Aiding and Abetting the Enemy

Posted By Blackfive

Below is an essay by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Ryan - a Task Force (Battalion +) Commander in Iraq - who has some words about the Fourth Estate:

So grab a coffee or a drink, sit down and read:

Aiding and Abetting the Enemy: the Media in Iraq
By LTC Tim Ryan, CO, 2/12 Cav, 1^st Cav Div

What if domestic news outlets continually fed American readers headlines like: "Bloody Week on U.S. Highways: Some 700 Killed," or "More Than 900 Americans Die Weekly  from Obesity-Related Diseases"?  Both of these headlines might be true statistically, but do they really represent accurate pictures of the situations?  What if you combined all of the negatives to be found in the state of Texas and used them as an indicator of the quality of life for all Texans?  Imagine the headlines: "Anti-law Enforcement Elements Spread Robbery, Rape and Murder through Texas Cities." For all intents and purposes, this statement is true for any day of any year in any state. True -- yes, accurate -- yes, but in context with the greater good taking place -- no!  After a year or two of headlines like these, more than a few folks back in Texas and the rest of the U.S. probably would be ready to jump off of a building and end it all. So, imagine being an American in Iraq right now.

I just read yet another distorted and grossly exaggerated story from a major news organization about the "failures" in the war in Iraq.   Print and video journalists are covering only a small fraction of the events in Iraq and more often than not, the events they cover are only the bad ones. Many of the journalists making public assessments about the progress of the war in Iraq are unqualified to do so, given their training and experience. The inaccurate picture they paint has distorted the world view of the daily realities in Iraq.  The result is a further erosion of international public support for the United States' efforts there, and a strengthening of the insurgents' resolve and recruiting efforts while weakening our own.  Through their incomplete, uninformed and unbalanced reporting, many members of the media covering the war in Iraq are aiding and abetting the enemy.

The fact is the Coalition is making steady progress in Iraq, but not without ups and downs.  War is a terrible thing and terrible things happen during wars, even when you are winning. In war, as in any contest of wills with capable opponents, things do not always go as planned; the guys with the white hats don't always come out on top in each engagement. That doesn't mean you are losing.  Sure, there are some high profile and very spectacular enemy attacks taking place in Iraq these days, but the great majority of what is happening in Iraq is positive.  So why is it that no matter what events unfold, good or bad, the media highlight mostly the negative aspects of the event?  The journalistic adage, "If it bleeds, it leads," still applies in Iraq, but why only when it's American blood?

As a recent example, the operation in Fallujah delivered an absolutely devastating blow to the insurgency.  Though much smaller in scope, clearing Fallujah of insurgents arguably could equate to the Allies' breakout from the hedgerows in France during World War II. In both cases, our troops overcame a well-prepared and solidly entrenched enemy and began what could be the latter's last stand.  In Fallujah, the enemy death toll has already exceeded 1,500 and still is climbing.  Put one in the win column for the good guys, right?  Wrong. As soon as there was nothing negative to report about Fallujah, the media shifted its focus to other parts of the country.  Just yesterday, a major news agency's website lead read: "Suicide Bomber Kills Six in Baghdad" and "Seven Marines Die in Iraq Clashes." True, yes. Comprehensive, no.  Did the author of this article bother to mention that Coalition troops killed 50 or so terrorists while incurring those seven losses? Of course not.  Nor was there any mention about the substantial progress these offensive operations continue to achieve in defeating the insurgents.  Unfortunately, this sort of incomplete reporting has become the norm for the media, whose poor job of presenting a complete picture of what is going on in Iraq borders on being criminal.

Much of the problem is about perspective, putting things in scale and balance.  From where I sit in my command post at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, things are not all bad right now. In fact, they are going quite well.  We are not under attack by the enemy; on the contrary, we are taking the fight to him daily and have him on the ropes.  In the distance, I can hear the repeated impacts of heavy artillery and five hundred-pound bombs hitting their targets in the city.  The occasional tank main gun report and the staccato rhythm of a Marine Corps LAV or Army Bradley Fighting Vehicle's 25-millimeter cannon provide the bass line for a symphony of destruction. Right now, as elements from all four services complete the absolute annihilation of the insurgent forces remaining in Fallujah, the area around the former stronghold is more peaceful than it has been for more than a year. The number of attacks in the greater Al Anbar Province is down by at least 70-80% from late October -- before Operation Al Fajar began.  The enemy in this area is completely defeated, but not completely gone. Final eradication of the pockets of insurgents will take some time, as it always does, but the fact remains that the central geographic stronghold of the insurgents is now under friendly control. That sounds a lot like success to me.  Given all of this, why don't the papers lead with "Coalition Crushes Remaining Pockets of Insurgents" or "Enemy Forces Resort to Suicide Bombings of Civilians"? This would paint a far more accurate picture of the enemy's predicament over here.  Instead, headlines focus almost exclusively on our hardships.

What about the media's portrayal of the enemy?  Why do these ruthless murderers, kidnappers and thieves get a pass when it comes to their actions?  What did the media not show or tell us about Margaret Hassoon, the director of C.A.R.E. in Iraq and an Iraqi citizen, who was kidnapped, brutally tortured and left disemboweled in streets of Fallujah?  Did anyone in the press show these images over and over to emphasize the moral failings of the enemy as they did with the soldiers at Abu Ghuraib?  Did anyone show the world how this enemy had huge stockpiles of weapons in schools and mosques, or how he used these protected places as sanctuaries for planning and fighting in Fallujah and the rest of Iraq?  Are people of the world getting the complete story?  The answer again is no!  What the world got instead were repeated images of a battle-weary Marine who made a quick decision to use lethal force and who now is being tried in the world press.  Is this one act really illustrative of the overall action in Fallujah?  No, but the Marine video clip was shown an average of four times each hour on just about every major TV news channel for a week.  This is how the world views our efforts over here and stories like this without a counter continually serve as propaganda victories for the enemy.  Al Jazeera isn't showing the film of the CARE worker, but is showing the clip of the Marine.  Earlier this year, the Iraqi government banned Al Jazeera from the country for its inaccurate reporting.  Wonder where they get their information now?  Well, if you go to the Internet, you'll find a web link from the Al Jazeera home page to CNN's home page. Very interesting.

The operation in Fallujah is only one of the recent examples of incomplete coverage of the events in Iraq. The battle in Najaf last August provides another. Television and newspapers spilled a continuous stream of images and stories about the destruction done to the sacred city, and of all the human suffering allegedly brought about by the hands of the big, bad Americans.  These stories and the lack of anything to counter them gave more fuel to the fire of anti-Americanism that burns in this part of the world. Those on the outside saw the Coalition portrayed as invaders or oppressors, killing hapless Iraqis who, one was given to believe, simply were trying to defend their homes and their Muslim way of life. 

Reality couldn't have been farther from the truth.  What noticeably was missing were accounts of the atrocities committed by the Mehdi Militia -- Muqtada Al Sadr's band of henchmen. While the media was busy bashing the Coalition, Muqtada's boys were kidnapping policemen, city council members and anyone else accused of supporting the Coalition or the new government, trying them in a kangaroo court based on Islamic Shari'a law, then brutally torturing and executing them for their "crimes."  What the media didn't show or write about were the two hundred-plus headless bodies found in the main mosque there, or the body that was put into a bread oven and baked. Nor did they show the world the hundreds of thousands of mortar, artillery and small arms rounds found within the "sacred" walls of the mosque. Also missing from the coverage was the huge cache of weapons found in Muqtada's "political" headquarters nearby. No, none of this made it to the screen or to print.  All anyone showed were the few chipped tiles on the dome of the mosque and discussion centered on how we, the Coalition, had somehow done wrong.  Score another one for the enemy's propaganda machine.

Now, compare the Najaf example to the coverage and debate ad nauseam of the Abu Ghuraib Prison affair.  There certainly is no justification for what a dozen or so soldiers did there, but unbalanced reporting led the world to believe that the actions of the dozen were representative of the entire military. This has had an incredibly negative effect on Middle Easterners' already sagging opinion of the U.S. and its military.  Did anyone show the world images of the 200 who were beheaded and mutilated in Muqtada's Shari'a Law court, or spend the next six months talking about how horrible all of that was?  No, of course not.  Most people don't know that these atrocities happened. It's little wonder that many people here want us out and would vote someone like Muqtada Al Sadr into office given the chance -- they never see the whole truth.  Strange, when the enemy is the instigator the media does not flash images across the screens of televisions in the Middle East as they did with Abu Ghuraib.  Is it because the beheaded bodies might offend someone? If so, then why do we continue see photos of the naked human pyramid over and over?

