I agree the brits are doing a terrific job. Especially in the reporting department. Building upon the base of wins is important and hearts and minds are very important.
The embedded reporters are making it easier for our staff planners and more difficult for our line units. The planners are getting much needed info yet the Arnett and Heraldo BS is disconcerting. Arnett is gone...Heraldo will have trouble getting troops to talk to him now, except for those who want to be seen on TV back home. Unfortunately the troops do not get to see the TV reports in the field. But for certain they will not like anyone in their midst who is deemed untrustworthy.
The reporters' reports that our bloodied troops are gung ho and willing and wanting to carry on is seen by many as a negative. It is painted as negative by squeamish reporters who have no tolerance for the violence. The blood and gore reports are meant to be offensive to all of us.
War is bloody...very bloody. Friendly fire incidents and collateral damage are a daily fact of life. I, for one, would like to see General Brooks forego his daily explanation of how careful our targeting procedures are to concentrate on explaining that this is a fight to the death. Sneaky, tricky and dirty are the opponents' tactics and our guys are hard charging into their midst to win this thing.
Brutality, blood and death are everywhere on a battlefield.
Bravado, comradeship and bravery incidents by American soldiers are not being reported. That needs to change right now. The detailed reporting of every negative incident that does not meet a reporter's preconceived notions about war must be balanced with detailed reporting about the hundreds of positive stories about how our troops and units are performing. To do less is a disservice.
We are all armchair quarterbacks here. We are applying today's perspective to yesterday's problems. I have read every story I could find about the van shooting incident. The press has yet to report the heavily tinted windows that made a view inside impossible. I am convinced that had I been the platoon leader on the ground in that situation...I would have ordered the shooting too. That LT had to make a split second decision in the midst of combat. He placed the welfare of his troops first and foremost. His decision was a difficult one...one that brave men are often called upon to make in combat. I would commend him.
Thank God we have men who will fight.
Our soldiers involved in that incident will not like it. They will not party over it. They will be just as horrified as the rest of the world. They need to be reassured that the decision was a good one and in their best interests.
War is organized chaos at best. It is legalized murder to some. It is horrible, heartbreaking, demoralizing, and injurious to physical and mental health. It is exhilarating, satisfying, and motivating to some. It is extremely hazardous to all on the battlefield, both combatants and non-combatants.
The manipulation of public opinion is changing my mind about the reporting overall...I am beginning to wish we had laid out the body of every woman and child killed in NYC for the world to see. I am beginning to wish we would show the dead, hacked bodies and body parts of our POWs who were captured alive.
If the reporters want to give us the real feeling of war in our living rooms, they should send the full sights, sounds and smells through our TVs not just the parts that do not meet their taste. |
