MOSUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday took a delighted dig at the media after troops he was visiting in Iraq complained their good works were ignored by the press while disasters grabbed the headlines.
A soldier at his first stop in Mosul asked Rumsfeld how the "propaganda" worked?
Rumsfeld, under attack since he appeared to brush aside a question about poor equipment from a U.S. soldier in Kuwait that later turned out to have been composed with help from a reporter, jumped at the opportunity to turn the tables.
"That doesn't sound like a question placed by the press," he told his audience to loud applause.
A few hours later in Tikrit, the same frustration surfaced with another soldier complaining that she had a hard time explaining what they were doing in Iraq when she got back home and asking what could be done to get past the bad press.
Rumsfeld said the message was getting through anyway.
"I think the country does understand that we lost 3,000 people on September 11th and the fact that those people were operating in this part of the world ... You've seen the evil up close and personal, you know the danger that this poses.
"What you're doing is important. I think the American people get it."
Mata Musing
This tiny little article nails perhaps the most under-reported story of the WOT - that of the troops' attitudes toward the media. Or, as Marine Lt. Col. Jim Rose said back in September - 'We win on the ground, we lose in the news.''
I can only add that "news" today is a lost art - replaced by speculation and commentary presented under a deceptive banner of "news".
Yet I take great joy in watching the events of the past year. Despite the most powerful of media onslaughts, an election took place with results that had media execs and reporters alike reeling. Unable to comprehend how their dedicated efforts to shove a complacent, anti-military, anti-war, pro UN/EU candidate with outdated views on terrorism down the nation's throat proved futile.
With one exposure after the other for agenda-laden reporting, the MSM has been forced to realize that, in the information age, they no longer posses the power to control "the hearts and minds" of the American voter. We not only have vast sources and ease of intercommunication to question and explore, we also have the desire to seek out the truth.
So, for our troops who feel the media wrongs them in the worst possible way, I say this...
Fear not. We know to believe those of you writing to us thru personal letters, e-mails and military blogs, and we cast aside the venom written by sensationalist commentators. We honor you for your determination and faith in our country and ideals. And we stand with you, offering our thanks, pride and prayers.
Merry Christmas to you all, stay safe, and we all await your return home to us.
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