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Commentary: Where’s Fair and Balanced News? |
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(Source: US Army News Service; issued Sept. 16, 2003)
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WASHINGTON --- A striking headline hit the New York Daily News last week – “Flash for the media: U.S. won war in Iraq.”
“The United States and the coalition of its few faithful allies are not winning the war in Iraq – they have already won it,” A.M. Rosenthal’s commentary said. But, Rosenthal added, it would take hours hunting through stacks of newspapers and never-ending TV snippets to figure it out.
While Rosenthal may have overstated the victory, he’s spot on about the coverage. Being one of those journalists who daily wades through the negativism of the mainstream media, I know how difficult it is to find the positive outcomes of the troops trying to rebuild Iraq.
Even the New York Times fleetingly mentioned the subject in its lengthy Sept. 15 article about State Secretary Collin Powell’s visit to Southwest Asia. It attributed Powell as saying he “found that more progress was being made in securing and building Iraq than had been emphasized in news reports, mentioning for example new parent-teacher groups at local schools.”
The lengthy article continued to discuss the trip by reporting a soldier died that day, Powell was unable to reach an agreement on a faster turnover of power and it outlined the secretary’s dining arrangements.
Nowhere was there another mention of the school improvements in the fleeting reference to Powell’s statements.
Again, you have to peruse the media closely to find stories about progress in Iraq. But, there are some good news stories.
The Washington Post ran two positive stories in its Sept. 14 issue.
One discussed how American Soldiers are training Iraqi recruits for a new national army. The Los Angeles Times ran a similar story Sept. 16. Both indicated the recruits reflect the country’s ethnic and religious mix. One quotes a “burly sergeant recruit” saying, “We want to say that we’re all Iraqi, and we all are proud to be in the Iraqi army.”
The second, “Giving Iraqis a stake,” frankly discussed the risks and benefits of American efforts to give Iraqis a stake in rebuilding their country. The article pointed out that even though the summer has been “brutal” the country has not “plunged into chaos or the bloody civil war that experts have long predicted.” The article squarely stated American efforts for diversity in Iraqi hardly guarantee success, but continued, “They do suggest … Iraq has certainly not been lost.”
Yes, there are a few articles about progress in Iraq. But, hopefully, soon there will be more when reporters open their eyes to a few facts on what’s happened in Iraq in the last four months:
--More than 6,000 rebuilding projects have been completed
-- Schools, universities and hospitals have opened
--Iraq is transitioning to a representative government: the Iraq Governing Council has selected ministers and a committee has been appointed to draft a constitution.
This may not be enough to convince some reporters progress is at hand. And, they keep reminding us -- Iraq isn’t Germany. Perhaps they should compare progress in the two countries:
--Establish a central bank – Germany three years; Iraq two months
--Standing up a police force – Germany two years; Iraq two months
--Selecting a new cabinet – Germany 14 months; Iraq four months
How can mainstream media outlets overlook the many gains the Iraqi people have seen since the Hussein regime has fallen? It’s simple – evil sells and profits abound. Reporters find it easier to sell fear than to build hope through actions.
But, as in Iraq, all is not lost. We will win the media war; it just won’t be as easy as our march through the desert.
-ends-
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