Mainstream Iraq Media Bias

By Seth Grossman, Political Columnist

??? “I saw great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundreds of men had been killed.?? I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and traitors, and others who had never seen a shot fired hailed as the heroes of imaginary victories; and I saw newspapers in London retailing these lies and eager intellectuals building emotional superstructures over events that had never happened.”?? George Orwell, 1942
(Looking Back on the Spanish Civil War)

??? Last March 25, American commanders wanted Iraq’s newly formed army to fight Al Qaeda with American troops in the northern city of Mosul.
??? But Iraq’s Prime Minister Maliki refused.?? Instead, he personally led 20,000 of his soldiers south to the port city of Basra.?? When 1,200 of his mostly rookie soldiers refused to fight, Maliki punished and replaced them.?? In three short weeks, Maliki’s soldiers brought law and order to Basra, and did what the British Army failed to do in five years – they crushed the pro-Iranian gangs who were terrorizing the city.?? The Iraqi people were Surprised – and delighted.
??? To take the pressure off Basra, pro-Iranian terrorists in the Shia suburb of Sadr City in Baghdad then rocketed America’s “Green Zone”.?? On April 6, Maliki sent Iraqi and American troops into Sadr City for the first time in four years.?? In five weeks, they killed a thousand terrorists (including their best leaders) and captured thousands more.?? Anti-American Muqtada Sadr begged for a truce in Iraq’s largest city on May 11.
??? On May 10, Maliki’s army finally went north to Mosul, Iraq’s third largest city.?? This was Al Quaida’s last urban stronghold.?? Thousands of terrorists, including their top leaders were killed or arrested in the first week.?? Dozens more were killed or captured every day in the raids that followed.?? On May 29, fourteen terrorist leaders were killed trying to sneak out of town in a livestock truck.
??? After those three operations, there were zero American combat deaths in the last week of May.?? Liquor and music stores (which supposedly violate Islamic law) re-opened and are doing a brisk business in all three cities.?? There was little anti-American outrage on May 18 when one American used a Koran for target practice.?? Ditto on May 29 when a U.S. Marine handed out tokens saying that God had given him eternal life through Jesus Christ.?? Will anyone say the words “great American victory”?
??? But the real story is not about what is happening in Iraq.?? The real story is that so little of this was reported by our daily newspaper or our TV networks.
??? During the past two months, our mainstream media reported the following lies as truth: The Iraqi army was defeated in Basra.?? Our army bombed innocents in the Sadr City hospital in Baghdad.?? Pro-Iranian Muqtada Al Sadr is popular and powerful, and that he and “Iranian mediators” created the current “lull” in the fighting.
??? On May 29, our local daily even reported, “Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric (al-Sistani) has quietly issued religious edicts supporting armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops”.?? That story was absolutely bogus, but no correction was ever published.
??? For some reason, our local papers and the networks choose to rely only on news organizations like Associated Press (A.P.) that are bribed, terrorized, or biased into helping our enemies and hurting America.
??? If they want they can bypass them, and get to the truth.?? So can you.?? Why not check our nation’s official military site www.mnf-iraq.com and the anti-war site www.icasualties.org??? Get added insight from independent journalist-bloggers like http://www.michaelyon-online.com/ and http://www.longwarjournal.org.
??? You should also learn something about the politics, culture, and day to day life of Iraq and the Arab world with www.iraqthemodel.blogspot.com.?? That site also contains an excellent blogroll of other Iraqi sites including www.eyeraki.blogspot.com, and www.iraqpundit.blogspot.com and (4) www.talismangate.blogspot.com.
??? I used to balance my sources by visiting a few anti-American, pro-Jihad websites like www.aljazeera.com.?? But now, I rarely bother.?? I usually find most of their stuff in our daily paper.??
??? Since our colleges and high schools routinely use mainstream newspapers in classroom assignments, young people are not learning the truth about Iraq.?? Why not show this article to your kids or grandkids?
??? This Sunday, June 8 from 2PM to 5PM, www.libertyandprosperity.org is holding a fundraising reception and book signing with Steve Lonegan at the Carisbrooke Inn in Ventnor.? Tickets are $75 for one, $100 for two.?? Funds from this event and smaller donations will allow us to continue our work.
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For more information, visit www.libertyandprosperity.org or contact Somers Point attorney Seth Grossman at grossman@snip.net or 609-927-7333.??? Seth Grossman hosts a two way talk radio program every Saturday from 8am – 9am on WVLT Vineland, 92.1 FM.