 |
Posted on 07/07/2003 2:39:34 PM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
|
|
By focusing so much on day by day problems in Iraq, former Army officer Ralph Peters argued in a New York Post op-ed on Tuesday, the media are obscuring America's overall success. Tuesday night's network newscasts illustrated Peters' point as all led with the latest incidents of violence and contrasted them with the Bush administration's “insistence” that conditions are improving in Iraq.
“It was another violent day on the streets of Iraq for U.S. troops and Iraqis alike,” warned CBS Evening News anchor John Roberts. “It has been another dangerous and bloody day for American forces in Iraq,” echoed NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw.
CNN's Aaron Brown conceded that “it is undoubtedly true that the reporting of these attacks are changing the country's view of the war.”
In his July 1 op-ed Peters, who has appeared on FNC's Special Report with Brit Hume, proposed:
“A relatively small number of foreseeable attacks...have been blown wildly out of proportion.
“Our troops are doing remarkably well -- but the headlines make it sound like a disaster. Last weekend, almost as many Americans died in a residential balcony collapse in Chicago as have been killed by hostile fire in 'postwar' Iraq.
“As a former soldier, I don't discount any American casualties as unimportant. But the fact is that, despite real errors and miscues, reconstruction efforts in Iraq are going surprisingly well...”
Matching Peters' take on the media's highlighting of the latest violence, ABC's Peter Jennings announced on Tuesday night: “On World News Tonight, the Bush administration says conditions in Iraq are improving. But today a mosque was damaged and American soldiers wounded.”
CBS anchor John Roberts contrasted the violence with Bush administration claims: “It was another violent day on the streets of Iraq for U.S. troops and Iraqis alike. Six Americans were wounded in two ambush attacks, four Iraqi civilians were shot and killed in incidents at U.S. checkpoints and at least ten died in a disputed explosion at a mosque. Despite all that, the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq insisted today that conditions there are steadily improving. CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer has more on the struggle to win the peace in Iraq, beginning with an ambush in the heart of Baghdad.”
Over on the July 1 NBC Nightly News, Tom Brokaw similarly opened his broadcast: “Good evening. It has been another dangerous and bloody day for American forces in Iraq. A bomb attack on a humvee in the heart of Baghdad. Still, administration officials are insisting they're gaining ground and current polls show the American people continue to support the war. Thousands of international peace-keeping forces are due to begin arriving this month, but in the meantime small hit and run attacks are a daily and deadly menace.”
CNN's Brown had the same news judgment, but realized it is influencing the public's perception. Brown opened NewsNight:
“Maybe the day is coming when we no longer look at the attacks on American soldiers in Iraq as the lead story. We aren't there yet and it is undoubtedly true that the reporting of these attacks are changing the country's view of the war.
“Two months ago, 86 percent of those polled said the war was going well. The poll yesterday showed the number down to 56 percent. The reality, the danger of nation building has become very clear for many Americans and the president today in language more blunt than soaring told the country we need to get used to it. It's where we begin the whip tonight, the latest violence in Iraq...”
Bill Plante had picked up on the same poll, noting on the CBS Evening News: “Faced with mounting post-war casualties and poll numbers showing a big drop in public confidence that things are going well in Iraq, President Bush defended the continued U.S. troop presence and vowed there would be no return to tyranny in Iraq.”
That poll is a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey which Richard Benedetto summarized in the July 2 USA Today:
“Most Americans say things are going well for the United States in Iraq. But although 56 percent feel that way in the latest survey, 70 percent were satisfied a month ago and 86 percent on May 7, a week after President Bush declared combat largely over.
“The poll finds most people have confidence in the President's leadership and character, but there is erosion on those questions, too.
“Bush is rated as being 'honest and trustworthy' by 65 percent of respondents, and 57 percent say he 'cares about the needs of people like you.' Both are down 8 percentage points from a poll conducted in April.”
