The New Media's Betrayal of General Petraeus by James Smith

I watched the mainstream television media's nightly news programs over the last several days. I even turned the channel so I could hear different programs. The one thing I learned from these broadcasts comes from what these networks are not reporting. There was not any news on Iraq. Not a single story. No daily suicide bombings. No massacres. No civil war with chaos and conflict. No stories about the American quagmire.

In September, the media was in a near frenzy about the Iraq war with the testimony of General Petreaus in front of the members of Congress. The chaos in the streets of Iraq was reported on a nightly basis. Now, we can't even get a single story from our television media on Iraq on the nightly news. It is becoming clearer with each passing day that Al- Qaeda is being soundly defeated in Iraq. Even Osama bin laden's recent audio tape in Iraq indirectly admits as much. In fact, though we may not be able to find much positive news from Iraq on American television, Aljazeera has been reporting since early November that the Iraqi people have turned on Al-Qaeda and are taking back their country.

The latest statistics from Iraq confirm that the American troop surge is working. The data indicates that bombings and attacks of every kind in the country are down by more than half. Therefore, the real story which is not being reported by the mainstream news media, is the effectiveness of the United States military in restoring order and defeating the insurgency in Iraq. The military victory is a direct result of the capable leadership of General David Petreaus.

The statistics in Iraq showing a dramatic drop in violence are indications that the troop surge led by General Petreaus is working, but there are many other signs as well. The tone and direction of the Iraq war debate in the Democratic presidential primary has changed. The candidates are now acknowledging success with the surge while still questioning the effectiveness of Iraq's government to implement an ultimate political solution. The discussion of the issue of Iraq has gone from hot button to muted in the last several weeks on the campaign trail as well.

Then there is the somewhat surprising commentary from the liberal press. Consider this quote written recently by Marty Perez in The New Republic: "Up to now, Democrats have been stinting in their recognition that the situation in Iraq has improved: 'Yes, violence is down a bit, but...' That is the wrong posture. They need to celebrate the success, as long as it lasts, as enthusiastically as the Republicans. They also need to stop harrying the administration with symbolic war-funding measures demanding a timetable for rapid withdrawal, as though nothing has changed. This would take little away from their larger valid criticisms of the war and of its conduct until very recently."

Also, consider this recent quote from Newsweek's Charles Peters: "I have been troubled by the reluctance of my fellow liberals to acknowledge the progress made in Iraq in the last six months, a reluctance I am embarrassed to admit that I have shared. Giving Gen. David Petraeus his due does not mean we have to start saying it was a great idea to invade Iraq. It remains the terrible idea it always was. And the occupation that followed has been until recently a continuing disaster. ... Still, the fact is that the situation in Iraq, though some violence persists, is much improved since the summer. Why do liberals not want to face this fact, let alone ponder its implications?"

The positive signs in Iraq are indeed everywhere. Even Rep. John Murtha (after a Thanksgiving trip to Iraq) said; "I think the 'surge' is working," describing the President's decision to commit more than 20,000 additional combat troops this year. But the Iraqis "have got to take care of themselves." The antiwar Murtha has spent months of time in the House of Representatives in 2007 crafting bills to prevent the very troop surge he now says is "working".

Also, consider this recent story in the New York Sun: "'Talks Are Set on Ending Battle of Iraq -- Quiet Announcement Signals Start of US, Iraq Parley' -- "And so the Battle of Iraq is to be brought to an end, in T.S. Eliot's phrase, 'not with a bang but a whimper.' With the eyes of the world focused on the Middle East peace talks in Annapolis, Md., President Bush's war tsar, Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, quietly announced that the American and Iraqi governments will start talks early next year to bring about an end to the allied occupation by the close of Mr. Bush's presidency. The negotiations will bring to a formal conclusion the U.N. Chapter 7 Security Council involvement in the occupation and administration of Iraq, and are expected to reduce the number of American troops to about 50,000 troops permanently stationed there but largely confined to barracks, from the current 164,000 forces on active duty".

The talks to withdraw most of our troops from Iraq by the end of 2008 is yet another indication that the troop surge has been successful. The truth is that General Petreaus has given America an opportunity to claim victory in Iraq, and end this war. The television news media does not report any of this and, in effect, does a disservice to the men and women in Iraq who fight for this country. This lack of effective media reporting in Iraq is also a betrayal of its responsibility to report to America the incredible success of its military under General David Petreaus.

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events. Visit his website at http://www.eworldvu.com

Nattering Nabobs of Negativism

I think Spiro Agnew had it right when he referred to the media by that alliterative phrase. I think the statement would still apply to today's media which focuses on the negative more than the positive. It might be that the press corps is composed of pessimists or maybe they are unwilling to print the good news because it goes against their biases. It has certainly been hard to find the positive news during this current president's presidency. Two glaring examples of this are the coverage of the war and the economy. To find a news story about Iraq that does not contain doom and gloom is practically impossible. The stories tend to leave out the positive and focus on the negative. We hear about the death and destruction but not the reconstruction and rehabilitation of a country domineered by a tyrant. I do not have to tell you the kind of impact that has on the public back home. Poll after poll seem to suggest that the American support for the war has dwindled over the past five years. The media has done a good job of molding the story to fit their agenda. Even now as we are seeing some improvements with the surge the media is unwilling to give it a chance. You must ask yourself if the media is not vested in our defeat in the middle east from the rhetoric they fill their margins and columns with. The media has also shown a reluctance to report the good news of our economy. The Bush administration's economic policies have brought us out of the Clinton-Gore recession and the devastating effects of 9/11 to our economy. It is those tax cuts which have allowed for the economy to grow and prosper as we have seen in the dramatic rise of the stock market. But all we hear is how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Even the reduction in the unemployment rate to historic lows has not been enough to impress the media enough to report the positives. I think Agnew had it right when he referred to the media as nattering nabobs of negativism but I would include the politicians on the left side of the aisle under that umbrella as well. The Democrats in lock step with their liberal compatriots in the media have had an attitude of negativism since President Bush took office. It seems as if these two groups are opposed to anything with the president's fingerprints on it. This is clearly evident by their reaction to the economy and war in Iraq. The Democrats have made such an issue of denouncing the war in Iraq that with the success of the surge some in their leadership have become worried for their political futures. This would include Representative Clyburn who was worried about what would happen to the Democrat if we were successful in Iraq. And then you have Senator Harry Reid declaring the war lost a couple months ago. They makes these statements from the confines of Capitol Hill. We have seen recently the reports from those that have seen the situation on the ground and have come back with positive news. And not all of them have been conservatives but liberal-minded media and politicians. Maybe the Democrats should try to understand the truth of the situation before decrying the Petraeus report before it is given. I write all of this because I wonder what goes on in the mind of liberals. Those in the media and the politicians of the left have made it clear that negativism is their platform and standard operating procedure. They will continue to try and drive down confidence and support on issues like the economy and the war on terror because it does not fit their agenda. I hope that Americans start to realize this and are not swayed by this propaganda. I think we need more glass half full people in this world. So when you are confronted with these nattering nabobs of negativism confront them back with the truth and positiveness so that we can make them an extinct species.