US could lose in Iraq due to negative media coverage: commander

[Barrett808]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US combat commander suggested the United States could lose the war in Iraq if public support for it at home is sapped by negative media coverage.

"My personal opinion is that the only way we will lose this war is if we pull out prematurely," said Colonel Jeffrey Snow, a brigade commander in Baghdad.

"I would hope we get the time and support we need to finish this mission," he said in a video conference from Iraq.

Snow, whose own troops have come under stepped-up insurgent attacks this month, criticized media coverage as too focused on insurgent roadside bombings, kidnappings and assassinations.

"Our soldiers may be in the crosshairs every day, but it is the American voter who is a real target, and it is the media that carries the message back each day across the airwaves," he said.

"So when the news is not balanced and it's always bad, that clearly leads to negative perceptions back home," he said.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060630/pl_afp/usiraqmilitary

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. so insurgents and terra-ists read the NYT at night? without electricity?

right.

I guess his solution is to ban the media from Iraq.

[emulatorloo]

9. another failure of our educational system - a severe misunderstanding

of the concept of cause and effect.

Or did somebody pay him off to be willfully idiotic?

[goforit]

57. ROFLMAO!!!!!

These commanders aren't much brieghter than W

[tabasco]

65. Rummy's hand-picked yes-men.

They say what they are told to say.

The corporate cabal has ruined our military by putting idiots in charge.

[Kagemusha]

2. This is insulting. You don't win counterinsurgency just by showing up.

If simply surviving being bled from a thousand papercuts is the goal of the US Army, then yes, "defeat" can only be achieved by premature pullout. But that's a pathetic excuse of a definition of victory.

[Tace]

3. The Commander Makes A Very Important Point

A president is limited in how much war he can conduct without domestic support for his actions.

We really can end U.S. wars by changing -- uplifting -- the minds of the American public.

The pen really is mightier than the sword.

[LiberalFighter]

46. His actions determine the support he receives.

Of course if the media does not report his actions to the public all the better to get away with major corruption.

[htuttle]

4. "We have no idea what we're doing, but it's television's fault!"

US Commander: "We couldn't pacify a room full of second graders without dropping a bomb on the place, but the fact that the media TELLS people about it means we'll lose."

This guy is utterly and completely incompetent. All the real Colonels must have been pushed out by Bush brown-nosers...

[LiberalFighter]

48. If every troop was back in this country what would their view be

concerning the Iraq War?

If none of them had ever served in the military what would be their view?

[Demeter]

5. Translation: Media Could Spill the Reality Beans

By actually telling the truth to the American people, the media could provide enough accurate information that the voters demand the evacuation of all military from Iraq and the impeachment and conviction of 80% of the GOP office holders.


Nah! It'll NEVER happen.

[redqueen]

6. Will they ever get tired of using this tired, idiotic canard?

:puke:

[TomInTib]

13. No, this has been trotted out for centuries.

Just look back.

Remember the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and McCarthy?
That was to protect us from the Evil Media in a war that didn't exist.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. They always do this when they have lost. Blame the public & press.

It would be a lot more convenient if they could wage an endless and useless war without the worry of criticism or oversight wouldn't it? Make no mistake, those generals are real bastards with only their own narrow political self interests in mind, they could care less about protecting this country.

[IndianaGreen]

11. General Westmoreland went to his grave blaming Walter Cronkite

for the loss of Vietnam. It never occurred to him that we were in the role of the French and, that as the French, we were destined to lose.

[Critters2]

63. Did these morans never hear of Dien Bien Phu? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

8. All we are doing in Iraq is adding more names to a future war memorial

How many Senators voted in support of the Kerry-Feingold Iraq Exit resolution?

[Immad2]

10. Well Colonel Jeffrey Snow, watch faux news. They lie every day just like

you want your (propaganda) news. baa baa baa

[oneighty]

12. When any

of our military are killed it is bad news.

When Iraqi innocents are killed that too is bad news.

When the Neo-Cons/Bhsh chose to lie and cheat us into that mess that too is bad news.

So what is left?

180

[The_Casual_Observer]

14. "So what is left?"

According to that bastard, no news.

[Occulus]

15. That dovetails nicely with this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1540305&mesg_id=1540305

Called it.

[KansDem]

16. No, Colonel, you have it all wrong...

We lost this war the day a fraud was installed in the White House against the wishes of the American people by Bush family hacks on the Supreme Court and heralded as a "decisive leader" by the right-winged media machine, who later lied to us and the world in order to get a war on for oil and personal gain.

