This is one thing that really bothers me. I can't quite understand the estimated numbers of dead insurgents, and why the media doesn't really bother to post it. All we hear about are the dead soldiers and civilians in breaking headlines, which gives the impression that we are really getting our arses handed to us in Iraq. But from what I understand, the number of dead insurgents far outweighs the number of servicemen we have lost. The only problem I can see, is that insurgents are sometimes counted among the dead civilians, for which reasons I am not sure. But it certainly would give an exaggerated count of dead civilians, when quite a few of them are actually dead insurgents.
I remember this past year, I read a very good article in a magazine for Vietnam Veterans, and when looking back in hindsight, the author realized just how much the media played right into the enemy's hands and boosted their morale while killing our own. Supposedly, the Tet offensive was portrayed by the media as a blow to the US military and victory for the enemy. But the numbers of the dead told otherwise, and the Viet Cong never achieved their objective. When reading the comments from ex-Viet Cong soldiers who fought in that battle, they were very
surprised at how the battle was portrayed by the American media, because they felt they lost that battle. As a matter of fact, if you look at the actual numbers, you can see that the Americans were clearly killing way more Viet Cong in the entire Vietnam War. But that's a side that we rarely hear.
I think that it's pretty clear that if the media is not on board with a war, they will play a very big part of playing into the hands of the enemy. While the media's intentions are probably well meaning, they have to understand that we are fighting an enemy that slyly knows how to manipulate their sympathy.
My baby brother is in Baghdad, and I was really disgusted at Senator Reid's comments this past week that the war was already lost. Those are not the kinds of public comments that should be made by a highly touted government official while my brother is still risking his life in Iraq.
Anyways, if you ever find the time, here is an interesting commentary video by somebody who I do not know, but who has some interesting, but maybe at times harsh, things to say about the media and some of things said by the anti-war left. I may not completely agree with everything 100%, but I still find it interesting, nonetheless.
YouTube - To Our Americans Serving in Iraq
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