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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cogito who wrote (77681)	6/27/2006 12:04:34 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 81568

They've had nothing to report that wasn't spoon-fed to them by the military. Embedding with the troops is not being 'spoon-fed'. The troops don't tell the reporters what to say. At times, embedded reporters have started a rumpus, like when one reported he saw a Marine shoot a wounded prisoner. Yet, often the troops can't get enough reporters to go, the slots go empty. Yes, Iraq is very dangerous for reporters, precisely because the insurgents are aiming particularly at reporters, except the friendly ones from Al Jazeera, who somehow manage to be in the right spot to film the explosions. Here is a milblog's point of view: How To Deal With Good News From Iraq June 26, 2006: One of the more interesting types of stories exchanged by Iraq veterans is how their embedded reporters get screwed by their editors. The basic problem is that reporters tend to get close to the troops they are embedded with, and the troops form a good sense of what kind of story is being written. But then, when the story appears, it often has no connection with what actually happened, other than the names of the reporter and the soldiers or marines. The troops get curious about how this can be. Reporters have learned to dread inquiring emails from the troops they were recently embedded with. Sometimes the reporters are still embedded when some of their reporting appears in print or on the air. The troops note the discrepancies and ask questions. The answer to all these queries is simple. The reality of Iraq is too positive for the editors back home. Good news doesn't sell. The reporting has to be darkened a bit and a negative spin added. The troops tend to shrug their shoulders, and shake their heads. There's always the "alternative media" (blogs and web based stuff in general), and occasional accurate reporting in some mainstream outlets. But, in general, it's as if there were two worlds; the real one the troops live in, and a more "media friendly" one created by editors back home. strategypage.com

To: Cogito who wrote (77681)	6/27/2006 12:12:06 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81568

Meanwhile, you speak of the Press not providing nuanced coverage. Well how about the briefings from the Pentagon? Any nuance there? No. There are only Insurgents and Terrorists and Good Guys. Here is a quote from General Casey's last press briefing. Does this strike you as 'only Terrorists and Good Guys, no nuance'? The national unity government is committed to unity, security and prosperity. And they fully understand that to get prosperity, you have to have security, and to get security, you have to have unity. And they're committed to reconciliation, national reconciliation. And that is an extremely positive step. Second, the security environment is quite complex. And it's a constantly changing environment, but it has increased in its complexity, really, since the December elections and in the aftermath of the Samarra bombing. Now, with respect to al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is hurt in the aftermath of Zarqawi's death, both because of his -- it's a loss of leadership, and two, because of the numerous operations that have been conducted in -- as a result of information found in the course of raids that led to the killing of Zarqawi. They're hurt, but they're not finished. And they won't be finished for some time. But as you saw in the documents that the secretary quoted to you, they are -- they're feeling the pain right now. But as you also see, they are still quite capable of conducting terrorist acts across Iraq. The second big security challenge that adds to the complexity of the environment are these illegal armed groups. And I say illegal armed groups rather than militias because militias take people in too many different directions. These illegal armed groups are operating outside the rule of law. They are not the nine groups of militia that are mentioned in the CPA law that fought Saddam. These are criminals. And they need to be dealt with through a combination of political influence and security forces, and they will be. This government has stepped up to the challenge, has issued instructions for enforcing weapons bans in and around Baghdad, and is committed to dealing with the militia -- I'm sorry -- with the illegal armed group issue to protect their citizens. The third element that adds complexity to the security environment is the fact that the resistance, the Sunni insurgency, has been since the elections reaching out and looking for ways to reevaluate their options and to come out of the resistance against occupation with honor. And we are --we and the Iraqi government have several different strands of contacts going on, and there are opportunities in that regard that we just haven't had before. And the fourth element that I'd suggest to you that adds complexity to the security environment is Iran. And we are quite confident that the Iranians, through their covert special operations forces, are providing weapons, IED technology and training to Shi'a extremist groups in Iraq, the training being conducted in Iran and in some cases probably in Lebanon through their surrogates. They are conducting -- using surrogates to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq, both against us and against the Iraqi people. It's decidedly unhelpful. Now, lastly I'd just say a word about the insurgency. People say the insurgency's growing because attacks are up. Now, what I'd tell you it's more complex. It's more complex than the insurgency is growing. The insurgency hasn't expanded. Fourteen of the 18 provinces still have about nine attacks a day or less. And if you look at where the sectarian violence is occurring, it's occurring within about a 30-mile -- 90 percent of it is occurring in about a 30- mile radius around Baghdad; some down in Basra, some in Diyala Province, the majority right there in the center of the country. So, much more complex environment, not necessarily a worse security environment. The briefing in full: dod.mil