Thats when and why we lost this "war." (I hate to be the one to tell you...)

[ldf]

61. what KansDem said!

:thumbsup:

[iconoclastic cat]

17. U.S. Office of Censorship, here we come!

http://mediamatters.org/items/200606290009

Look, mommy! Trial balloons!

[Anywho6]

25. Oh, I had heard it was the Department of Lame Excuses n/t

[iconoclastic cat]

28. I'm sure that's coming. nt

[NanceGreggs]

18. Yuppers.

If only the 'Murcan people would put more magnetic Yellow Ribbons on their SUVs, we could turn this thing around. THAT would greatly improve conditions on the ground in Iraq, wouldn't it now?

"So when the news is not balanced and it's always bad, that clearly leads to negative perceptions back home."

So where IS all of that GOOD news? Where's the footage of the schools being built, the hospitals being refurbished? Where are the videos of happy Iraqis going off to their well-paying jobs, safe and sound? Where are the photos of Baghdad lit up like Times Square every night, now that the electrical grid is up and running without a hitch?

Oh, that's right -- there is NO GOOD NEWS to report, is there?

That 'splains it.

[Justitia]

19. blah, blah, blah - same crazy shitspeak as Vietnam. -eom

[still_one]

20. when has anyone EVER won an occupation?

What is winning? We have caused a civil war, united fundamentalists muslims, and increased worldwide hatred for the U.S.

If this is winning, I would rather not have it

Today we are a Democracy where Freedom of the press is allowed. If that commander doesn't like it, then let him STAY IN IRAQ

[coalition_unwilling]

36. I know your question is somewhat rhetorical, but one could

argue that Europeans decisively "won" the occupation of North America. I think, however, that occupations have become increasingly more difficult and perhaps impossible since 1945. Great Britain did succeed after 1945 in suppressing an insurgency in Malaysia and the U.S. did succeed in suppressing an insurgency temporarily in the Phillipines. But the general trend, post-'45, has been for occupations to fail, most times not decisively but by slow death of a 1,000 cuts.

[still_one]

42. the problem with your examples is in the course of time it fails

As civilizations throughout history tried to expand their boundaries, that was when they started to fall

I do not see the U.S. "occupying" the Phillipines, and I would not say that UK controls Malaysia today

As far as Europeans winning the occupation of North America that is more clouded. That was Europeans breaking away from Europe to become their own entity

I do understand your point, but we have neither the resources, the will, and it is immoral what we are doing.

[Tempest]

21. So raping Iraqi women and killing her and her family

Won't have an effect on the outcome?

This is the same shit they pulled during Vietnam.

[zonkers]

22. Only response to this dumbass remark "Let's not play the the blame game"

[killbotfactory]

23. Yeah, what would happen if people started thinking war is a bad thing?

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

24. There was no "support for it at home", before we started this mess

less than half of America was against this "project" from the start (without a UN resolution)

Hey Colonel Snow, I don't think anyone "wins" a modern war.

[atreides1]

26. Sorry Colonel

The military failed the day that the Patriot Act was passed, and you failed to defend the Constitution.

It's not the media's fault.

[anotherdrew]

27. you've already lost the war Colonel Jeffrey Snow - wake up n/t

[LiberalFighter]

49. If he thinks it is going so well there then why???

WP 5/15/2006 article

Since Feb. 22, when the bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine in Samarra pushed sectarian tensions in Iraq to a new plateau, the U.S. Army units have quietly moved back into some neighborhoods that U.S. commanders had just turned over, with fanfare, to Iraqi security forces. Iraqi leaders asked for the return of the American troops into parts of central Baghdad in March, fearing that efforts to build a stable government would fall apart if they were unable to rein in the Shiite-Sunni killings, said Col. Jeffrey Snow, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division.

After fighting for nearly three years to put down an insurgency waged by Sunni Arabs, the Americans now are also dealing with a bloody Shiite-Sunni power struggle fought largely through intimidation and murder. Part civil war, with open battles in Baghdad's mixed southern neighborhood of Dora and the northern Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah, and part mob-style violence, with bodies being dumped out of cars that then speed away, the struggle plays out mostly beyond the view of U.S. soldiers.

