The media didn’t do its job again. When Sec Rumsfeld was here at Camp Freedom Christmas Eve morning he gave a good talk about what how he believes this is a pivotal point in history and thanked us for the job we are doing… The media also mentions that he took questions from soldiers and CNN says that one soldier asked about deployment lengths. Well to set the record straight there were exactly 3 questions asked, the first was a soldier asking about getting out of here around the time frame for elections in 2006… (The soldiers are looking that far ahead, even if the media isn’t) Sec Rumsfeld said that the plan was to keep deployment lengths to no more than one year. The second question was more of statement, a soldier said that he is one of the people affected by the stop loss and he just wanted to let Sec Rumsfeld know that he understands why it is happening and supports it. The third question is the one I personally asked. I said “Sir what are we doing to win the propaganda war, We are getting killed in the media, the media is helping the insurgents by showing every victory they have but they ignore everything good that we do, what are you on higher levels doing to help us win the war in the media?” His first response was “Well you know that wasn’t a question planted by the media” Then he went on to talk about some positive things we are doing and the fact that his office sees the negative reporting in the media and that the media is hurting us especially in this part of the world with people who would be our allies… He went on to talk about other things but I don’t remember exactly so I won’t try to quote him. Anyway just thought I would let you know what happened this morning.
Thanks for the first hand report- the media didn't tell us the things you just did.
From an AFP report:
“How do we win the war with the media?” asked one soldier.
“That does not sound like a question planted by the press ... It happens sometimes,” joked a smiling Rumsfeld, in an apparent reference to an incident in Kuwait when a soldier asked a question after being encouraged by a journalist.
Rumsfeld accused the press of reporting mainly bad news most of the time from Iraq, charging the local media “report vicious inaccuracies in a consistent and persistent manner”.
From an AP report:
Rumsfeld answers troops on Christmas Eve
Published Friday, December 24, 2004
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - Troops’ questions for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were considerably more friendly on his Christmas Eve visit to Iraq than they were on his previous trip to the region a couple of weeks ago. "How do we win the war in the media?" asked one soldier in Mosul. Another soldier in Tikrit wondered why there is not more coverage of reconstruction efforts going on in the country.
"I guess what’s news has to be bad news to get on the press," Rumsfeld responded to the first question - after supposing, with a big grin, "that does not sound like a question that was planted by the press."
"I think the American people get it," he responded to the second. " ... I wish it was possible that more of the good works you’re doing here ... were considered newsworthy and were reported in a way that people would understand the progress that is being made, and it is being made because of you," he told the woman in Tikrit.
And finally, from Rush Limbaugh:
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Everything we do good, no matter whether it's helping a little kid or building a new school, the public affairs sends out the message that the media doesn't pick up on. How do we win the propaganda war?
RUMSFELD: That does not sound like a question that was planted by the press. That happens sometimes. (Uproarious Laughter.)
RUSH: And the raucous uproarious laughter and applause continued. When it died down, the secretary answered question.
RUMSFELD: Everything we do here is harder because of television stations like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia and the constant negative approach. You don't hear about the schools that are open, and the hospitals that are open, and the clinics that are open, and the fact that the stock market is open and the Iraqi currency is steady and the fact that there have been something like 140,000 refugees coming from other countries back into this country. They're voting with their feet because they believe this is a country of the future. You don't read about that. You read about every single negative thing that anyone can find to report. I was talking to a group of congressmen and senators the other day, and there were a couple of them who had negative things to say and they were in the press in five minutes. There were 15 or 20 that had positive things to say about what's going on in Iraq and they couldn't get on television. Television just said we're not interested. That's just -- sorry. So it is, I guess, what's news has to be bad news.
I got to see you on Fox News today. Good job. Let us know if there is anything you need.
I saw that...
Good job.
Thanks for your service.
God bless you, sconnelly89, and Merry Christmas to you and your fellow troops.
5 - Merry Christmas, and many thanks for your service, sconnelly89.
With people like you and technology like this, identifying media lies the same day they are published., perhaps we can yet win this war the media has on our country,
Let's Roll !!!