Today's media is blowing this Iraq War out of proportion. Every day Death totals are printed in papers and broadcasted on the National news, but are the numbers really that high? Estimated US casualties since the war began are just over 2500 and according to Media outlets you would think this is the deadliest war ever. Where would our country be if the Media reported during previous wars on US casualites? Vietnam- 58,000 dead; Panama-33,000 dead; WWI-116,000 dead; WWII 405,000 dead. Would the Media have ended these wars early because of their constant negativity? Would our country be where it is today, if the Media killed Nationalism? Why aren't they reporting on the 44,000 Americans killed every year in "medical mistakes?" My heart goes out to those who have died in this war, but I will not turn on our soldiers, our government, or this war!!
aussie1
G"day
Whats it really matter!!
Get all of the troops out before more die for nothing.
Morpheus
Good question, there's always the sensational bird flu, when AIDs and cancer are the modern plagues of our time and get very little coverage
It's true that the US casualties have been low... but there still is an incredible amount of violence and terrorism in Iraq and much could have been avoided if the country was controlled competently
Colonel
Thank you, I've been saying this forever. People want to count bodies and say we can't win this war. We lost 6,000+ Marines on Iwo Jima in just over 80 days. That was one fight in an entire war. We were also fighting an organized uniformed Army.
In Iraq we are fighting an unknown enemy who walks among the civilian population and the soldiers. People always say we should get out of Iraq and that we can't win. I say we are winning and if we get out now, then all the Soldiers that died will truly have died for nothing. You have another good point, we lose more people in a year in car accidents, are we going to ban cars because people are getting hurt?
I'd also like to hear other peoples suggestions since they have so many while sitting behind their keyboards.
pduhe78
In truth, the media has become a tool of war for a long time. Alexander the Great wrote letter home describing the victory of his battles even he lost them. Napoleon used the same tactic to bolster moral in France. Nickle and Dime novels was another source of media making heroes and villains out of criminals, outlaws, and pirates in the 18th to 20th century.
Todays media is strongly influenced by opinions and politics rather than "just the facts". In some cases, it has become a tool for terrorism to destroy moral rather than uplift it.
Reasonable Guy
Many months there are more Americans killed in Detroit than in Iraq. Even at its height, there were more teen-age boys killed in car crashes then in Viet Nam.
The media publishes that which meets its agenda and that which the public will clamour for. Sensationalism will always trump truth when advertising is sold. Thirty second sound bites are used instead of hours of rational research. Everything is sensationalized and simplified to the point of uselessness.
Dead soldiers + no victory before the end of the 30 min TV show = bad government. Simple. Taking the time to learn about low intensity conflict, Aid to the civil power, Democracy building, Infrastructure management, logistics, religion, and 3000 years of middle east history. Too hard. Pass the potato chips.
Orignal From: Modern Media, Killing WAR as we know it?
Post a Comment