The REAL Sory of the War in Iraq
Wednesday, January 19th, 2005A column written by LTC Tim Ryan really hits home, and reveals all of the events that are happening in Iraq that the Main Stream Media isn’t telling you:
More recently, a major news agency’s website lead read: “Suicide Bomber Kills Six in Baghdad” and “Seven Marines Die in Iraq Clashes.” True, yes. Comprehensive, no. Did the author of this article bother to mention that Coalition troops killed 50 or so terrorists while incurring those seven losses? Of course not. Nor was there any mention about the substantial progress these offensive operations continue to achieve in defeating the insurgents. Unfortunately, this sort of incomplete reporting has become the norm for the media, whose poor job of presenting a complete picture of what is going on in Iraq borders on being criminal.
Much of the problem is about perspective, putting things in scale and balance. What if domestic news outlets continually fed American readers headlines like: “Bloody Week on U.S. Highways: Some 700 Killed,” or “More Than 900 Americans Die Weekly from Obesity-Related Diseases”? Both of these headlines might be true statistically, but do they really represent accurate pictures of the situations? What if you combined all of the negatives to be found in the state of Texas and used them as an indicator of the quality of life for all Texans? Imagine the headlines: “Anti-law Enforcement Elements Spread Robbery, Rape and Murder through Texas Cities.” For all intents and purposes, this statement is true for any day of any year in any state. True — yes, accurate — yes, but in context with the greater good taking place — no! After a year or two of headlines like these, more than a few folks back in Texas and the rest of the U.S. probably would be ready to jump off of a building and end it all. So, imagine being an American in Iraq right now.
It is obvious that few in the MSM have mentally progressed beyond Viet Nam. They seem to revel in comparing Iraq with Viet Nam, looking for any little thing that might make it appear that they are similar. In fact, Iraq is very different than Viet Nam. In Viet Nam, we had a President who so micromanaged the military that it made it impossible for them to do anything but lose. In Iraq, we have a President who has placed experienced, competent people in positions of leadership and then lets them do their job. About the only similarity between Viet Nam and Iraq is that the MSM is practically cheering for the enemies of the United States to win the war and show the rest of the world how evil and horrible we are.
I have never been in the military due to my diabetes, poor eyesight and now dialysis. There is no way I can know what it feels like to go into a war and face people who will stop at nothing to kill you. However, I do know that those of us who are left behind need to do anything and everything possible to make sure that soldiers who are fighting to protect us know that they are supported, appreciated, and not taken advantage of. This includes members of the MSM, whose job it is to make sure that all sides of a story are presented, not just the sides that reflect poorly on the United States. Sadly, the MSM is grossly negligent in their duty to inform Americans about all that is happening in Iraq. Little wonder that more and more people are turning to alternative media sources and Fox News Channel for their information.
You need to read the entire column. Then, you need to start asking questions of the MSM about their one-sided coverage of Iraq. They will not change anything unless they are held accountable.
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