So, why doesn't the military get more involved in showing the media the other side of the story? The answer is they do. Although some outfits are better than others, the Army and other military organizations today understand the importance of getting out the story -- the whole story -- and trains leaders to talk to the press. There is a saying about media and the military that goes: "The only way the media is going to tell a good story is if you give them one to tell." This doesn't always work as planned.  Recently, when a Coalition spokesman tried to let TV networks in on opening moves in the Fallujah operation, they misconstrued the events for something they were not and then blamed the military for their gullibility. CNN recently aired a "special report" in which the cable network accused the military of lying to it and others about the beginning of the Fallujah operation.  The incident referred to took place in October when a Marine public affairs officer called media representatives and told them that an operation was about to begin.  Reporters rushed to the outskirts of Fallujah to see what they assumed was going to be the beginning of the main attack on the city.  As it turned out, what they saw were tactical "feints" designed to confuse the enemy about the timing of the main attack, then planned to take place weeks later.

Once the network realized that major combat operations wouldn't start for several more weeks, CNN alleged that the Marines had used them as a tool for their deception operation.  Now, they say they want answers from the military and the administration on the matter. The reality appears to be that in their zeal to scoop their competition, CNN and others took the information they were given and turned it into what they wanted it to be.  Did the military lie to the media: no. It is specifically against regulations to provide misinformation to the press.  However, did the military planners anticipate that reporters would take the ball and run with it, adding to the overall deception plan? Possibly. Is that unprecedented or illegal? Of course not.

CNN and others say they were duped by the military in this and other cases. Yet, they never seem to be upset by the undeniable fact that the enemy manipulates them with a cunning that is almost worthy of envy.  You can bet that terrorist leader Abu Musab Al Zarqarwi has his own version of a public affairs officer and it is evident that he uses him to great effect.  Each time Zarquari's group executes a terrorist act such as a beheading or a car bomb, they have a prepared statement ready to post on their website and feed to the press. Over-eager reporters take the bait, hook, line and sinker, and report it just as they got it. 

Did it ever occur to the media that this type of notoriety is just what the terrorists want and need?  Every headline they grab is a victory for them. Those who have read the ancient Chinese military theorist and army general Sun Tsu will recall the philosophy of "Kill one, scare ten thousand" as the basic theory behind the strategy of terrorism. Through fear, the terrorist can then manipulate the behavior of the masses. The media allows the terrorist to use relatively small but spectacular events that directly affect very few, and spread them around the world to scare millions.  What about the thousands of things that go right every day and are never reported?  Complete a multi-million-dollar sewer project and no one wants to cover it, but let one car bomb go off and it makes headlines.  With each headline, the enemy scores another point and the good-guys lose one. This method of scoring slowly is eroding domestic and international support while fueling the enemy's cause.

I believe one of the reasons for this shallow and subjective reporting is that many reporters never actually cover the events they report on. This is a point of growing concern within the Coalition. It appears many members of the media are hesitant to venture beyond the relative safety of the so-called "International Zone" in downtown Baghdad, or similar "safe havens" in other large cities. Because terrorists and other thugs wisely target western media members and others for kidnappings or attacks, the westerners stay close to their quarters. This has the effect of holding the media captive in cities and keeps them away from the broader truth that lies outside their view.  With the press thus cornered, the terrorists easily feed their unwitting captives a thin gruel of anarchy, one spoonful each day.  A car bomb at the entry point to the International Zone one day, a few mortars the next, maybe a kidnapping or two thrown in. All delivered to the doorsteps of those who will gladly accept it without having to leave their hotel rooms -- how convenient. 

The scene is repeated all too often: an attack takes place in Baghdad and the morning sounds are punctuated by a large explosion and a rising cloud of smoke.  Sirens wail in the distance and photographers dash to the scene a few miles away.  Within the hour, stern-faced reporters confidently stare into the camera while standing on the balcony of their tenth-floor Baghdad hotel room, their back to the city and a distant smoke plume rising behind them.  More mayhem in Gotham City they intone, and just in time for the morning news. There is a transparent reason why the majority of car bombings and other major events take place before noon Baghdad-time; any later and the event would miss the start of the morning news cycle on the U.S. east coast. These terrorists aren't stupid; they know just what to do to scare the masses and when to do it.  An important key to their plan is manipulation of the news media.  But, at least the reporters in Iraq are gathering information and filing their stories, regardless of whether or the stories are in perspective.  Much worse are the "talking heads" who sit in studios or offices back home and pontificate about how badly things are going when they never have been to Iraq and only occasionally leave Manhattan.

Almost on a daily basis, newspapers, periodicals and airwaves give us negative views about the premises for this war and its progress. It seems that everyone from politicians to pop stars are voicing their unqualified opinions on how things are going. Recently, I saw a Rolling Stone magazine and in bold print on the cover was, "Iraq on Fire; Dispatches from the Lost War."  Now, will someone please tell me who at Rolling Stone or just about any other "news" outlet is qualified to make a determination as to when all is lost and it's time to throw in the towel? In reality, such flawed reporting serves only to misshape world opinion and bolster the enemy's position.  Each enemy success splashed across the front pages and TV screens of the world not only emboldens them, but increases their ability to recruit more money and followers.
So what are the credentials of these self proclaimed "experts"?  The fact is that most of those on whom we rely for complete and factual accounts have little or no experience or education in counter-insurgency operations or in nation-building to support their assessments.   How would they really know if things are going well or not?  War is an ugly thing with many unexpected twists and turns.  Who among them is qualified to say if this one is worse than any other at this point?  What would they have said in early 1942 about our chances of winning World War II?  Was it a lost cause too?  How much have these "experts" studied warfare and counter-insurgencies in particular?  Have they ever read Roger Trinquier's treatise Modern Warfare: A French View on Counter-insurgency (1956)?  He is one of the few French military guys who got it right.  The Algerian insurgency of the 1950s and the Iraq insurgency have many similarities.  What about Napoleon's campaigns in Sardinia in 1805-07? Again, there are a lot of similarities to this campaign. Have they studied that and contrasted the strategies? Or, have they even read Mao Zedung's theories on insurgencies, or Nygen Giap's, or maybe Che' Gueverra's?  Have they seen any of Sun Zsu's work lately?  Who are these guys?  It's time to start studying, folks. If a journalist doesn't recognize the names on this list, he or she probably isn't qualified to assess the state of this or any other campaign's progress.

Worse yet, why in the world would they seek opinion from someone who probably knows even less than they do about the state of affairs in Iraq?  It sells commercials, I suppose.  But, I find it amazing that some people are more apt to listen to a movie star's or rock singer's view on how we should prosecute world affairs than to someone whose profession it is to know how these things should go. I play the guitar, but Bruce Springsteen doesn't listen to me play.  Why should I be subjected to his views on the validity of the war?  By profession, he's a guitar player. Someone remind me what it is that makes Sean Penn an expert on anything.  It seems that anyone who has a dissenting view is first to get in front of the camera.  I'm all for freedom of speech, but let's talk about things we know. Otherwise, television news soon could have about as much credibility as "The Batchelor" has for showing us truly loving couples.

Also bothersome are references by "experts" on how "long" this war is taking.  I've read that in the world of manufacturing, you can have only two of the following three qualities when developing a product -- cheap, fast or good. You can produce something cheap and fast, but it won't be good; good and fast, but it won't be cheap; good and cheap, but it won't be fast. In this case, we want the result to be good and we want it at the lowest cost in human lives.  Given this set of conditions, one can expect this war is to take a while, and rightfully so. Creating a democracy in Iraq not only will require a change in the political system, but the economic system as well. Study of examples of similar socio-economic changes that took place in countries like Chile, Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia and other countries with oppressive Socialist dictatorships shows that it took seven to ten years to move those countries to where they are now.  There are many lessons to be learned from these transformations, the most important of which is that change doesn't come easily, even without an insurgency going on.  Maybe the experts should take a look at all of the work that has gone into stabilizing Bosnia-Herzegovina over the last 10 years. We are just at the eighteen-month mark in Iraq, a place far more oppressive than Bosnia ever was. If previous examples are any comparison, there will be no quick solutions here, but that should be no surprise to an analyst who has done his or her homework.

This war is not without its tragedies; none ever are. The key to the enemy's success is use of his limited assets to gain the greatest influence over the masses.  The media serves as the glass through which a relatively small event can be magnified to international proportions, and the enemy is exploiting this with incredible ease. There is no good news to counteract the bad, so the enemy scores a victory almost every day.  In its zeal to get to the hot spots and report the latest bombing, the media is missing the reality of a greater good going on in Iraq.  We seldom are seen doing anything right or positive in the news.  People believe what they see, and what people of the world see almost on a daily basis is negative.  How could they see it any other way?  These images and stories, out of scale and context to the greater good going on over here, are just the sort of thing the terrorists are looking for.  This focus on the enemy's successes strengthens his resolve and aids and abets his cause. It's the American image abroad that suffers in the end.

