Someone who’s intimately familiar with the operations in Iraq has put forth a viewpoint that (of course) differs from what we hear everyday from our media and those on these boards. Doom and gloom, “We’re loosing the war”, “The US if fouling everything up over there”, it would seem from reports that we can’t do anything right, that we’re loosing the war, that we’re suffering from record casualties, and that the entirety of Iraq is out of control, out of our grasp.
I would like to thank LTC Tim Ryan for his depart from the norm in reporting what HE sees over in Iraq, and for the courage to buck the media in an effort bring us something closer to the truth.
Please read the provided link (Finally) at the top of this post, digest what Tim has to say, and then feel free to comment. Maybe even provide a cite of someone in his position that may have an alternate view.
He leads with this;
*"All right, I’ve had enough. I am tired of reading distorted and grossly exaggerated stories from major news organizations about the “failures” in the war in Iraq. “The most trusted name in news” and a long list of others continue to misrepresent the scale of events in Iraq. Print and video journalists are covering only a fraction of the events in Iraq and, more often than not, the events they cover are only negative.
The inaccurate picture they paint has distorted the world view of the daily realities in Iraq. The result is a further erosion of international support for the United States’ efforts there, and a strengthening of the insurgents’ resolve and recruiting efforts while weakening our own. Through their incomplete, uninformed and unbalanced reporting, many members of the media covering the war in Iraq are aiding and abetting the enemy.
The fact is the Coalition is making steady progress in Iraq, but not without ups and downs. So why is it that no matter what events unfold, good or bad, the media highlights mostly the negative aspects of the event? The journalistic adage, “If it bleeds, it leads,” still applies in Iraq, but why only when it’s American blood? "*
For me, it is a breath of fresh air. By reading the news and browsing threads on these boards you would think the end of the world is right around the corner. Many of the posters here think that coming to the aid of Iraq was the biggest mistake the US has ever made.
LTC Ryan point out that the terrorists use our media’s disposition to report the way they do to their (the terrorists) advantage. (I would like to use the phrase Liberal Media but that may open a whole 'nother can of critters.)
He states that he and his men are sick of and offended by the US medias portrayal of events over in Iraq and that the spin that the media puts on events is possibly detrimental to our services there.
That our media highlights the negative and ignores the positive.
He gives examples, many.
Examples of the unfair light in which the US is being treated by it’s own media.
A couple of quips;
"Ironically, the press freedom that we have brought to this part of the world is providing support for the enemy we fight. I obviously think it’s a disgrace when many on whom the world relies for news paint such an incomplete picture of what actually has happened. Much too much is ignored or omitted. I am confident that history will prove our cause right in this war, but by the time that happens, the world might be so steeped in the gloom of ignorance we won’t recognize victory when we achieve it. "
"Postscript: I have had my staff aggressively pursue media coverage for all sorts of events that tell the other side of the story only to have them turned down or ignored by the press in Baghdad. Strangely, I found it much easier to lure the Arab media to a “non-lethal” event than the western outlets. Open a renovated school or a youth center and I could always count on Al-Iraqia or even Al-Jazeera to show up, but no western media ever showed up – ever. Now I did have a pretty dangerous sector, the Abu Ghuraib district that extends from western Baghdad to the outskirts of Fallujah (not including the prison), but it certainly wasn’t as bad as Fallujah in November and there were reporters in there. "
This is sad, really. Even if you don’t support the war now or the reasons why we first went in, you should at least be taken aback by the unfairness of the coverage that our supposedly, unbiased, news outlets have been providing.
This is not a debate about the actual events, but the way in which they are being portrayed.
I agree with the heartwarming sentiments of LTC Ryan and wish to discuss this extremely well written column with any of you who share his thoughts or disagree with him.