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September 24, 2003
Negativity on Iraq
Think everything is going wrong in Iraq? Lost in unending barage of negativity from the media, politicians who want Bush's job, and many who opposed the war and are looking for any justification to crow "I told you so," is a different reality. Iraq is a nation in transition and while the future is uncertain, it's hard to imagine that the prospects for a better future are not greater now than they were a year ago. There is much idle chatter about the immorality of unilateral action, hyping the threat that Iraq posed, and poor planning--the Ted Kennedy position seems to be that if we only had the Franch agree with us everything would be different--but in my view these need to be balanced by the benefits of the endeavor and it would be immoral to abandon the cause. This is why it's important to get some perspective. Iraq is in route to being a free, modern, liberal, democracy--focusing on the negatives may serves various self-interests, but it doesn't serve humanity.
The politicians, including some Democrats, are beginning to grasp this. See Glenn Reynolds: "Iraq Media Backlash?", The Hill: Press slants Iraq news, and NewsMax.com's coverage of Democratic Congressman Jim Marchall's editorial in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution which makes the case well.
As news consumers we must all remember that virtually no news is "fair and balanced" because most news covers the drama, death and destruction--the scandals and the horror that will capture our attention--and what we don't see are the normal everyday stories of hope and success, hard work and progress that comprise the hidden side of reality. Story selection is the news media's most powerful, most dangerous, and least understood tool.
This from Congressman Marshall via NewsMax.com:
I'm afraid the news media are hurting our chances. They are dwelling upon the mistakes, the ambushes, the soldiers killed, the wounded, the Blumbergs. Fair enough. But it is not balancing this bad news with 'the rest of the story,' the progress made daily, the good news. The falsely bleak picture weakens our national resolve, discourages Iraqi cooperation and emboldens our enemy. ...Throughout Iraq, American soldiers with their typical 'can do' attitude and ingenuity are engaging in thousands upon thousands of small reconstruction projects, working with Iraqi contractors and citizens. Through decentralized decision-making by unit commanders, the 101st Airborne Division alone has spent nearly $23 million in just the past few months. This sum goes a very long way in Iraq. Hundreds upon hundreds of schools are being renovated, repainted, replumbed and reroofed. Imagine the effect that has on children and their parents.
Well, actually, the prospects are much worse for hundreds of American soldiers who have been killed in Iraq.
This was was sold to the American people on the basis that Iraq was a threat to the U.S. That was a lie.
This war was not sold on the basis of being a liberal social-welfare type experiment, like you and many other conservatives are now trying to spin it.
I'm not spinning. I just find it remarkable that liberals, who ostensibly care about improving the human condition--and not just in America, are simply ignoring that fact that we've liberated a country the size of France. Don't vote for Bush if you feel he sold you a pig in a poke.
I think 1st Lt. Mark V. Shaney USMC said it best when he said:
"Responsible journalism should include responsibility for one's actions in publishing a news story in such a way that puts many other people in harm's way; has a direct result of publication of a particular story might have on other people.
"We are a people that cherish the democratic system of government and therefore hold the will of the enemy is trying very hard to portray our efforts over here, you can refute them by knowing that we are failing, even if we are making the whole world safer. "
Raymond Onnard And as always: "Quidquid excusatio prandium pro!