[jriemer]

In my FR conversations with AmericanInTokyo, I'm staring to get this nagging feeling that the Japanese press knows more about what's going on in our War in Iraq than we do. I know our media is generally stupid; however, they are asking a lot of questions that the DOD is not responding to and no-one else is following up on. I find that quite odd.

Your point is at least the 2nd time a Japanese reporter has asked a point blank question at CENTCOM briefing and gotten a non-response. The other was a question about which did Iraq receive technical assistance with their anti-shipping mines that were found their ports. These are intelligent questions receiving a lot of silence unlike the really dumb and insulting questions we normally hear from the world press.

[browardchad]

In my FR conversations with AmericanInTokyo, I'm staring to get this nagging feeling that the Japanese press knows more about what's going on in our War in Iraq than we do.

Do you think CentCom should be giving up strategy and tactics because a reporter asks an intelligent question? The Japanese appear to have their neurons firing, while the remainder of the (mostly ignorant) press are more interested in propaganda shots at the U.S. -- but that doesn't mean they deserve to have their questions answered.

[LS]

I saw the question of the anti-shipping mines. Methinks "MADE IN FRANCE" is on the bottom (actually, they were made in Iraq based on a design from "another country," and the Pentagon refused to say which country).