Posted on 05/27/2006 10:40:40 AM PDT by GipperCT
Spending time in the United States after a tour of Iraq can be a disorienting experience these days. Within hours of arriving here, as I can attest from a recent visit, one is confronted with an image of Iraq that is unrecognizable. It is created in several overlapping ways: through television footage showing the charred remains of vehicles used in suicide attacks, surrounded by wailing women in black and grim-looking men carrying coffins; by armchair strategists and political gurus predicting further doom or pontificating about how the war should have been fought in the first place; by authors of instant-history books making their rounds to dissect the various fundamental mistakes committed by the Bush administration; and by reporters, cocooned in hotels in Baghdad, explaining the carnage and chaos in the streets as signs of the countrys impending or undeclared civil war. Add to all this the days alleged scandal or revelationan outed CIA operative, a reportedly doctored intelligence report, a leaked pessimistic assessmentand it is no wonder the American public registers disillusion with Iraq and everyone who embroiled the U.S. in its troubles.
It would be hard indeed for the average interested citizen to find out on his own just how grossly this image distorts the realities of present-day Iraq. Part of the problem, faced by even the most well-meaning news organizations, is the difficulty of covering so large and complex a subject; naturally, in such circumstances, sensational items rise to the top. But even ostensibly more objective efforts, like the Brookings Institutions much-cited Iraq Index with its constantly updated array of security, economic, and public-opinion indicators, tell us little about the actual feel of the country on the ground.
(Excerpt) Read more at commentarymagazine.com ...
I know one thing for sure about Iraq, if this were Bill Clinton's war the media would be falling all over themselves to paint a positive picture.
I like the idea of giving the troops one extra week of R&R in the middle of their deployment on the condition they speak to one civic organization about what they see in Iraq.
Might be a good way to get the word out.
That really is a fantasy. Better to send some missiles from far away, scrunch your eyes shut, have your fingers in your ears and blow up an aspirin factory.
Yep. Spot on.
And it's sickening to watch them report their lies. Our troops deserve better than that. Much better.
Things are not nearly as dismal in Iraq as the media would have you believe. They never really have been as bad as the media has portrayed. Oh, there have been some wild and violent times, but even those were overblown by the media.
And it's been calming down even more lately. I hope this is a trend and not a lull. We've had lulls before.
Ever since they got the government nailed down and inaugurated, Baghdad has been pretty quiet. And looks almost like any normal city in the region - except for the battle scars. The streets are bustling, commerce is moving right along and the traffic is noisy with vehicles crowding the streets and honking their horns that we can hear outside of our walls.
I fervently hope it stays this way. It's too soon to tell yet.
Small, but important collection on the lies and blatant propaganda by the DEMOCRAT MEDIA in attacking BUSH!
For example, the Democrats have a WELL-DOCUMENTED, VERIFIABLE PLAN that they published, BERFORE the 2004 Elections, to WORK WITH THE MEDIA TO LIE TO THE PUBLIC AND ENGAGE IN WIDESPREAD MANIPULATION AND PROPAGANDA TO ATTACK AMERICA AND UNDERMINE BUSH!
THE DEMOCRATS, POWER AT ANY COST, NO MATTER WHO MUST DIE, AND NO MATTER WHAT MUST BE DESTROYED!
Here is the original version of the story, in the WAYBACKMACHINE even though it has LONG been removed from the web site!
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_1476.shtml
Facinating read. How is it that the so called "newspaper of record" the NYT (Nothing You'd Trust) can't seem to do this kind of in depth well research analysis?.........Wow was that a stupid question or what!?!?
The MSM will not get the truth out regarding Iraq / WOT - They have staked their place on Iraq being seen as a failure or at least "not a victory" for GWB & the free world.
Well, getting this word out is indeed a "long hard slog" as Rummy would put it. We need to do the heavy lifting here to get the news out. It will certainly be a challenge especially now that the traiterous/lemming MSM will be ALL OVER the Marine civilian death story like flies on ***t.
This is encouraging.
Agreed - But if most of us would simply send these type objective and truthful analysis type articles off to family, friends and co-workers (via email) it surly helps to defeat the MSM.
The RNC should also be in this fight (at helping get the truth out) but they seem utterly pathetic at doing such.
Which leaves it up to those citizens who are informed and supportive of this just cause (the WOT).
True.
Don't know what it was yet. It could have been benign. I'm hoping it was.
Thanks for the update.
Sometimes gunfire is used at weddings but that has to be getting less frequent...
P.S.
I glanced at your home page again, looking for new pics (don't misunderstand me, I love the ones you've got) and my eye caught the comment --
Picked the Kuwait FR locale because Iraq is STILL not an option on here, even though it is now a free and sovereign nation and more and more FReepers are coming over...
Why doncha ping JimRob and ask him to introduce the Iraq locale?
Soccer victories are another one. When Iraq qualified for the Olympics in the spring of '04, we thought our base was under attack because of the all machine gun fire coming from all directions around the perimeter. When we found out what it was, we were relived and had a good laugh.
This little volley was early this morning and there have been no reports, so it may have just been someone sowing his wild oats.
We asked the Mods after the Janaury 2005 elections about that. It is a free and sovereign nation now that has diplomatic relations with the U.S.
Wouldn't hurt to try again. ;-)
Bump.
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