Ironically, the press freedom that we have brought to this part of the world is providing support for the enemy we fight. I obviously think it's a disgrace when many on whom the world relies for news paint such an incomplete picture of what actually has happened. Much too much is ignored or omitted. I am confident that history will prove our cause right in this war, but by the time that happens, the world might be so steeped in the gloom of ignorance we won't recognize victory when we achieve it.

Here is photo of LTC Ryan in Iraq.

Update 01-19-05:  Looks like LTC Ryan and LtCol Smith have made a few ripples in the regular media.

Update 01-21-05:  Arthur Chrenkoff takes a look at Bad News from Iraq - or a look at the amazing number of negative articles about Iraq.

[Thanks to Amy K. - whose husband is a Marine Officer in Iraq - for sending the essay by LTC Ryan]

Comments

[Rob]

Great essay, but it's a cry in the wilderness. We've all heard it before: Dog bites man isn't interesting. Man bites dog is newsworthy.
The press only responds to things that are unusual. If things are all going as planned, it's not interesting.
American soldiers don't beat defenseless prisoners.
American forces always win wars quickly and easily.
These two things are the rule, so when the Press spots the exception, they report on it over and over and over thus giving a distortion of the reality that things are mostly going our way in Iraq.
Having a free press is sometimes a double-edged sword. LTC Ryan hits the nail on the head: what "qualifies" them to be able to report on an issue? Can anyone just pipe up and say "the war is lost" ?
Oh, and don't get me started on the whole issue of a "free press," because there is no such thing. The press is out to MAKE A BUCK and sell their story, not to tell the "boring" truth. Why do you think they have teaser commercials during primetime that say "A communicable disease is speading through our community... more info at 11 o'clock."
If spreading information and truth were their only goal, they would tell you during the 15 second commercial that "Flu cases in our community have gone from 100 to 200 in the last week." but that wouldn't encourage you to "tune in" for their broadcast AND COMMERCIALS at 11 o'clock.
The press is not the Fourth Estate and they are not the neutral referees of the world. The "Free Press" is a business just like everything else.
(((gets off soapbox)))

[JoeS]

Or is the problem with the MSM media Intentional Treason?

We need to contact advertisers on MSM news outlets and tell the advertisers that we equate the sponsorship of treason with treason.

Advertise on the Blogs!!

[kschlenker]

True, the press isn't free. However, they claim rights for themselves to proprietary information under "freedom of the press", refuse to help the police when lives of others may be at stake (again under "freedom of the press"), and live to bring people down, no matter who they hurt in the process.
In general, the press s*cks. Saying they are doing it as a business just means they are prostitutes too.

[Ron Pretasky]

Thank you for a well written description of the war. You have been able to confirm what I felt was happening i.e. that the mainstream media is basically trying to short circuit the war effort. Please know that many of us support you and the rest of the coalition troops and are eternally grateful to you.

Sincerely,
Ronald J. Pretasky, P.E.

[chuck hallman]

Let me tell you all something, I know LTC Ryan, he was my small group instructor back at FT Benning in 1996. He is one of the sharpest officers I ever had the pleasure to work with, though his genius often made life hard on the students! Hey Blackfive, if you have contact with him, tell him I need a S3 job and will be done in Korea in 5 months! Seriously, an excellent article by a keen observer and brilliant soldier. Unfortunately this will never reach a mass market due to our current media situation. Guys like you, Blackfive, are filling in the gaps and are taking the fight to the real enemy, our indolent and self-absorbed MSM.

MAJ Chuck Hallman
2ID G3 Trainer

[Daryl]

Mr Ryan,

Fortunately many in the public are well aware of the absurdity and untrustworthiness of many mainstream media reports, and the awareness is growing.

My heartfelt thanks and support to you and your fellows.

[JC]

MSM, MSM, MSM, MSM....blah, blah, blah.

If you don't like what they have to say, then tune out. If enough people tune out, the tune will change. Rob hit the nail on the head: Media is big business. If you want a "balanced" version of the news, check out Fox or (seriously) the State Dept. Media is a business - and not the liberal bastion every makes it out to me. The reason the media reports what it does is because it sells. Based on this reasoning, it is the People and NOT the Media at fault. "Consumer, Heal Thyself."

PS: This is no dig on LTC Ryan - I worked with him and he has good taste in cigars and booze. Priceless. And the man actually understands Info Ops -- a rare commodity in Cav commanders.

[Major John]

Same thing is going on here in Afghanistan. Since the enemy is so beaten down, there is little bad news to report, and because all the good news is strictly "hands off" - we have all but disappeared from the MSM. I guess I should be glad of it after reading the good LTC's posting, heh heh.

[Tim P]

A great essay. In my opinion, a very accurate take on what passes for mainstream media coverage of this war.
I hope this is seen on more blogs. I hope it's e-mailed to others often by those of us who have read this.
If the MSM is not going to tell the truth to the American public, than it is incumbent on us to get the message out as best we can.
The folks in the MSM are not going to wake up tomorrow morning and have some sort of epiphany. I think most of them believe what they are saying is accurate, if not necessarily true. Kind of like our trusted friend, Mr. Rather.
So, unless we do our utmost to get the message out, nobody else will.

[kris]

Thank you so much. Please don't forget, not all of us have been so aptly brainwashed. ;)

[JC]

TimP,

It is not that the MSM are not telling the truth, the claim is that the media are not telling the whole truth. LTC Ryan is saying that by the media's choices to present some true facts, but not other true facts, the media are distorting the picture in Iraq (or Afghanistan, or insert X here).

~JC

[Sid Booksh]

I was with the Marines in Viet Nam in '67 and '68. Just change the names of the cities and hamlets and the stories read the same. What's different now is that the 'net has given a voice to the folks who really know what's going on like LTC Ryan. Let's prey that you guys don't get screwed by the country loosing its nerve like we did.
Sid

[John Steele]

This has been going on since Vietnam when the media realized that the enemy couldn't defeat US forces but that the media alone pssessed the power to deliver the death blow to the troops.

In Afghanistan the press took great pains to remind us that everyone who attempted operations there was defeated including the 'mighty' Red Army (which wasn't all that mighty by that time anyway.) The press was dismayed to find that in 10 weeks our troops had accomplished what they said couldn't be done.

Then came Iraq. Before operations began in Iraq the media predicted that we would suffer massive casualties and be bogged down on the road to Baghdad forever. Within two weeks of the invasion the Quagmire word appeared and the allusions to Vietnam began. Unfortunately for the press, the troops were too busy winning to read how they couldn't win.

So, after two very successful operations in spite of the certain defeat ordained by the press, the media had no alternative but to prove that they knew best. So they shifted gears; if the press couldn't beat us on the battlefield they would just have to make sure to beat us in print and on the air.

The media, and especially the US media, hate the military and everything it stands for and they will stop at nothing to beat you. They don't see what they are doing as aiding the enemy, afterall YOU are the enemy.

God bless and keep all of you.

[chris shields]

Great rebuttal to the enemy within (aka MSM). Turning off MSM is a great idea, but still doesn't hold them accountable for their irresponsible reporting, or make them answer the biggest question--given the stakes, why do they do it? God Bless,
C.

[JC]

John Steele, Please put down the crack pipe and step away from the computer. The media are not organizing against the military. The "media" do not "hate" the military. In both the Afghan and Iraq wars, the media were tripping all over themselves to be the first to stroke the flagpole.

[Roger Schmitt]

LTC, Thank you very much for really telling it like it is. This piece should be required reading for every reporter & editor in the news business. Especially those that oppose the Iraq war. Keep up the great work. LCDR USN retired.

[Tim P]

A great essay. In my opinion, a very accurate take on what passes for mainstream media coverage of this war.
I hope this is seen on more blogs. I hope it's e-mailed to others often by those of us who have read this.
If the MSM is not going to tell the truth to the American public, than it is incumbent on us to get the message out as best we can.
The folks in the MSM are not going to wake up tomorrow morning and have some sort of epiphany. I think most of them believe what they are saying is accurate, if not necessarily true. Kind of like our trusted friend, Mr. Rather.
So, unless we do our utmost to get the message out, nobody else will.

[Caleb]

JC What did you do for a living before you became a shill and whore for the anti-American MSM. The biggest and maybe only mistake the Founders made was to put a guarentee in the Bill of Rights that singled out a single group of arrogant elites for special treatment.

[JC]

Other than serve my country, Caleb? I earned the right to my fucking opinion.

Just because I don't preach your tired-ass, party-line bullshit does not make me a "shill and whore."

