Posted on 06/27/2005 8:12:20 AM PDT by Calpernia
No link, this is from email.
Subject: Commentary from Mosul
Hi All, I saw something recently in our Stars & Stripes newspaper (the only newspaper we receive in-country) that really distressed me, as well as a lot of the Soldiers I'm serving with. The article was about a recent poll of U.S. citizens indicating that a majority of the Americans surveyed don't believe that the mission is going well here and that we ought to pull out.
It bothered me for several reasons because that opinion does not reflect the sentiment of the Soldiers here on the front line doing the fighting & dying. It also does not reflect the sentiment of any single Iraqi citizen, Iraqi Policeman, or Iraqi National Guardsman that I have come in contact with.
To the contrary, we believe almost to a Soldier that we are making progress and that we have turned the corner on the insurgency...and that they are really hurting now.
The Iraqis believe that too and are dumbfounded that people in America would urge their government leaders to pull out after sacrificing so much American blood and wealth here.
The Iraqis I work with have asked me why America wants to leave. I have given it some meaningful thought and have tried to explain it this way...In every war or conflict, there must be a way to Gage success. In WW II, success was measured in a positive sense by the territory taken from the enemy. As the Allied Forces pushed forward through Europe or the Pacific, the tangible measurements of success were clearly evident.
However, in the type of war that we are fighting now, there is no territory "taken" to visualize success. Instead, we have been fed the information that puts our efforts in the worst possible light...so that now this war is largely measured in terms of U.S. deaths, car bombs, and the loss of innocent Iraqi lives.
It is not measured in terms of schools opened, water purified, electricity provided, hospitals & clinics operating, and the lines of recruits waiting to join the Iraqi National Guard & Iraqi Police. It is also not measured in terms of insurgents captured & killed daily even though our own casualty figures are published for all to see.
If those numbers were available for public consumption, you would see a ratio greater than 10:1 on any given day. So why do we find ourselves in this position? I'm definitely not a politician but I believe that our government is losing the PR War to the insurgents because they have a tremendous understanding as to how our media works.
Basically, if I was an insurgent leader who understood the power of the American media, I'd focus my efforts on operations that would result in maximum media exposure, i.e. car bombings and attacks on U.S. convoys. In doing so, a relatively small number of my fellow insurgents could capture the news headlines for another day...and negatively influence American public opinion.
They have studied the effect that the media had during the Vietnam War and how that influenced the American people and political leaders. In an insurgency, perception is everything. How would I try to present a more balanced view of the events in Iraq?
First of all, I would immediately embedded all of the TV and newspaper reporters that want to volunteer with front-line combat units so that they can report events of the war from an American Soldier's perspective (after all, there is a reason why the insurgents are videotaping attacks on convoys by suicide bombers...they want things seen from THEIR perspective).
Next, I would question why the media runs our mistakes ("abusing the Koran" when touching by a non-believer is labeled "abuse") over and over, news cycle after news cycle, and omits mention of the horrendous atrocities committed by adversaries. Case in point is the destruction and bombing of nearly every Christian place of worship (and the Bibles within) in the entire country...an event which elicits bare mention in the media. The bombing of mourners in a Muslim funeral barely makes the news for a day, and the slaughter of unarmed Iraqi National Guardsmen traveling home for the weekend only rates mention for a day as well.
But if you touch, drop, kick, or otherwise "abuse " the Koran, that will be in the news indefinitely. Why is that? Where is the sense of balance in doing that? What is the purpose in doing that? I can't answer those questions...I can only thank you all for your continued support. We are trying to do the best we can with the forces we have. We are trying to help Iraq build it's own version of Democracy in a turbulent Middle East, and prevent this country from becoming a future base of attacks by religious terrorists against the United States....what's wrong with that?
Got to go....take care.
David Howell CPT/SP FOB Diamondback Mosul, Iraq "Evil men will prevail when good men do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke/1856 (British Statesman) Jerry Orr
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1320747/posts
George Soros, Media Connections
Hi All, I saw something recently in our Stars & Stripes newspaper (the only newspaper we receive in-country) that really distressed me, as well as a lot of the Soldiers I'm serving with. The article was about a recent poll of U.S. citizens indicating that a majority of the Americans surveyed don't believe that the mission is going well here and that we ought to pull out.
I can corroborate this, from my observation post in Udairi.
S&S might be free, but you get what you pay for. Only on Free Republic can I get positive news from America.
All these polls are so rigged, I can't believe anyone lends them credit.
More good news from the front lines, even if it does highlight negativity.
Our guys and gals in Theater know the score, and they are there for the long haul as long as Rummy et al have the fortitude to keep them there.
Our job, here on the homefront, is to keep spreading the good news to friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers; and to do what we can to let our sons and daughters overseas know how much we support and believe in what they're doing.
That may be one way to explain the numbers to those who see them and don't understand. Figures lie, and liars figure...
The American people are sheep. Only my my sweat and toil are they free.
Good Day, Brother.
Greetin's, Bro, from the sands of Udairi.
Hello, Star.
Probably back in a few hours to discourse with y'all.
ping
Thanks for putting this up. The "polls" are certainly biased, there are plenty of people who believe we should keep going. I am certainly tired of the media lying and showing nothing but carnage. Despicable!
That's good...get your priorities straight!
Take care.
There's an ideological reason for that, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's our job to counter the propaganda whenever and wherever we can.
Thanks for the ping!
*HUGS!*
*sniff*
So glad to see you ~ please be careful!!
Thanks Jinxie for the ping!
Pinger's up!! Hope to see ya later! *HUGS!*
There's an ideological reason for that, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's our job to counter the propaganda whenever and wherever we can.
When a pollster wants a specific opinion, only certain groups are polled to produce the desired result.
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