TP: Administration Reports Undermine Right Wing’s Media Bashing on Iraq

[understandinglife]

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Eyewitness accounts both by the Bush administration and by journalists on the ground back up the media’s perspective of the chaos and refute the right-wing’s claims of journalistic neglect:

State Department Human Rights Practices report on Iraq, 3/8/06:

(A) climate of extreme violence in which people were killed for political and other reasons. … Bombings, executions, killings, kidnappings, shootings, and intimidation were a daily occurrence throughout all regions and sectors of society. An illustrative list of these attacks, even a highly selective one, could scarcely reflect the broad dimension of the violence.

U.S. Agency for International Development report on Iraq, 1/2/06:

Former regime elements, foreign fighters and Islamic extremists continue to conduct terrorist attacks with devastating effect upon Iraqi civilians.

NBC reporter, Richard Engel, “the only television news correspondent to cover the entire war in Iraq for an American television network from Baghdad,” 3/22/06:

I think the security problem is the overall story and most Iraqi’s I speak to say — actually most reporters get it wrong — it’s the situation on the ground is actually worse than the images we project on television.

More at the Think Progress link:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/23/media-bashing

The truth has a way of catapulting war criminals into jail ...


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[MadMaddie]

1. The media bashing is starting to blow up in their faces...

this has Rove written all over it.....

[ewagner]

2. Violation of the Political Axiom

"...never get into an argument with someone who buys his ink by the barrel."

translation: Don't get into an argument with the press.

[understandinglife]

3. "The headquarters of the anti-terrorist unit in Baghdad was today targeted

... in a wave of bomb attacks that left at least 56 people dead. A suicide car bomber struck at the building in the capital's central Karradah district, killing 10 civilians and 15 policeman.

It was the third major assault on a security compound in as many days.

More of Baghdad bomb attacks kill 56 at The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1738219,00.html

'Not a civil war' ... oh sure. Primary Iraqi security targets are being destroyed, at will, repeatedly, by Iraqi citizens. Iraqi citizens are killing Iraqi citizens. But, of course, it's 'not a civil war.'

Exactly where does one find 'good news' in any of this ...


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