If it's not to much trouble, read what I wrote dumb-ass. It's not good to blow your load when it's not pointed in the right direction.

~JC

[JC]

"The biggest and maybe only mistake the Founders made was to put a guarentee in the Bill of Rights that singled out a single group of arrogant elites for special treatment."

Did someone say...Cuba?

[Chris]

I think the author of that dispatch makes a good point: the media is largely unqualified to cover this war because they don't understand Iraq, the military, or both. The journalists need to push themselves out of the safe areas and cover more of this war.

But this essay is full of Red Herrings, innacuracies and bad reasoning. He complains the press doesn't mention the brutality of kidnappings and assassinations? I read about that regularly. I think this hard-working soldier takes the war as poorly out of context as he claims the press does. Abu Grahib, which he thinks is overcovered, had a huge impact on the way the world - particularly the Arab world - sees this war. The American press has little to do with that impact, but it should relay to readers the importance of such an event.

I also think it's a mistake to compare body counts like the soldier does regarding the seven soldiers and 50-odd terrorists who were killed. These Vietnamese lost scores more than the Americans, for example.

He also complains about different people - celebrities to pundits - voicing their opinion about the war. I don't have much sympathy, considering the fact that I believe anyone has the right to speak up (even if I don't agree with them). Is that one of the reasons blogs got their start.

There's not much here that indicts the press. Newspaper reports are the first draft of history. There have been some bad first drafts, but I don't seem to be seeing the same media coverage I do in my daily paper and magazines.

[JD66]

The very best of America right now is shoulder to shoulder boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan hauling the load and getting it done. The Baghdad generation made it to the airport way ahead of schedule but right on time and now it has lifted off. On the eve of the coming Iraqi election we are at a moment of the tide about to turn. By blood, sweat and sacrifice those who testify with their service of their faith in freedom and their love of our country are the heros of the history their children will write.

From Valley Forge to Gettysburg to Normandy and Iwo Jima and yes even Khe Sahn and Hue, those who lift up their weopons and step up for duty, risking their lives and making their way through the valley of the shadow of death- these are self chosen few who are richer than all the rest by their witness to the true cost of freedom.

In 20 years time more than 60% of the U.S. Senate and House will comprise those who right now are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter what the msm says now, it is these who will have the final say of what is happening.

Perhaps you have seen when a hawk flies through and the crows screech and flap and dive as if to attack but never make contact...the hawk always, almost strangely, ignores them and simply, gracefully, powerfully continues its mission. The hawk hunts, the hawk hits and when it is done the crows scatter in silence and the hawk returns home. These are the days of the flight of the hawk, and when it is done the noise of the crows won't matter.

The morning after the Iraqi election watch close to see the changes come---it will begin to dawn upon the Iraqi people that they by voting for the first time in their lives have made a democracy happen and quietly you will see that they do understand it would never have happened without you.

[Jim Martin]

I agree with the writer completely, it's a disgrace to our soldiers to betray their dedication to duty and country. I've come to think of the leftist MSM as evil and deserving of America's contempt.

Those Hollywood types expressing how they think the war should be fought are a joke; they can't run their own lives successfully without making headlines. The raeson they are actors is they have the intelligence of a cow.

[Bill Daly]

Let me say at the outset that this article is precisely to the point for the most part. It suffers from a few problems in my view. For one thing, it is too long; the last half essentially repeats the arguments made more forcefully in the first half. It is also too pessimistic; I think the majority of Americans know that we are accomplishing good things in Iraq, and discount the negative stories of the MSM. Also, it indulges in a bit of apologia for the media, by suggesting that the reason for their inept reporting is that they are too cowardly to leave the relative comfort of Baghdad; let's just state the facts, which are in this case that the MSM has missed most of the real story in Iraq, and let them find their own justifications. We don't have to make the defense case for them.

I liked the reference to Muqtada al-Sadr. When is the last time you saw his name on the front page of any MSM publication? Maybe last August? I vaguely recall that at one time he was allegedly the true voice of Iraq, according to the MSM. Has all that changed then? It must be nice to live in a totally synthetic world, where reality can be rearranged at will to correspond to desire.

I disagree with the following assertion by Rob:

" Great essay, but it's a cry in the wilderness. We've all heard it before: Dog bites man isn't interesting. Man bites dog is newsworthy."

I've heard essentially the same thing from many sources, but I just don't buy it. If the MSM were only interested in selling papers, then they would have leapt on the Swift Vets story, which has far more media appeal than the brain-dead Bush AWOL story. The fact that they didn't shows that there's something else going on.

Then there's the following from JC:

"MSM, MSM, MSM, MSM....blah, blah, blah.

If you don't like what they have to say, then tune out. If enough people tune out, the tune will change."

Well, this is a good example of the sort of pessimism I remarked on earlier. Why does JC think that people haven't already worked it out? Does he really think that people like me have to stop watching our opponents so that the Nielsen ratings will reflect our attitudes? (I personally have no interest in eliminating stupidity; I can make very good money because of the stupidity that is still and ever prevalent in the world.) The blogosphere is reacting similarly to Rathergate; it's like "Oh my God, CBS hasn't admitted that they are biased!" So what? They're just digging their own graves.

I'm far more optimistic than most. I grew up in a world where the Soviet Union was on the march, where the biggest country on earth had fallen under Communist control, where my intellectual professors assured me that the United States was on the wrong side of history, and that we would all be Communists eventually, where all the stories in the news media were unrelentingly hostile to the United States -- and now, the Soviet Union doesn't exist any more, China subscribes to a form of capitalism, the news media no longer controls all information. It shouldn't take long before there are professors at major universities who advocate views of a truly libertarian nature. Why should I be pessimistic?

[Lonny]

US military court finds Specialist Charles Graner guilty of abusing prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.

For more details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

[Sqt Killer]

Hu Ha! Kill or be Killed! Take the charge and kill everyone that doesn't agree with the American way!

Peace.

[stickler]

Okay, this passage alone is worth the price of admission:

_I sit in my command post at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, things are not all bad right now. In fact, they are going quite well. We are not under attack by the enemy; on the contrary, we are taking the fight to him daily and have him on the ropes. In the distance, I can hear the repeated impacts of heavy artillery and five hundred-pound bombs hitting their targets in the city. The occasional tank main gun report and the staccato rhythm of a Marine Corps LAV or Army Bradley Fighting Vehicle's 25-millimeter cannon provide the bass line for a symphony of destruction. Right now, as elements from all four services complete the absolute annihilation of the insurgent forces remaining in Fallujah, the area around the former stronghold is more peaceful than it has been for more than a year._

Did this "symphony of destruction" work particularly well in Vietnam? Did it win us hearts and minds? Did it work for the Russians in Chechnya?

This is a guerrilla war, and the man on the ground had best realize it. The guerrillas win by fighting, even fighting and losing. They're fighting the last remaining superpower, after all. While our men were playing that symphony in Fallujah, what was going on in Mosul? How many Bradley fighting vehicles have been destroyed in the last two weeks?

And to blame the media is just the same tired Dolchstoss garbage recycled from 1975. Dan Rather didn't lose Vietnam; it was LBJ's lousy strategy, McNamara's mistakes, tactical screwups, myopia, and an inability to convince Vietnamese to fight with us, the foreigners, against Ho's men. To blame CBS then, or the "MSM" now, is to make excuses for bad leadership.

[Jeff Garzik]

Amen, dude. In my daily search for stories on the Iraq elections for my newswire/blog (http://iraqelectionwire.blogspot.com/), I come across the following Associated Press news story EVERY DAY:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050115/D87K9KQO0.html
"A Daily Look at U.S. Iraq Military Deaths"

So WTF is the daily look at terrorist deaths?

[Carridine]

Stickler, Chris...
Considered your posts, and got your message: "Retreat Now!"

Purposely missing the point, refusing to deal with specifics and suggesting platitudes doesn't make a serious or meaningful argument.
***
Great essay! Thanks, Tim Ryan! The craven and ignorant among us report what they do and the terrorists -sorry, "insurgents and militants"- score more hearts and minds.

Appreciate yr blog and yr choice of essayists! Thank you.

Dr Kerry Dean

[Steve J.]

LTC Tim Ryan: "What if domestic news outlets continually fed American readers headlines like: "Bloody Week on U.S. Highways: Some 700 Killed," or "More Than 900 Americans Die Weekly from Obesity-Related Diseases"? "

It would be a very good thing. I'm not sure of the numbers but during the Vietnam era, I think about 4 times as many people died in drunk driving accidents as died in Vietnam. Where I grew up, driving drunk was practically a sign of manhood.

Obesity is fast becoming a very serious health problem in America, affecting 10s of millions, and is sure to add 100s of billions to our national health care bill if left unchecked.