For more: www.usatoday.com
An excerpt from the op-ed in the July 1 New York Post by Ralph Peter, identified as “a retired Army officer and the author, most recently, of Beyond Terror: Strategy in a Changing World”:
....[T]he fierce competition that makes our media so effective can also be its worst enemy. The fight for the hottest headline can lead to peculiar forms of group-think and pack journalism at its worst.
The Laci Peterson story is a good example. One murder, among many, catches on -- and suddenly it's a more important story than terrorism, famine, coups or genocide. Pack journalism leads to a loss of perspective that badly distorts our national priorities.
Well, journalistically speaking, poor Laci Peterson's in Baghdad now. A relatively small number of foreseeable attacks -- predicted by this column months ago -- have been blown wildly out of proportion.
Our troops are doing remarkably well -- but the headlines make it sound like a disaster. Last weekend, almost as many Americans died in a residential balcony collapse in Chicago as have been killed by hostile fire in "postwar" Iraq.
As a former soldier, I don't discount any American casualties as unimportant. But the fact is that, despite real errors and miscues, reconstruction efforts in Iraq are going surprisingly well.
How bad is it in Iraq? It's terrible -- if you're a former Saddam loyalist, ex-secret policeman or Ba'ath Party muckety-muck on the wrong end of Operation Sidewinder. The party's over for Baghdad's bully-boys, and they don't much like it.
As one pal of mine serving in Iraq puts it, the attacks on U.S. forces are foolish acts of desperation. The last hardcore loyalists -- those whose futures and fortunes were tied to Saddam -- have recognized how unexpectedly smoothly the U.S. occupation has been going (Saddam's guys don't read the Western press, so they don't realize we're doomed to failure). And they're trying everything they can to disrupt things.
We shouldn't be surprised that the last embittered thugs are engaging in occasional acts of terrorism against us -- on the contrary, we should be relieved that we see so little continuing resistance. After toppling a totalitarian regime that ruled a population of 25 million for over a generation, it's amazing that we face only one or two attacks every few days. We could be suffering hundreds of incidents daily, if the population stood behind Saddam & Co.
On our worst day last week, when two convoys came under attack, more than 600 other U.S. convoys didn't hear a single shot. Two patrols got into firefights. The other 500 patrols didn't even get hit with a water balloon.
Are the Iraqis "turning against us"? Bull. Our best sources of intelligence continue to be Iraqis who are glad the regime is gone and don't want it to come back in any way, shape or form.
The Iraqi population is complex, with varying interests, loyalties and levels of political sophistication. But the masses aren't demonstrating to bring back Saddam, Uday and Qusay. They may find the integrity and diligence of our soldiers frustrating as they try to work their local scams -- but they don't miss the secret police....
END of Excerpt
For the piece in full: www.nypost.com
| Yes | 92% |
|
|
| No | 7% |
|
|
| Don't know | 1% |
|
|
|
|
 |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
“It was another violent day on the streets of Iraq for U.S. troops and Iraqis alike,”GLOATED CBS Evening News Rent-A-Mouth John Roberts.
“It has been another dangerous and bloody day for American forces in Iraq,” SMIRKED NBC Nightly News Clinton Punk Tom Brokaw.
WBZ (Boston Globe, or NYT In Drag) does the same thing at Commuting Time...their voices are thick with smug joy.
Makes me CLOSE to advocating violence. (I said CLOSE) wink wink.
It is no different than they did then. Same playbook. Same people.
Part of the problem, imho, is press laziness and/or the 24/7 deadlines (no deadline excuses unverified inaccurate headlines during wartime).
CENTCOM lumps all the good news into two different reports - COALITION EFFORTS AID IRAQ’S RECOVERY (humanitarian/rebuilding), and COALITION AND IRAQI POLICE WORK TO MAKE IRAQ SECURE (bad guys we take out).
My suggestion in a letter to CENTCOM: (^;
The original Ralph Peters article:
*'LACI IN BAGHDAD [Throwing cold water on our Iraqi "Quagmire"]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
