We've heard from a Brigadier General and Iraqis; now another encouraging account from the front, this time from a Lieutenant Colonel. It's long, it's richly detailed, and it's more than a little perturbed — and rightfully so. (Via IP.)
ASK THEM NO QUESTIONS, THEY'LL TELL YOU NO LIES: Strategypage dovetails nicely:
The Western media, in their quest for bad news headlines (which sell much better than good news headlines), report only the damage to American and government forces. This gives a very distorted view of the situation. For example, the after-effects of the November battle of Fallujah have generally gone unnoted. Since the anti-government forces in the city were smashed (3,000 fighters killed or captured in a two week campaign, losing over 30 men for each American or Iraqi soldier killed), anti-government activity in the area around Fallujah went down by more than half. The media switched its attention to the next most active area for the anti-government; Mosul. But the government had also moved its police and army units to Mosul, and along with American troops, the anti-government forces are getting hammered again. But you'd never know that by depending on the mass media for information.
Contemplating the extreme divergence between reality and media narrative over the past weeks, I've concluded that the elite left has simply placed its integrity in the ante, betting that if events on the ground just might turn for the worse and corroborate its canned reporting. And if not, that nobody will notice.
Of course, that's what 60 Minutes bet last September — and lost.