Now, to address a main point of the article:

It's not the reality-based media, it's fucking Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz who have hurt our efforts in Iraq.
I cannot forgive Rumsfeld for saying the shortage of armor was a matter of "physics" and then, two days later, there's an announcement that armored Humvee production is increased by 100/month. Physics did not change in 2 days but for some people, CYA is a way of living.

[Richard Stanaro]

Not all of us are seduced by the bs from the media. Take heart- many are reading your article and seeking out information anywhere BUT CNN and the major news media. No one believes CBS anyone for that matter, nor the NYT except the people that hate our country anyway. We're so proud of you guys that are hearts are bursting. And, so grateful. I have three children and the blessing of never having had to fight for our country- but I would if needed. You should feel proud that you are riskign your life for something bigger than yourself - your folks must be so proud. God bless and keep all of you. OUr prayers are with you all- we will not waiver back home. We will do our part.

Richard Stanaro

[Jim Ausman]

It is really a sad day for freedom when we have an American officer railing against our first amendment freedoms.

I wish I could believe that things are going so well in Iraq, but I think they are. Electricity delivery is way down, for one thing.

Good luck guys, but blaming the US media for the fact that things are going poorly there is not going to improve things. I don't think most Iraqis even know or care what the American media reports.

[Jim Ausman]

It is really a sad day for freedom when we have an American officer railing against our first amendment freedoms.

I wish I could believe that things are going so well in Iraq, but I think they are not. Electricity delivery is way down, for one thing.

Good luck guys, but blaming the US media for the fact that things are going poorly there is not going to improve things. I don't think most Iraqis even know or care what the American media reports.

[Karen]

The media has no constitutional right to irresponsible or unlimited use of free speech. The same laws that apply to slander of an individual or a private group should be extended to the branches of our government. Intent to harm is difficult or impossible to prove directly, but it can be inferred by a selectively one-sided use of facts (called bias). Media distortion of news by selective reporting of events or facts by either intent or incompetence is in violation of the accountability demanded by the first amendment. Any attempt to support media bias as a violation of free speech itself violates the first amendment.

[Karen]

The media has no constitutional right to irresponsible or unlimited use of free speech. The same laws that apply to slander of an individual or a private group should be extended to the branches of our government. Intent to harm is difficult or impossible to prove directly, but it can be inferred by a selectively one-sided use of facts (called bias). Media distortion of news by selective reporting of events or facts by either intent or incompetence is in violation of the accountability demanded by the first amendment. Any attempt to support media bias as a violation of free speech itself violates the first amendment.

[Tom Doyle]

"I'm far more optimistic than most. I grew up in a world where the Soviet Union was on the march, where the biggest country on earth had fallen under Communist control, where my intellectual professors assured me that the United States was on the wrong side of history, and that we would all be Communists eventually, where all the stories in the news media were unrelentingly hostile to the United States -- and now, the Soviet Union doesn't exist any more, China subscribes to a form of capitalism, the news media no longer controls all information. It shouldn't take long before there are professors at major universities who advocate views of a truly libertarian nature. Why should I be pessimistic?"

Where are you from, Albania?

Glad its better than it was, anyway.

[Karen]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Chris]

The only problem I have with responses like Carridine is that it assumes that people who don't have a problem with the press broadcasting/printing news events that don't explicitly help the American side think we should retreat.

I don't think a majority of bloggers and blog readers feel the following way, but I do think there are a handful of folks with an undercurrent attitude - and Carridine makes up this minority - that seem to think that most Americans simply absorb information like a sponge and can't read good, bad and otherwise and come up with an opinion for the intervention. I don't think that's true, and the most Americans aren't swayed by a report of troops deaths because we all know how this works.

On another point, the AP - the world's news service - prints those casualty reports daily because some member papers use them on different days. Those are basic facts any news service that serves a massive number of clients must dispense and not because they hope people blare them on the front page. That's a decision for the individual subscribers of the AP

[Milton]

To LTC Ryan I say, Hooah!

[Diane]

Just read your article about the biased MSM reporting on Iraq. Take heart most Americans, except for the radical left, don't believe what they read or hear from the MSM. Most of us read bloggers for our news. Subscriptions to the left leaning newspapers are down the majority of the previous ABC channel news viewers are now watching Fox. Most Americans are feed up with the propaganda being feed to us. We are proud of our military and what you have accomplished in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It would be great if the military had their own news agency where we could get it direct from the front with the military point of view. This would give America and the world a better perspective of what is really going on. Either that or get those journalists out of Iraq, or at least their safe haven hotels.

Keep up the blogging...

Thanks,

D

[But Greeney]

Ah, so some Lt. Colonel pontificates. I'd feel much happier if it were some GI talking, not a f@$&#ing officer! As a former draftee (time of the Korean war), I must tell you I met only one officer who wasn't a complete coward, one type or another, and always felt the officers were my true enemy. Saluting a form of greeting -- HAH ! Tell me why, if this is true, one MUST salute an automobile (a general's car), even if it only has a GI driver in it! The military is organized along feudal lines, with nobles shitting on the serfs. If I had ever had a chance to have the likes of that Lt. Colonel in my gun sites, no telling what I would have done.

[paul schlereth]

thank you tim and dont worry, the folks have figured out the incompetance and bias-and, thank you, again.

[bobby jim]

Thank you LTC Ryan and all troops in Iraq (especially my grandson) from a WW2 & Korea era navy chief.

[Mark Gilson]

At least during WW2, the media was on "our" side.
Please keep up the honest reporting - God Bless

[Ben Bauman]

"But Greeney" todays Army is a different one from 50 years ago, if you truly served then. Also, there have been many enlisted who have emailed and blogged the same thoughts as LTC Ryan.

[P1 A-Rob]

Jim Ausman wrote "it's a sad day for freedom" to have an officer "railing" against our freedoms. Incredible.

With rights come responsibilities. Just because someone has the right to say say something doesn't mean it ought to be done irresponsibly. MSM outlets aren't akin to some knucklehead in a bar who doesn't know when to shut up. Their reporting shapes opinion and absolutely strengthens the morale of those taking up arms against us.

No one wants to muzzle the media. But we have a "right" to expect them not to support the enemy.

Jerk.

[Tom Casey]

Thank you. Well done.

If the MSM bleaters were at all concerned with the truth this would be a different country. As it is they think that citizenship and the rights we enjoy are their natural inheritance and should not cost them anything, ever. Only a bare handful of our citizens today have any idea that truth matters and that actions have consequences.

I would love to see the day when home schooling was the prevalent form of education and that universal national service was instituted. In other words, act as if our children and our country mattered.

Did my Good Soldier Schweik routine during Vietnam. I am thankful every day that I did because it made me grow up.

Sir, you and your fellow warriors are in my prayers.

[GPilot]

OK, LTC ... what is going well in Iraq? Name something, anything...?? Didn't find it in your rant.

Iraq is on the verge of civil war.
Iraq is a "traning ground for a new generation of terrorist."
Iraq's "democratic election" will be conducted with ballots that do not have the name of the candidates.
Iraq is so dangerous that only the military can move with any degree of safety.

Body counts are, in the final analysis, meaningless... good God LTC, didn't you read any history of the Vietnam war!

In short, despite the LTC's prostestations, the place is a major cluster-f*ck and WE HAVE NO EXIT STRATEGY.

I predict many, many US military leaders will, in their own ways, soon begin actively promoting strategic exits that do not fulfill the wet dreams of the chicken-hawks who sent them there.

Finally, Iraq is devastating our military readiness. Unless the US goes on a major war footing (more money, more bodies, more domestic represion (ie, especially of the Satanic, hateful bogeyman MSM )), we will be weaker and poorer nation when this horrible adventure ever ends.

Written by a Loyal and Pariotic American (too patriotic to blame the looming disaster on the First Ammendment)
Tom West

[Machias Privateer]

Here in Chicago, they are celebrating a reduction of the murder rate to 450 murders in 2004 for a population of 2.8 million! Since Iraq has about 25 million people, at the same per capita rate, they would have 11 murders per day. I suspect that every murder in Iraq makes the news! Therefore, on most days, Iraq is safer than the streets of Chicago!

[Gilot]

"Therefore, on most days, Iraq is safer than the streets of Chicago!"

OK, by that logic I guess you ought to move to Iraq in the interest of safety. Right? This is the type of logic that got us into this stupid mess to start with.

By the way, the prestigeous British medical journal, The Lancet, projected 100,000 deaths above normal for Iraq since the US invasion/occupation. All in the name of liberation...

[Ledger Man]

A lot of people have quit watching TV News. They turn to the internet for news. We are getting a lot of good news. And, it's people like you who are delivering it. Keep up the good work!

