Battle of the Bad Acts

Among yesterday's posts, I argued that even where we support an American serviceman who appears to be defending his unit against dirty tricks, we cannot abandon the principle of the rules of war. I would draw your attention to two posts by IraqPundit, an Iraqi exile commenting on affairs back home. Two weeks ago IraqPundit observed that that the Western media ignore attacks by the terrorists against everyone except Westerners, especially nationals of the media's home country. The far more numerous attacks by terrorists against the Iraqis themselves are ignored, except insomuch as they suggest the Allawi government is being attacked. Yesterday, IraqPundit criticized the favorable terms that characterize Western media coverage of the terrorists in a post titled "Cunning and Resolute". The author notes, "Anyway, the Times of London has given us a reality check, a glimpse of Fallujah under the rule of these cunning and resolute heroes: 'Mutilated bodies dumped on Fallujah's bombed out streets today painted a harrowing picture of eight months of rebel rule.'"

So I return to my point of yesterday. In a world where the media will prevent the terrorists in a glow of soft light in the West and in propogandistic terms in the Mideast itself, the war for Iraq is a battle over the presentation of bad acts. The terrorists commit them all the time, but they are ignored by the media. Americans will make a few mistakes, but these will be exagerated and replayed constantly. Niel Gabler on Fox Newswatch described the defining pictoral moment of the Iraq War not as the statue of Saddam being toppled, but of Abu Ghraib. Jane Hall on the same show observed that Al Jazzera was playing the Marine in the mosque video three times an hour.

I argued in June, much of these attacks are aimed at frightening the Iraqis themselves. These bad acts on both sides are not portrayed in context or fairly. But the key here is how Iraqis themselves make these things out. The media, theirs and ours, want to portray the Coallition as the same as the Terrorists. Anyone who believes that, there or here, would surely be inclined against the American effort.

I conclude with this statement made by IraqPundit two weeks ago: "Such stories lead readers to conclude that Iraqis are safe in their homes, unless they are killed by either U.S. soldiers or some other clumsy bombing. Iraqis trying to surive the war against them know that the truth is a lot more complicated. Iraqi civilians are aware of the killings of Americans and others, and are horrified. Why aren't American journalists and critics of the war similarly concerned about the horrors -- including kidnappings and killings -- faced daily by Iraqi civilians?"