Originally Posted by Sudzman

It dosen't matter how much coverage it gets. American kids are getting shot and killed everyday in Iraq. They are NOT protecting anyone's freedom over there. (Except Bin Ladens'). They need to get the fuck outta there and come home. That would be supporting our troops.

Originally Posted by Smitty0311

Networks Minimize Good News From Iraq, Don’t Press Democrats on “Wrong-Headed” Predictions
Fewer U.S. Dead = Less TV Coverage of Iraq -- 02/28/2008 - Media Research Center - Media Reality Check

Fewer U.S. Dead = Less TV Coverage of Iraq

One year ago, liberal journalists depicted the surge of U.S. troops to Iraq as a certain failure. “A lot of people are going to go to bed tonight terrified,” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews opined just minutes after President Bush announced the policy on January 10, 2007. Other journalists were only slightly more subtle. “Many experts warn, it’s too little, too late,” NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski argued on the January 8, 2007 Nightly News. The next morning on NBC’s Today, the network’s graphic describing Iraq was “Lost Cause?”

At the same time, leading Democrats left themselves no wiggle room as they, too, denounced the surge. Senator Barack Obama called it “wrong-headed” and countered with a proposal to pull nearly all U.S. troops out of Iraq by March 2008. Senator Hillary Clinton came back from a quick trip to Iraq to declare: “I am opposed to this escalation,” while another Democratic candidate, Senator Joe Biden, blasted the troop surge as “a tragic mistake.”

One year later, the President’s surge strategy is well on its way to succeeding. The Iraqi parliament has passed several laws meeting required political reconciliation benchmarks. Attacks in Baghdad have fallen up to 80 percent in the past twelve months, Reuters reported February 16. Deaths among Iraqi military forces and civilians have dropped by more than two-thirds, from more than 2,000 per month in early 2007 to fewer than 600 per month since November.

And U.S. military deaths have also declined, falling from 126 in May 2007 to 40 in January 2008 and just 29 so far in February, with two days left in the month. Yet this good news seems to have diminished the media elite’s interest in broadcasting any news from Iraq.

MRC intern Lyndsi Thomas helped tabulate all ABC, CBS and NBC evening news stories about Iraq since the beginning of 2007, just as the surge strategy was being implemented. After heavy coverage of the shift to a new Iraq policy in January and February 2007, the TV coverage began to closely track the rising and falling death rates for U.S. soldiers in Iraq. When the number of U.S. fatalities jumped in May, TV coverage jumped, too. When U.S. casualties began to steadily decline, TV coverage of Iraq dramatically decreased. (See chart.)




[For more on how the broadcast networks are tuning out the Iraq war, see the February 4 CyberAlert.] ABC Champions Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton 'Dream Ticket' --2/4/2008-- Media Research Center

While the amount of coverage has shriveled, the tone remains more negative than positive. So far this month, the three evening newscasts have aired just 41 items on Iraq, most (23) just brief items read by the anchor. A mere seven stories were field reports from Iraq. Only ABC’s World News (February 13) noted the passage of key legislation by the Iraqi parliament, followed by a unique story the next evening on the success of the surge. The CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News offered no such stories in February, but NBC did find time to report a visit to Iraq by actress Angelina Jolie.

Back in December, NBC’s Tim Russert conceded that the media were less interested in covering a successful U.S. mission in Iraq, telling anchor Brian Williams that “with the surge in Iraq and the level of American deaths declining, it is off the front pages.”

This is not neutral news judgment, but a great favor to anti-surge Democrats, since TV’s lack of interest in Iraq spares them the chore of defending their now-discredited opposition to the surge. Does anyone think the media would have let John McCain off the hook had the surge failed as spectacularly as it has succeeded? — Rich Noyes

Originally Posted by Still Dizzy

As opposed to 'surrender, surrender, tax, tax?'

Originally Posted by RASTAMAN

Don't worry Smitty, the current course and ops tempo the Bush Admin has committed our military to is not only ruining the military, but this endeavor is unsustainable and unaffordable.

The military can't wait for the current batch of incompetent leaders in the W.H. to hit the road. The next President will listen to the Generals, and will greatly lesson the foot print of using conventional 20th century cold war armies, to using interpol, global joint special forces and air sttrikes to attack Terrorist and Terrorism.

No more slow cumbersome, 101st Air Borne or the 9th Marine Expeditionary Force!!! Of the failed going door-to-door and harrassing iraqi citizens who have nothing wrong!!!

Yes, the failed unnecessary and illegal Bush occupation of Iraq will soon end. And the vast numbers of Military members and their families who remain in the service will breathe a deep sigh of Relief! That the Village Idiot from Texas has gone home, and the GOP is no longer running things and fucking up everything they TOUCH.

The military will have a chance to rebuild and re-equip their totally depleted force infrastructure!

The Defense contractor had better bilk and steal from the American tax payers as much as they can over the remaining months of the Bush failed Presidency.........b/c they're greedy-theiving Ass will be kicked out of Iraq and allow the Iraqi's to rebuild their own country.

The only remants of the U.S. military left in Iraq, will be the necessary allowable force structure to protect the U.S. Embassy in the next 3 years.

Originally Posted by Still Dizzy

As opposed to 'surrender, surrender, tax, tax?'

Originally Posted by Sam

Dizzy, one point is this war is very expensive-if you agree or disagree on Iraq being a war that helps us fight terror, if we stay, we need to tax, tax, tax, to pay as we go instead of a credit card war and to have programs for the veterans.

Originally Posted by oceanbreeze

Rasta; what will you gripe about in 2009?

I did see on the news McCain said we'll be in Iraq for 100 more years.