A Question of Perspective; Some U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Feel Media Misrepresent Events

A Question of Perspective Some U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Feel Media Misrepresent Events

Reporter's Notebook By Mike Gudgell ABCNEWS.com B A S E P A C E S E T T E R, Central Iraq, Feb. 1— "Gentlemen," I shouted, "I've got a bit of news."

I'd spent days hounding these men for information and now had something to say. "Saddam Hussein has been captured." There was a sudden silence followed by long stares and a few comments laced with curse words. Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Buck James, bared down and glared, questioning, "Is that confirmed?" It was my own quick taste of command discipline.

"Yes," I replied, struggling not to say "sir." "[America's Iraq administrator] Ambassador [Paul] Bremmer is making the announcement right now."

We were less than 20 miles away from Saddam's infamous "spider hole," but four days late on the news of his capture. That's not unusual. Soldiers get most of their news on Iraq from home by e-mail. Sometimes these second-hand descriptions of events take place in their own unit. They are in the eye of the storm — silence in the center of a violent world.

If they are at a large base, soldiers might see the BBC. But the news is often meant for a civilian audience. The Armed Forces Network news is taken from the wire services and tailored for a broad audience — not soldiers in the fight.

Short wave radios are rare. Those who have them get bulletins, the predictable reports of soldiers injured by "improvised explosive devices" or roadside bombs. The soldiers on the front line are in the dark.

When word got around about the capture of Saddam, most officers took a moment to smile, or swear, then went on with their mission. "It doesn't change things for us," said one. "We can still get killed, we still have a job to do and we won't go home any sooner."

They quickly learn not to watch, listen or read. If they do, it often makes them angry or hurt. There's no better example than last month's bank raid in the city of Samarra. A convoy carrying what many believe to be millions of dollars was moving into the center of the city at night. The money was part of several shipments to banks in the area and was guarded by less than two dozen military police. It was attacked from buildings and rooftops on both sides of a narrow road.

It would have likely meant death to most of the guards if the Army had not done what it does every day. The soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division had a backup force — a plan "B." These contingency plans normally are the grounds for complaints from soldiers, boring duty that takes time and is almost always meaningless.

The attackers quickly got the advantage on the military police. Bystanders and other Iraqis joined the fight. Soldiers are taught to establish fire superiority. That means let the bullets fly. That's what happened when plan "B", two armored columns, arrived just minutes after it all began. Fifty-four Iraqis were killed. There were no U.S. casualties.

In the following days, the press reported on the indiscriminant shooting of civilians. Soldiers were dumbstruck — "They ambushed us." Maj. Larry Perino was indignant. Although none of his men was involved, he felt the sting.

Many of the soldiers I spoke with were furious. They saw the incident as validation of their training as professional soldiers. "If you are a civilian and it's night during a war and you hear a firefight, what do you do?" Perino asked. "You get out of there." If you don't, he implied, then you're part of the fight. Maj. James Market put it another way: "You don't put your head into a wood chipper, then say, 'Hey, what did you do to my hair?"

Since that day, claims of civilian deaths during the fight have diminished, but soldiers' mistrust of the press continued. They see the world from the lenses of human targets, soldiers who want to come home to their families. It's kill or be killed.

The perspective of the soldiers doesn't begin or end with the gun battles. When one of the new Stryker vehicles was hit by a road-side bomb and burned, critics of the vehicle went on the attack.

The soldiers there saw if differently. They saw a 20-ton Stryker bounce in the air and felt the heat and concussion of the explosion more than a football field away. Rushing to the aid of those inside, they were stunned. All jumped out of the Stryker. There was one minor injury. "I thought they were all dead," one soldier told me. "It was a big one [bomb.]" There has been one other similar incident with a Stryker. It didn't catch fire, was repaired and is now back in the war. No one in a Stryker has been killed in combat.

It's difficult for journalists to see the soldiers' view of the war. We don't have the expectation of death. Not only do they face an immediate fear during the occasional raid or the uncertainty that comes from just driving down a road, but also the constant presence of a hellish unknown. Attacks on Army bases at night are common. Sleep provides no sanctuary. Although the mortar and RPG attacks are a regular part of life for many soldiers, they rarely make the headlines.

About damn time someone bothered to file another report from the inside. The embedded reporters, to a man, came back with awe and respect for what our guys face. Since then the liberals in the editing room have gone back to their routine of sound bites and commentary from the homefront.

I have to give credit where and when it is due: Kudos to ABC for publishing this piece.

The perspective of the soldiers doesn't begin or end with the gun battles. When one of the new Stryker vehicles was hit by a road-side bomb and burned, critics of the vehicle went on the attack.

The soldiers there saw if differently. They saw a 20-ton Stryker bounce in the air and felt the heat and concussion of the explosion more than a football field away. Rushing to the aid of those inside, they were stunned. All jumped out of the Stryker. There was one minor injury. "I thought they were all dead," one soldier told me. "It was a big one [bomb.]" There has been one other similar incident with a Stryker. It didn't catch fire, was repaired and is now back in the war. No one in a Stryker has been killed in combat.

Interesting perspective on the Stryker in this article. Interesting too that the article itself is addressing the way soldiers see the media not representing the true picture on the ground.

(I chose some posters from the latest thread on the Stryker that I participated in- don't worry, I don't have a ping list- I just though this item was relevent to the other discussion)

... soldiers' mistrust of the press continued. They see the world from the lenses of human targets, soldiers who want to come home to their families. It's kill or be killed.

Hmmm--sounds like he's trying to say soldier mistrust in the press is rooted in their emotional state as "human targets". Implicit in that viewpoint is that the mistrust is not necessarily rational. Another viewpoint is that sodiers don't trust the press because they see the world through the lens of their own eyes and know the difference between what is actually happening on the ground and what most of the press reports.

If you'll look at the Army's pet "Stryker News" carried on the Tacoma Times Tribune you'll see that two Strykers rolled into a canal before the brigade ever fired a shot and because of the abortion called slat armor that was locked, two in one vehicle could not be extracted before they drowned. One in the other Styker escaped but the other man did not - he drowned.

They saw a 20-ton Stryker bounce in the air and felt the heat and concussion of the explosion more than a football field away. Rushing to the aid of those inside, they were stunned. All jumped out of the Stryker. There was one minor injury. "I thought they were all dead," one soldier told me. "It was a big one [bomb.]" There has been one other similar incident with a Stryker. It didn't catch fire, was repaired and is now back in the war. No one in a Stryker has been killed in combat

I did not realize that. Most of our media people are jokes.

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