Posted on 07/21/2005 7:04:17 AM PDT by Tolik
Turns out, it was easier than I thought, at least in Iraq. When you're listening to a 20-year-old kid from Indiana tell how he earned his second Purple Heart, speechlessness is the natural reaction.
I was there as part of the much-maligned "Truth Tour" organized by Move America Forward, a conservative group based in California. According to reports in the mainstream media, I was part of a "propaganda" junket paid for by the Pentagon to buy some desperately needed positive coverage of the unwinnable military quagmire. All I can say is: If this was a junket, it was the worst-run junket in the history of public relations.
My radio station and I had to pay all my expenses, I slept on a bare cot in a tent in the desert, and at some locations the only available "food" (and I use that term under protest) were MREs which stands for "Meals Ready to Eat...assuming you've already eaten both shoes and most of your undergarments."
This alleged "junket" failed in another way, too. The Pentagon didn't control what went out over the airwaves. Then again, neither did I. I left it all up to the soldiers.
I traveled about Iraq from Camp Victory at the Baghdad International Airport to Camp Prosperity on the very edge of the Red Zone, then down the Baghdad Highway to Camp Falcon, and on to the Command Headquarters in the heart of the city and, eventually, to the deserts of Kuwait and Camp Arifjan. And everywhere I went, I flipped on my mic, sat back, and let the troops tell their story.
These soldiers weren't stooges from Public Affairs or handpicked flag wavers foist on me by media handlers. I found some in the mess hall, others working security checkpoints; others sought me out because they have family living in the D.C. area where my radio show is broadcast. The least fortunate were the soldiers in Humvees stuck with "tourist duty," four friendly but serious young men who got stuck with a couple of bonehead radio hosts riding along on patrol.
In all, I spoke to more than 100 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, with different ranks and different duties at their FOBs (forward operating base), and yet they overwhelmingly had the same things to say about the war in Iraq:
"We believe in the mission."
"We're making progress."
"The Iraqis are making progress, too."
And, perhaps most important of all: "We're going to win."
I expected to hear this sort of positive assessment from General George Casey, commander of operations in Iraq, when I interviewed him at his headquarters deep inside the International Zone. When he pointed out that, one year ago, there was just one standing battalion in the Iraqi army, but there are 107 battalions today, he was doing his job of supporting the war. And I expected it from Lt. General Steve Whitcomb, commanding general of the 3rd Army, as he talked about successfully moving more than one million gallons of fuel across Iraq every day, despite the best efforts of the insurgents.
Generals are supposed to be gung ho. It comes with the pay grade.
But I heard the same, positive assessments from 23-year-old sergeants from New Iberia, La., and from PFCs from Wisconsin and Alabama. I heard it from Lieutenant Li, whose Humvee had been hit by IEDs so many times he'd lost count. I heard it from Airman Truong, who was born in Vietnam and had recently returned to his native country to marry. Two weeks after "I do," Airman Truong was headed back to Kuwait to do his duty for his adopted country.
Again and again, from "white-collar" soldiers working in the relative safety of Camp Victory at the Baghdad airport to the "real" soldiers patrolling Route Irish (a.k.a the "Highway of Death"), I heard that America and their Iraqi-army allies are winning the war against the insurgents. I was told again and again by the soldiers themselves that their (our) cause is just, the strategy is working, and the enemy they fight represents evil itself.
In other words, I heard things seldom heard on CBS or read in the pages of the New York Times.
It was only a week, and I have my obvious Bush-supporting, troop-cheering biases, but how much closer can a reporter get to delivering unspun, bias-free objective reporting than live-mic broadcasting instantly back to the states? No edits or filters or editorial meetings. Just the young men in the hot desert telling what they've seen, what they've heard, and what they now believe based on those experiences.
Isn't it at least significant that not one in 100 thought invading Iraq was a mistake? Was it mere coincidence that a random selection of 100 soldiers all believe their mission is worthwhile? Should we detect the hand of the Vast, Right-Wing Conspiracy in the fact that the vast majority of the troops find the media coverage of the war ignorant, harmful, or both?
I'm proud to say that, for a week, the soldiers had their say. If I were the editor of a major daily newspaper or a national network, I would be concerned that what they said is so contrary to what I am printing or broadcasting.
But the mainstream media don't need to hear from the soldiers. They already know that the war was a terrible mistake, that the world would be safer if we'd left Saddam in power, and that there is no chance for victory in Iraq.
Me, I'm not so smart. I like to let the guys on the ground tell their story. I believe it is completely possible that they know something that I and the New York Times editorial page do not.
Radio-talk host Michael Graham covers southern politics from his home in Virginia. He is an NRO contributor.
Presents
An Evening with
Michael Graham
WMAL, 630 AM Radio Personality
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Come hear Mr. Graham discuss his recent visit to Iraq and other thoughts
of the nation's new political paradigm.
Magill's Famous Pizza Restaurant
7201 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, Virginia 22003
703.750.0210
Buffet $8.99 including non-alcoholic drinks
RSVP: chairman@frederickdouglassGOPforum.org
Bump!