[RAL]

hey Gilot, "100,000 deaths"

Who dug up the mass graves and counted the bodies? Maybe Noam Chomsky or Ramsey Clark?

[NeoAmerican]

FUCK YOU!!!

God's law stand above blind nationalism and geo-political convenience!!!

You do not get to steal, kill and violate the law because you are scared and want to appear "tough".

You right-wing nihilst are just as God-less as the Baathist and Leftist you mock!!!

[Trippin]

Of course the media is biased. The only people denying it are (you guessed it) leftwing fascists who would like it to remain that way. Marx said you have to conquer the organs of propaganda first. Now that the left owns the media, all they need to do is try and maintain the illusion of impartiality and you have the perfect weapon to use in your ideological war.

The Lancet study someone quoted above is a good example. The study is seriously flawed and have been called into question by other statisticians. Yet, it's the one used by the media (to the exclusion of other studies with far lower numbers) because it feeds the storyline the left needs to rationalise their opposition to the war in Iraq, without also appearing to be opposed to freedom and democracy.

The criticism of the media is absolutely necessary. They are the most powerful monopoly in the world. Someone HAS to keep an eye on them. Far from assailing "freedom", questiong the media's motives are our right, and just another part of that freedom. When men and women become journalists and put pen to paper they don't become untouchable gods. They are mortals, and often corrupt one's at that. If they fuck up, it is our duty to be there to call them on it. They don't own my opinion.

[Jimmy]

It is absolutely ludicrous to compare the crimes commited on the streets of America to the War Zone on the streets of Iraq. Not too many car bombs went off in Abelene, TX today... No one lost their head in Ann Arbor, MI in the name of Allah. Worcester, MA was not reduced to a pile of rubble by an occupying force leaving behind dead men, women and children for the dogs to eat.

Iraq is completely screwed up and the civilian military commanders have taken absolutely no responsiblity and the Republican Party - the party that controls all aspects of the government - is just as culpable for not doing a damn thing about it except wrapping a flag around their eyes and pretending see clearly.

[Merv Benson]

Tom Casey says he could not find anything that was going well in Iraq in LtC. Ryan's piece.

He needs to take another look:

"...From where I sit in my command post at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, things are not all bad right now. In fact, they are going quite well. We are not under attack by the enemy; on the contrary, we are taking the fight to him daily and have him on the ropes.... Right now, as elements from all four services complete the absolute annihilation of the insurgent forces remaining in Fallujah, the area around the former stronghold is more peaceful than it has been for more than a year. The number of attacks in the greater Al Anbar Province is down by at least 70-80% from late October -- before Operation Al Fajar began. The enemy in this area is completely defeated, but not completely gone."

Clearly that is good news and it is militarily significant. The random explosions that kill civilians around Iraq, while tragic, are not militarily significant. They have no impact on the ability of US forces to conduct operations. In contrast, the takedown of the Fallujah al Qaeda headquarters has effected the ability of the enemy to mount operations.

When you are winning, as the US is in Iraq, victory creates its own exit strategy. It is ridiculous to counsel retreat in the face of an enemies acts of impotence. If the enemy had the ability to mount an effectife strategy that would effect the US forces ability to operate he would. Instead, he avoids US forces and engages in the use of transitory "power." He can take and hold nothing.

[GPilot]

Damm, sometimes I think I'm in some kind of flash back time machine.

1968 - "We killed a mess-o-commies, utter defeat for our enemies, victory is assured, every time they stand and fight we win, just a little longer while we train the South Vietnamese Army to take over..." etc.... etc...

How many millions dead? And today, we are tourist and business partners. On top of the graves of millions.

Iraq - SOS again.

[Tom Carter]

Thanks for posting this letter. I'll link to it on my site. Everyone should read it.

[Mark D. Walker]

Thank you for this excellent commentary and your service to the USA. Keep the TRUTH flowing to us. "Journalists" cannot be trusted to tell us the truth. Their anti-American, anti-USA military agenda dominates their perspective.

[Adam]

Journalism has lost its way. The mainstream media, as it stands, cannot report on any subject without coming off as propagandists for a dogma rather than cold, rational analysts.

[Mobius]

Funny, you hardly ever hear leftists complain about the millions of people killed or being killed by communists, islamists, terrorists, dictators or tyrants (except for token criticisms that normally only serve as an introduction to more Bush-bashing). Nor do you hear them complain about the plight of Muslim women. Perhaps you don't hear them complain about these things because often times they openly support it, or at the very least they're willing to overlook it, because the more important issue to them is defeating Bush. The left's "cause" is uber alles, which is why they will gladly sacrifice freedom and democracy to achieve that goal. They're brainwashed, braindead, and dangerous.

If there is one thing the left can't do, it's claim the moral high ground on the basis of body-counts. Through their open support of extremist causes, and tacit approval of tyranny, they have brought endless misery to this planet. From their lips run a river of blood thicker than any other. Make no mistake, the left has become the modern-day fascist.

[themaj]

Tim: What a fantastic article. I printed it off to give to my 30 something kids who have been sitting on the fence for the past few years. I am sick and tired of the MSM and am so thankful that the internet has provided real people like you to tell it like it is. To you and your soldiers.......keep up the fantastic work and know that we are on the right side!!!!!

[Jon]

Unfortunately, the writer of this article is telling a story that is as one-sided as the biases he describes in the media.

The standard for measuring our progress in Iraq has been set by the Bush administration. I don't disagree with the writer's descriptions of overall progress and the difficulties of securing Iraq. But the course of events we've seen play out in no way resembles what the Bush administration has predicted. In fact, their predictions, ability to measure the enemy,and foresee the consequences of American policy have been consistently wrong.

Was the break out of the insurgency inevitable? Or did it result from miscalculations including the exclusion of Sunnis from the goverment, the disbanding of the army, and the failure to prevent looting and other acts of civil disobedience after the war? Are we going to win this war in the next four years, or is civil war inevitable?

It's not just liberals in the media who ask this question, but former generals such as Brent Scowcroft and the CIA.

[P.W.]

The MSM never printed a word about the Little Girl who saved a convoy, did they? Did you have any luck contacting the Gunny or his wife? I recall you said you'd alerted reporters -- what happened Matt?

[Trippin]

Jon, the media isn't really asking all the important questions, now is it?

The BIG question the media will NEVER ask is how much their reporting have contributed to the problems in Iraq. That's an important question, especially if the media is biased - which I think most people believe they are.

It's one thing to report on Abu Ghraib, it's another to sensationalize it to the point of incitement. It's one thing to question the motivation behind the war, it's another to paint Bush as an oil-loving Nazi who likes to invade countries for sport. If the media constantly reports the war as a "disaster" or "catastrophe" or "quagmire" (and the media has been doing that from before the war even started) then pretty soon it will become that, even if only in people's minds. If you paint US soldiers as villains, then sooner or later enough Iraqi's are going to believe that and start planting bombs.

Only an idiot would deny that the propaganda war isn't just as important as the fighting in the streets. In Iraq, perception IS reality. Therefore, these are all very important questions that I can assure you will never be asked by the media. The media could report exactly what the insurgents want them to report, in exactly the way they want them to report it, and nobody in the media would say a word.

No Jon, all the important questions are not being asked, not by a long shot.

[spaceman]

Listened to the 300th Abu Gharib and the 500th Quantanemo prisoner "rights" story today on NPR (National Peoples Radio). You won't hear hardly a peep about our soldiers getting their butts shot at.

[FA]

What a ludicrously whiny piece. The biggest distortion of what's happening in Iraq is the military's refusal to even attempt to count civilian deaths ("collateral damage") caused by the trigger-happy and generally reckless troops and pilots.

By several independent estimates, Iraqi civilian deaths number around 100,000. To put that in perspective, Saddam killed 300,000 people in the four decades he was in power. Bush managed to do the same in just two years.

To even suggest that this was ever and even now about bringing "freedom" or "liberty" to the Iraqis is a joke. Based on its 20th history, beginning with the genocide and colonization of Philippines, sold to the public as a freeing the Filipinos from Spanish rule, to the murder of millions of Vietnamese under the guise of fighting communism, America has stood for one thing and one thing alone: naked self-interest. All this talk of democracy and liberty is just that: talk.

[Bill Smith]

No wonder we're getting asses kicked in Iraq....our soldiers are acting like fucking cheerleaders in a warzone!

[Blackfive]

Ever notice how the ones talking the biggest smack never post their email address?

As for the last commenter, Mr. Smith, I would request that you to call LTC Ryan a @#$%ing cheerleader to his face.

[Huntress]

LtCol Ryan's frustrations are understandable and have been voiced by the over 100 marines and soldiers Im in contact with weekly.

