It looks like the Bush stance on the war in Iraq is not only should the dead be buried without publicity, without fanfare, but that we shouldn’t even mention when they’re killed.
Your husband’s been killed? Who cares about that — we painted a school last week! You lost your daddy? Don’t be so negative — freedom’s on the march! It’s all sweetness and light over there — but you’ll never know it if you keep focusing on the negative media that hates America and the troops!
And the right-wing is eager to join the “happy happy joy joy” bandwagon.
On “The Today Show”, conservative talking head Laura Ingraham had this to say about the news reporting from Iraq:
The “TODAY” show spends all this money to send people to the Olympics, which is great, it was great programming. All this money for “Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?” Bring the “TODAY” show to Iraq. Bring the “TODAY” show to Tal Afar. Do the show from the 4th ID at Camp Victory.
And then, when you talk to those soldiers on the ground, when you go out with the Iraqi military, when you talk to the villagers when you see the children, then I want NBC to report on only the IEDs, only the killings, only the reprisals.
To do a show from Iraq means to talk to the Iraqi military, to go out with the Iraqi military, to actually have a conversation with the people, instead of reporting from hotel balconies about the latest IEDs going off.
She said similar things on “The Factor with Bill O’Reilly”.
And Keith Olbermann on “Countdown” was highly and righteously pissed:
OLBERMANN: Let`s analyze the restarted war against the media on this with Richard Wolffe of “Newsweek” magazine.
But before we do, a note about Laura Ingraham`s comments. I`ve known her a long time. I`ll in fact give you the caveat that I`ve known her socially.
But that hotel balcony crack was unforgivable. It was unforgivable to the memory of David Bloom, it was unforgivable in consideration of Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt, it was unforgivable in the light of what happened to Michael Kelly and what happened to Michael Weiskopf. It was unforgivable with Jill Carroll still a hostage in Iraq.
And it`s not only unforgivable of her, it was desperate, and it was stupid.
[For the whole transcript of the show, click here.]
I’d like to see Laura Ingraham and her ilk venture into Iraq, away from the Green Zone and their hotel balconies. I’d like her to talk to the Iraqi families…though she’ll have to wait till they finish burying their family members. Talk to the military about the lack of equipment and the low morale as they wonder when(if) they’ll see their families. Hell, stay here in the States and talk to military families who are tired of the lies and uncertainties — I’m sure our own Militarytracy and her spouse would have some choice words (a few possibly fit for public airwaves).
I’m sick of this “blame the media” for reporting what is happening in Iraq, just because it’s not the “sweetness and light” that was expected…if it wasn’t happening, it wouldn’t be reported. Thank goodness our media appears to be finally finding its spine…I just hope it’s not too little, too late.