"U.S. invasion forces faced tough resistance as they opened an assault on Republican Guards defending the approaches to Baghdad, while the humanitarian situation worsened in southern Iraq," reported Reuters this week.Coalition forces are in full retreat, says the media, bedeviled by setback after setback, body-blow after body-blow, including "the killing and capture of U.S. soldiers and the loss of [a] helicopter."
"Days after it appeared that the battle had been won in Iraq's south, the shooting -- and the dying -- goes on," writes Associated Press reporter, Doug Mellgren, gleefully.
"At Basra," he adds, "allied forces...came under heavy artillery fire Monday. A British soldier was reported killed in action nearby."
But it gets worse.
"At the southern oil fields, once considered secure, shadowy Iraqi forces apparently ambushed a British unit...civilian workers brought in to fight fires at the wells were forced to withdraw for their own safety."
Outside of Basra, "Iraqi mortar rounds rained down through the day, with tanks and armored fighting vehicles of the Black Watch and the Royal Scots Guards returning fire," says Mellgren.
Coalition setbacks. Losses. Failures. Body-blows. Heavy enemy artillery fire. Coalition forces in full retreat.
And more dying.
Media message to public: America is getting shellacked, our enemies are racking up slam dunks on the battlefield; the Iraqis are sweeping to victory as our boys drown in a bloodbath. Bush not only "failed so miserably at diplomacy," (See Daschle), he's failing on the battlefield, too! Sky is falling! Sky is falling!
"The United States suffered its worst casualties on Sunday," reports the Miami Herald, "with up to nine Marines killed, scores wounded, and the first U.S. troops captured by the Iraqis in the fiercest fighting of the war so far."
"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld...defended U.S. war plans in Iraq on Tuesday amid criticism from many experts who question the size and punch of the invasion force being used," Will Dunham of Reuters wrote, giddy as can be.
Well, you get the picture.
The media, as I wrote in my previous essay, thinks this war should already be wrapped up. A week is more than enough time to win. What's taking so long? It's been a whole week! War? Mortar rounds? Tomahawk missiles? Heck, Iraq should have already been rebuilt, the landscape thriving with commerce and industry, suburbs teeming with shopping malls, shiny Minivans, Porsches and Chevy Suburbans dotting the highways, Iraqi soccer-moms driving kiddies to the games on Saturdays.
All won with ZERO BATTLEFIELD CASUALTIES.
The press, having failed to thwart military action, now hopes to swing public opinion against the war by portraying the effort as a miserable failure.
The quotes at the top are just the tip of media ice-berg. Flick on CNN, and you'd swear it's Al-Jazeera TV. Judy Woodruff -- Michael Moore with a dress, Saddam's professional spinner. I keep looking for the Baghdad TV logo when Aaron Brown is on. The stuff out of Reuters, AP and UPI sound more like press releases straight from Iraq's Ministry of (Dis)Information than reputable wire copy, only less credible.
After news of a popular uprising in Basra, the faces at MSNBC looked like Iraqi barracks after several B-52 bombing runs. The Fedayeen Saddamites at the nightly newscasts barely held back their tears.
Sure there've been 'setbacks,' mistakes, tragedies. No-one's denying that.
In fact, just to prove I'm 'fair and balanced,' l'll go over some of them.
Saddam's glorious victories? I hardly know where to begin. How about his 'success' in losing control of Umm Qasr, a key port city in southern Iraq? Or his brilliant master-stroke -- losing 17 divisions out of 23 only days into Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Saddam, in his relentless march to victory, by Tuesday had lost control of 70% of Iraqi territory, with 'vanquished' coalition forces, 'crippled and demoralized' (See Reuters), poised at the gates of Baghdad, a popular uprising against the popular Saddam underway in Basra, Iraq's second largest city. On Tuesday, the British 7th Armored Brigade, also crippled and demoralized (See Reuters again), suffered a huge setback by crushing an entire Iraqi armored column, marching out of Basra, to pulp. Another 'setback' for British forces: A dawn raid which netted a senior Ba'athist official. The Brits thereafter destroyed party headquarters, which sparked the Shi'ite uprising against Saddam.
Reaction from Saddam's tender-hearted thugs, whose fealty to human rights is legendary, was to launch mortar fire indiscriminately on protesters. But the horse had already left the barn, as the uprising spreads.
Saddam's triumphant forces also scored big at Najah, just south of Baghdad, its indomitable Medina Republican Guard losing over 500 men in the first head-to-head ground engagement against 'demoralized' (again, see Reuters) coalition forces, who suffered a whopping zero total casualties during the engagement. No doubt Saddam's masterly war planning will go down in history for its skilled ineptitude, unblemished by reason, tactical or strategic.
Yep, I'm impressed.
Saddam's 'grip' on the country was further 'strengthened' tonight, after a cruise missile struck Iraq TV, knocking Saddam off the air.
You know, come to think of it, has anyone seen Saddam?
Saddam? Are you there? Hello? Saddam?
Oh, gee, maybe those bungling, blundering, inept coalition forces took down Saddam the first night.
Anyway, that's...
My two cents..
"JohnHuang2"