As a member of the Hollywood community, and a Canadian, Tim's frustration at what those in the community have to say is understandable. His point isnt to stifle them....or deny them the right to voice their misguided opinions...he does however object to the press and American public constantly giving their voice alot of weight SIMPLY because they are celebrities!

I know first hand that most celebs cannot string three words together unless its scripted. Most have to be media trained by specialists before appearing on Jay Leno to plug their latest film. Just because someone is a celebrity doesnt mean that they are informed on subjects such as foreign policy, or the war in Iraq.But the media would rather voice their opinions since they happen to reflect the liberal biased agenda that ALL media outlets hold with the exception of Fox.

Harrison Ford spoke out against this president and the military in Iraq yet accepted $20 million to star in a movie about General Mattis and the assault on Fallujah that Tim talk's about in this letter. Can you now understand his frustration!
First Hollywood denounces this war, then it decides to make money off the blood of those Marines. It sickens me!

But celebs sell papers and bring viewers to MSM...so their liberal leftist views are regurgitated everywhere! Sadly on any given day most people will opt to believe what a celeb says over an informed Marine or soldier.

The insurgents attacks are a very small part of whats going on Iraq. For the most part, the plan to rebuild Iraq is working just fine, schools, hospitals, homes, roads, security forces, are all moving ahead and successfully throughout most of Iraq. Caches of weapons have been found everywhere, mass graves have been uncovered, and Fallujah was home to many torture chambers!Funny how on the eve of sentencing a soldier over torturing Iraqi's we never hear of the Iraqi torture chamber and headless bodies found scatter all over Fallujah!

If you want to know HOW Iraqi's really feel then Read Iraqi blogs. The insurgents DO NOT speak for all Iraqi's!

The MSM mandate is to undermine our efforts in both Afghanistan and Iraq in an attempt to sully Pres Bush, and the republican administration.

WHERE WAS THE COVERAGE OF THE FIRST ELECTION IN AFGHANISTAN..OF THE WOMEN WHO BRAVED THREATS AND STOOD IN LINE TO VOTE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER?OF THE SPEECHES GIVEN BY IRAQI KIDS AT AN EVENT THAT PROVIDED THEM WITH BACKPACKS OF GIFTS DONATED BY AMERICANS AND PUT TOGETHER BY THE SOLDIERS. KIDS GOT BIKES, COATS, SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND SPOKE IN PUBLIC ON A VARIETY OF ISSUES. MUSIC IS PLAYED, ART IS BEING MADE, AND WOMEN ARE BEING EDUCATED AND ARE BECOME SELF SUFFICENT!!
WHERE IS THE GREAT NEWS ABOUT THAT???? WHY ARENT THE CELEBS TALKING ABOUT THAT? WHY ISNT THE MEDIA SHARING THOSE STORIES. When asked to cover this event with the kids, major media declined saying that they couldnt sell "nice stories"!!

There are so many great uplifting positive stories just waiting to be heard...and our irresponsible media refuses to tell them because it doesnt feed into their leftist agenda!!

Sean Penn is still mad that his dad, Leo, a card carrying Communist, was adversely affected by the McCarthy Hearings. No wonder he hates Republicans. He's a talented actor..but not an informed citizen. Saddam Hussein would have not thought twice about raping Seans wife, killing his kids, and beheading him...so strong was his hatred for Hollywood and what he considered its vile lack of morality! Why anyone in Hollywood would support Saddam is beyond my understanding.

Tim Ryan is right- our media and the Hollywood "intelligentsia" support the terrorists. Notice how silent they have been towards Castro's incarceration of writers who voiced their opposition towards him! So much for freedom of speech and press...apparently its only applies to Americans, who want to deny Iraqi's and Cubans those same freedoms and privileges.

I will keep sharing Tim's story and many more like his for as long as I can...these voices need to be heard - they have been deliberately silenced far to long by the MSM!

[Frank DiSalle]

I'm not sure how this "trackback" works, but the essay is linked at my site, He That Shall Live This Day, http://militaryhistory.blogspot.com

There's also a plug for the "Iraq -- Last Post" story.
The MSM pacifist mindset is a true American malaise. It's killing our young men, and worse, it's killing our country.
If you think Clinton was bad, imagine what shape this country would be in if we had had Democrat Presidents from 1980 to 2000?
I'm shuddering just typing it.

[Barbara]

Thank God for the Internet and for the blogs that keep us informed despite the negativity and anti-American agenda of the MSM.

Thank God for our military!

God Bless them all and God Bless America!

[Jim Bridges]

Thank God for LT Col Ryan, and the other brave men who put their lives on the line every day for all of us who live the good life here in the USA. I just wish all the wise-assed MSM writers who criticize every move the military makes in Iraq and elsewhere to protect our backsides were required to spend 6 mos in Iraq ,outside the Green Zone, this year and understand what is really happening there. Also include a few editorial page writers from the NY Times, LA Times, and staffers from CNN Headquarters.

[Bill Smith]

Huntress,

you seem to be describing Bush and his struggle to string words and ideas together.

[mike]

die hard sumed up the press, sneeky fuckin bastards,
we are doing a good job down there, kill them fuckers before they get on a jet n try to kill me and my kids,happy new year blackfive, god bless
AMERICA from UK

[mike]

im bill smith?

[Bill Smith]

Hi guys, Bill here....

Please ignore me. I'm a fucking retard.

[Blackfive]

Um...we knew that, Bill. But thanks for your candor.

[mike]

me to

[mike]

im BILL SMITH

[BILL SMITH]

hi bill

[Huntress]

No Bill, I'm NOT describing Pres Bush, who is committed to the strong positive vision he holds for Iraq's future,and who is able to articulate it with passion.

His steadfast unwavering love for America, for democracy, freedom, and for protecting this country from the terrorists by confronting them in their own backyard, puts to shame the disingenuous ilk like Michael Moore, the Hollywood "UNintelligentsia" and the MSM that clearly believe in and support the terrorist's agenda, while making more money than the entire combined salaries of all those deployed now in Iraq, off the blood of those who have paid the ultimate price, as well as those who continue to put themselves in harms way!

[mike]

you are right bill

[mike]

you you hacker you billy

[Chris J D]

Straight shot Lt Col Ryan
1)Msm is just built that way and can't help itself- figure its always Hilary Clinton at the editor's desk and the editors run the reporters and reporters who don't play the left bank don't work..period.
2)Dod screw up on this because from the getgo there should have been a "liberty Channel' set up from Iraq- not from a freakin studio but outside in some parking lot like the today show on location--just 24/7 updates, interviews, dod video and hand held home video from everyone...call John malone at Liberty Communications and with 3 calls he would get U.S. cable distribution and it would outscore Fox in some dayparts...plus if Dod used it for briefings and updates the Msm would have to watch...Dod psy ops missed a big opening there...
3)MSM BREAKING NEWS BOTTOM LINE-Gunga Dan Rather going down is hitting the hilarys at the editors desk real hard...the lies they tell themselves colliding with the lies they tell us...

LET FREEDOM REIGN

[the belle tolls]

For those who think they are speaking for the majority of Iraqis when they condemn our war efforts and accuse our troops of wantonly killing innocent civilians:

How the Left Betrayed My Country - Iraq

By Naseer Flayih Hasan - January 3, 2005

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16513

-*-

No Illusions: Insurgents Are Not Heroes

BAGHDAD, IRAQ, Jan. 14, 2005 — Any idea that the insurgency is a spontaneous rising of the Iraqi people is "hogwash," said a senior Multinational Force Iraq official here. "There are no illusions about the insurgents...The people know they are immoral, vicious animals who want only their own power..."

http://www.dod.mil/news/Jan2005/n01142005_2005011402.html

-*-

LTC Ryan, thank you!

Seconding your opinion:

Marine colonel boycotts networks

by Tim Chavez - 1/14/05

How will we know what really goes on in Iraq?

Lt. Col. Mark Smith — quoted several times in The New York Times for his heroics and that of the 2/24 Marine battalion he leads in Iraq — sent the following e-mail Jan. 5 to the families of his men:

''I have stopped watching the news from the U.S. totally. I no longer can take the maniacal rages it places me in as I swear ungentleman-like profanities at the TV in my dust-covered cubby hole of an office, directed at 'pundits' and 'experts' who do not … have a single clue and who report every single incident that occurs here as if they are color commentating on a football game.

'' … What I know ... war is a slog. And a counter-insurgency fourth-generation war is definitely a slog. The only weapon the enemy has is the media, and the target is you! They are attempting to win this war by breaking your will. I pray that will not happen.''

http://tennessean.com/opinion/columnists/chavez/archives/05/01/64097901.shtml?Element_ID=64097901

[TmjUtah]

Great work. I don't have trackback installed, but I've linked you from my blog.