Great read - thanks for the ping!
Something I just ran across
What Has Happened.....
By dweb823
From: Media Table
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/7/21/93934/7970
Does anyone know what happened to that passel of conservative "commentators" who were going to Iraq to "report" on the "truth" of what was happening there (or at least inside the Green Zone"?
There was lots of hoopla when their plans were announced, but I have heard nothing since....are they in-country? Have they returned to file glowing reports about the surge of democratic institutions? Were they kidnapped?
Anything?
Jul 21, 2005 -- 10:28:24 AM EST
Replys
Re: What Has Happened..... (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by northstardon on Jul 21, 2005 -- 10:24:19 AM EST
This is a good question, but it'd be a better post if you, yourself, could provide some of the answers, or at least a starting point for those interested in doing the googling.
For example, here's the FAUXNews story describing the "Truth Tour" back on July 6.
A Google search with ["Truth Tour" Iraq] in the search box yields the FoxStory on top, but then gives the moveamericaforward.com link to their clearinghouse of "information" concerning the trip. (There's a certain amount of irony in a wingnut conservative site that wants to "moveamericaforward," but I digress). There are also some freerepublic.com links in the search return, but I wouldn't advise going there until you check with your doctor to make sure your vaccinations are current.
And here's a web diary of one of the participants. It appears that while in Iraq accommodations were provided by Camp Victory, which is the military installation just outside of Baghdad's airport.
So did they visit Iraq? I guess so, but it's like saying that you spent the week in Chicago when all you really did is hang out at the O'Hare Hilton.
Re: What Has Happened..... (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by dweb823 on Jul 21, 2005 -- 10:53:51 AM EST
I do a LOT of blogging and following news online, but to date had seen nothing....was hoping others might have seen posts from this group. I have a fixed IP address and suspect that I am barred from freeperville despite numerous attempts to register under various names.
Bottom line...for all the hoopla, so far things seem decidedly quiet from the "truth seekers."
Meanwhile, enjoy a Newsweek reporter's perspectives on "Reporting from the Green Zone"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8596940/site/newsweek/
[ Parent ] Re: What Has Happened..... (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by cscs on Jul 21, 2005 -- 11:36:44 AM EST
I was looking for this the other day and didn't find anything. Thanks to the other poster for the links.
I am anxiously looking forward to seeing how these "journalists" spin the "success" we're having in Iraq.
Re: What Has Happened..... (plenty of updates here (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by aj4runner on Jul 21, 2005 -- 02:29:37 PM EST
Check out these links for all the updates:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=voicesofsoldiers
And here:
http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/MAF/CurrentProject/th e_truth_tour_live_from_baghdad/
Excellent reading!
Michael Graham of 630am WMAL posted this at National Review On-Line today:
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/graham200507210803.asp
Tony in Boulder, Colorado
I posted that... I was searching for stories on google and yahoo yesterday and came across that blog so I signed up and posted those links in response. It's a leftist blog so my new ID will probably be deleted soon.
ping
AH!
I have a google search for "Freerepublic" bookmarked.
My first thought was they must not be looking very hard.
BIG BUMP!!!
Bump
I didn't get the chance to hear any of these broadcasts, I hope they are made available to stations across the country. Too bad there isn't any decent network or cable companies with people brave enough to do something like this.
Thanks for posting this.
BufordP, who works nearby to me, and I are thinking of going to the event in #41.
My participation may be blocked by a medical situation with a family member, but I thought that since this is your general area, you might want to consider attending.
"...the awful fill-ins for Rush."
Talkshow guys are afraid if they use a good fill in, they will create competition.
Wow the truth, I'll be damned...
SGT Walker here, first post on FR, read it for years, heading to the sandbox for the second time August. Thanks for all your support FR, I have spread the word, this site is the best thing any fence leaning should be republican can visit.
I don't get this beefing about MRE's. I visited my brother when he was stationed in Korea, and he took me out on a night exercise with his platoon (he was the CO). We ate MRE's on the side of one of those famous steep Korean hills.
Mine was spaghetti and meatballs. So it didn't qualify for being set on a table with red-checkered table cloth somewhere in New York with a tenor singing in Italian...but it was no worse than Chef Boyardee.
And it was HOT -- unlike C or K rations before the MRE era, you put a little water in the pouch around the food pouch itself and a chemical reaction starts that heats the food. Hot food in the field is an improvement no matter how you slice it.
Just out of curiousity, what DID the Navy do when they transitions subs from the traditional submarine mess to the Navy standardized mess. I thought sub chow was the best in the Navy - has that changed. Been out a while and have not been on a boat in many years. . . .
One vote for Williams here. I suppose I'm an amateur economist anyway. And I really like Thomas Sowell . . . who's Walter Williams' friend and sometime guest on Rush's show when Williams is guest-host.I recently used quotations from Thomas Sowell to turn a critic of evangelical Christianity into a truth seeker who wanted to read Sowell's latest book. I'd really love to get on a Williams fill-in with Sowell!
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