reporting unsubstantiated tripe about a supposed stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, Fox News, led by prime-time hosts Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, shored up the right flank by conflating support for the troops with support for the mission. This simple tactic, punctuated by flag lapel pins and glossy flag graphics waving in the background of their telecasts, effectively bludgeoned war skeptics. In February and March of 2003, public skepticism of the Iraq War was akin to social suicide. Any form of dissent, we were told, “emboldened the terrorists” and made America vulnerable to another terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11.

The same spirit of censorship and social coercion took hold 17 years later with the onset of COVID-19.

Similarly to 9/11, the pandemic frightened the public into compliance, which enabled powerful forces within the government and media to advance a predetermined agenda without resistance. Based on the authority of supposed “experts,” narratives were crafted in both instances that prohibited the free and open exchange of ideas. Assumptions that would eventually be proven false were taken as gospel and defended with religious zealotry.

But in the aftermath of both these events, the skeptics who were silenced were vindicated by the facts, while the supposed “experts,” from The Bulwark’s bloodthirstiest neocon Bill Kristol to the now disgraced Dr. Anthony Fauci, were allowed to slink away without receiving anything near just due.

Justifiably, the Iraq War is now commonly understood as the worst foreign policy decision in American history, bar none. It was based on lies and manipulation, executed shamefully , and as a result, America lost excess lives, treasure, and moral authority. The fact that Iraq War boosters such as Kristol are still allowed access to the national conversation as representatives of major media companies is shameful. It’s beyond words, really.

In the case of COVID-19, the skeptics who were silenced continue to be vindicated by the minute. It is urgent to enumerate the ways in which our “experts” failed the American public in order to cut through the thick fog laid by the propagandists in the initial aftermath.

For instance, despite years of treating masking skeptics as subhuman, masking as a public health policy objectively did not work .

The Cochrane Review, the world’s most esteemed meta-study, found that wearing a medical or surgical mask “probably makes little or no difference” in stopping the spread of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. Newly released research from St. George’s Hospital in London confirm Cochrane’s findings. Masking as public health policy is now only the preferred solution of those who refuse to "follow the science."

In addition, despite assurances from our “experts” to the opposite, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines did not “stop the spread ” of the virus, were not as effective as advertised , and were not as safe .

Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now attempting to gaslight the world by claiming that he never forced anyone to get vaccinated . These, of course, are the same people who harangued the public about the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” and attempted to enforce the carrying of vaccination cards in order to gain entry into restaurants and concert venues. These cards, like the Bush-era color-coded, terror threat level system before it, are now merely relics of failed despotism.

And finally, despite years of bullying individuals who offered competing views and banning them on social media, it has become increasingly clear that COVID-19 was the product of a biosafety event in Wuhan, China , otherwise known as a “lab leak.”

In February, the Department of Energy concluded that COVID-19 came from a lab, joining the FBI in holding this assertion. Ever thick, the liberal commentariat disparaged the department by questioning what business Energy has waded into such matters. But as it turns out, the Energy Department is home to perhaps the most elite and secretive unit in government known as “Z Division ” which is responsible for, among other things, monitoring foreign weapons of mass destruction programs.

The bipartisan “expert” class that got everything wrong in regard to the Iraq War and COVID-19 — and who successfully suppressed dissent — deserve only ridicule for their efforts. In a just world, they would be driven out of power wherever they still hold it and never taken seriously again.

The damage wrought by their deceit and incompetence must never be forgotten. Indeed, it should be recounted regularly so that ordinary Americans never again come under the thumb of opportunists who wait in the wings for a crisis to exploit.

Peter Laffin is a contributor at the Washington Examiner and the founder of Crush the College Essay. His work has also appeared in RealClearPolitics, the Catholic Thing, the National Catholic Register, and the American Spectator.