Enabling terrorists to win in Iraq or anywhere else isn't a conscious objective of MSM. It's just the price they are willing to pay to see the Bush administration brought down.

Watching CNN on any given day invites daydreams along the lines of Edward R. Murrow reporting Omaha Beach from inside a German bunker. The enemy has many faces, and not all of them are covered with masks.

[Michael J. Bilek]

Back in 83 when the 82nd went to Grenada, they did not allow the MSM to go with the initial invasion force, I remember the press having a major hissie. Mike Wallace made the statement then that they would never let this happen again, I thought at the time, "Good, put Wallace in the door position and use his ass as a wind dummy"! We'll, they are imbedded now and we get what we wish for. It appears that many just want to be Woodward and Bernstein and take down a whole administration single handed. Journalisim is not the profession of integrity and valor that Col. Ryan you or I aspire to.

Bilek, Michael J. Sgt.325th ABN Inf.Regt 1981-85

[Jonathan]

Those lovable Kool-Aid guzzlers on the Left... Dubya keeps drubbing them, pounding them, fooling them and running circles around them, and (since ideas are not their forte), they resort to puerile name-calling, impotent "F--- yous" and the same old superstitious cant re: the president's "intelligence". (For example: "You seem to be describing Bush and his struggle to string words and ideas together.")

GWB speaks with moving clarity and eloquence on what matters most: the things that make America the greatest country on earth, including the right to liberty we protect within and without our borders. Meanwhile, it wasn't Dubya who called Sammy Sosa "Simmy Sooser," Mark McGwire "Mike McGee" and Barack Obama "Osama bin Laden." You'd think the Dems' elder statesmen could at least stay sober enough to distinguish his own party's "rising star" from a guy who murdered 3 million American citizens.

Thanks, Ted! And keep on misunderestimating Dubya, y'all. You don't have it in you to comprehend how much smarter he is than you.

[jane]

Sometimes I am glad the newspaper is the way it is. I have to look harder to see what goes on around me. If I hadn't had to look so hard for the story in Iraq I wouldn't know about or appreciate our soldiers the way I do. Thank you, and that is from the bottom of my heart.

[J.S]

Matt -- Someone asked above, and I was curious to, what was the final outcome of the 'Little Girl Saves Convoy' story that so many people have linked and emailed? I know that you had a number of reporters interested in it, and that you were in touch with the Gunny and/or his wife Colleen. I know she wanted the story to get the widest publicity, so what did she say to you? Did the authorities nix comments? It's the kind of story that Fox would give great publicity to! Or did it turn out to be an urban legend type deal?

[radrelic]

Military reporters to replace the old war reporters like Ernie Pyle? And the rest of us asking for something other than the same old stuff. If FOX, for example would show some military human interest stories, the word could be passed by the truth seekers of the alternate media, and ratings might grow for original programming vs the same old hackneyed stuuf the AP/CNN crowd puts out.

[jim]

To the person above who was talking abiut the First amendment and complaining about the officer... I seem to Recall Axis Sally and Toyko Rose did time in club fed, for what the first admendment, no it is called gioving aid and comfort to the emeny AKA TREASON...

To the Korean drafte ho hates officers. I was a volenteer (enlisted) I knew many very decent and good officers in my 15 years of duty...

To everyone else, I havn't been to Iraq, but I have had some very serious conversations with my a couple relitives who had boot in country for the better part of a year (one Corpsman with the marines the other Army is US) The info they told me was very much the same as the Lt Col's story... The MSM need a disclaimer, any depection of real life or people is purley coiecidence..

[Cephas]

Col. Ryan:

Thank you for your service. On 9/11, I wished I was a younger man so I could get myself in shape and serve. It is my prayer that one of these days, CNN's or the NYTimes main correspondent in Iraq gets kidnapped by the thugs, then rescued by the Iraqi police.

[Mike Openshaw]

One thing that is happening is the news media is rapidly being discounted as a reliable source of info on Iraq; these blogs are taking over. The news media is so worried, they've quit trying to laugh off the 'people in pajamas' and are beginning to openly attack them (Bill O'Reilly, for one). Message to the Imperial News Media; attacking the sources without cleaning up your own act (re: CBS) just won't work. The public is much better at 'vetting' stories than any of the MSM back-room gangs.

[Machias Privateer]

To follow up on my previous comment that the per capita murder rate in Chicago is likely higher than the per capita murder rate in Iraq. Picture the insurgency as a gang turf war, the insurgents vs. the Iraqi police with the Americans taking the role of the cops. It is quite dangerous to be in either gang! But the ordinary citizen tends to stay out of the line of fire. A massive police presence will cause the gangbangers to hide. So with a strong presence on 1/30/05, the election should come off well, just as in Afghanistan! But that puts the citizens in the government camp! Looks like the insurgents are going to lose the turf war!

[Jim]

LTC Ryan:
Thank you so much for protecting this great nation...specifically, for wiping out the terrorist scum over THERE so that it will not ooze over HERE! We patriotic Americans are forever grateful for your service!
I sent this essay out to all my contacts. We really need to expose this despicable media...FOXNews seems to be the ONLY reliable news source!
To the few liberals who have posted on this blog with your vile comments...go have a nice cup of STFU!!

Nice blog, keep up the great work!

[Jack Hamilton]

I have read all the above post, most are sensible and worth reading. There are a very few that are just low breed trash. Take for instance Butgreeny I doubt this piss ant was ever in Korea or any war. If he was his time was probably spent in the stockade for being a barracks theif and the given a dishonorable.Many brave officers died in Korea. Or billsmith both are just best described as an asscrack that is exposed.May god bless LTC Ryan and the other brave troops.

[Donna Cranston]

What a great essay by LTC Ryan. I applaud you for it, and wish we could get this out to the press who care.
I meet troops each day at the DFW airport and I hear them talk of the many good things that are going on. I have sent letters to different news people to try to get the positive on the air. The one person who has stepped up and is doing a great job of this is Linda Vester. She is the show host for Dayside on Fox News Channel. She does a great job.
I will keep sending notes until the good is getting told!

Donna Cranston
Founder of Defenders of Freedom
defendersoffreedom.us

[Machias Privateer]

From this morning’s Fox News we have a report that reads...

“In Baghdad, meanwhile, three mortar shells exploded Saturday near the heavily guarded Green Zone (search), causing no casualties but sending American and Iraqi officials scurrying for cover. It marked the third straight day of rebel attacks on the zone, the nerve center of the U.S. and Iraqi administration, after a lull of a couple of weeks.”

It should read something like this “In Baghdad, with population 5 million people, three spitballs were thrown near the heavily guarded Green Zone, causing no casualties but annoying American and Iraqi officials. It marked the third straight day of “insurgent” attacks on the zone, the nerve center of the U.S. and Iraqi administration, after a lull of a couple of weeks.”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,144414,00.html

[LA]

How about the families of our troops beginning a campaign to bring the truth to the American public. There appears to be enough computers and men with the opportunity to report what is really happening and to put the onus of rebuttal on the media once and for all.

[Brian Kolfage]

Lt Col Ryan. Great View of what the coalition is really doing, God Bless you and all the men and woman of our armed forces and God Bless America

[Tom Casey]

Be advised that the comment attributed to me of 1/15/05 is *not* mine. The one above it (with better spelling) attributed to P1A-Rob is what I think.

Still think it.

[Jack]

Matt -- is there some reason you won't comment on the 'Little Girl Saves Convoy' story as a followup? What did Gunny Mark Francis have to say? Were you able to contact Colleen Francis? I think the last you said was you were trying to put several reporters in touch with them -- what happened?

[Pat]

The 60+ million people who voted for Bush know what the real story is in Iraq. And those of us who think for ourselves know where to go to get to the truth--the Internet. The CBS fiasco has pointed out the bias of the major media.

Thanks to LTC Ryan for his article. We need more military members telling us the real situation on the ground.

God bless all our military serving everywhere, but especially in Iraq.

[Wm. Gerardino]

The above trooper has all my support and respect for his service....not for his support of Bush. Today I serve my country in a different manner by assisting veterans and their families after serving in a combat unit in Korea.
As a veteran I would never turn my back on a brother...never!
But Bush....sorry gentlemen, he just doesn't get it or has no wish to look at reality as too many others seem to do these days.
One other thing. Those who served honorably have a right to disagree. We don't need accusations of being unpatriotic because we disagree with a President who never heard a shot fired unless it was during a hunting venture on someone's estate!

We discussed the issue of "good news from Iraq" as LTC Tim Ryan, the CO of 2/12 Infantry of aiding and abetting the enemy. Of course, we have shown this to be ludicrous but then he is under combat stress so we will let it go.

However, the funny thing is that if you go to the White House Web site th