[jseankil]

29. War on free speech is next! /nm

nm

[maxrandb]

30. Wrong Answer Colonel

"My personal opinion is that the only way we will lose this war is if we pull out prematurely,"

the correct answer is

"We wouldn't even be in this war if Poppy had pulled out of Babs prematurely"

[truthisfreedom]

31. another example of puke's "Iraq is more important than Americans" logic.

they don't give a flying hootie-hoo about Americans. they just want to get their war on. the military industrial complex is the most highly-funded organization in the universe, and they found a way to bleed the Treasury dry and take every last penny from hard-working Americans... get their war on. GET IT ON!

[rocktivity]

32. US have already lost in Iraq due to there being negative things to cover!

rocknation
:headbang:

[Xipe Totec]

33. Shooting the messenger again n/t

[liberal N proud]

34. Can't beat them over there so we will beat the media over here

Keep the media from telling the American people what is really happening. No one will know when we have lost the war on terror or that Democracy is totally destroyed.

[coalition_unwilling]

37. It's a reprise of the good 'ole "Stab in the Back" theory of

history. Hitler and the right wing used it to enormous effect in the 20's and 30's. Reagan and the right wing used it (about Vietnam) to enormous effect in the 80's and 90's.

[bdamomma]

39. these jerks are going by their PNAC agenda

they are trying to lie blame on everyone instead of blaming it on themselves, which they would never do. In the meantime we have a population of people extremely uninformed and in the dark, very dangerous for us.

[bdamomma]

35. what BS

the only thing that is not balanced is this commander and the idiot who is sitting in the WH.

[54anickel]

38. Just been "blame the media" week, hasn't it. Frist on CNN, Bush on

NYT and now this. Gee, you'd get the impression that this is some co-ordinated effort to discredit the media or something. Only thing missing is praises for Faux.
So, where's Rove these days anyway? :P

[lpbk2713]

40. I just read the thread about the four GI's who raped a girl and

killed her and her family (allegedly -- I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now). And this was with the media being allowed in the area. Just what kind of a hell on earth would it be if the media was not allowed there to tell the world the truth.

[lumpy]

41. The 'war' is already lost.

x

[depakid]

43. Vietnam redux

Bottom line is that if the press had chosen to do their job, we wouldn't be there in the first place.

[Disturbed]

45. How many News Reporters have benn killed In Iraq?

Pure coink?

[many a good man]

44. Vietnam redux: losing the MindWar

Pentagon's PSYOPS office concluded we lost Vietnam because their propaganda was more efffective than ours. They tried to do things differently this time and almost succeeded.

Then along came Joe Wilson.

[Rambis]

47. Hitler had the best propoganda machine and he lost

I don't think we need to listen to this bullshit anymore we need to get out.

[mitchum]

50. Got another dead horse to flog, Col Snowjob?

[Vinca]

51. So, Colonel, tell us about the good news.

Apparently you, yourself, will have to since it's TOO FUCKING DANGEROUS FOR JOURNALISTS TO LEAVE THE GREEN ZONE.

[Rex]

52. Didn't take long for the BFEE and the MIC to get on the same page.

No doubt they had this all planned out back in 1996. :eyes:

Negative media coverage could lose the war in Iraq? So that's what happen in Vietnam? :eyes:

George W Bush* - Worst President in US History.
Dick Cheney* - Worst Vice President in US History.

[dipsydoodle]

53. ....sapped by negative media coverage

aka the truth.

[Triana]

54. Isn't it Funny How...

...all these people are coming out of the woodwork to speak against "negative" media coverage (ie: anything that is either true or that bu$hit Inc doesn't agree with).

KKKarl must be very busy making all these phone calls to get people to publicly damn and try to intimidate the media into not doing their job reporting the news.

[ShortnFiery]

55. They tried this BUNK propaganda during the twilight years of Vietnam

also. Didn't work worth a sh*t then, and it won't work now. Our arrogant leaders (both military and civilian) underestimate the savvy of the USA Populace. The backlash is coming and it will hit BOTH parties who harbor pontificating war-mongers. :-)

[HuffleClaw]

56. EXACTLY what they said about the vietnam war

and they lost it too. this knee-jerk blame the messenger crap is soooo tiresome.

[TexasLawyer]

58. Viet Nam "victory"

Well, conceivably the US could have stayed in Viet Nam a few more decades; killed every man, woman and child in that country; lost 150,000 more American servicemen; and THEN declare victory.

Kind of like when we burned villages to the ground to "save" them. Victory is in the eye of the beholder. I don't call that a victory.

[bemildred]

59. I think incompetent leadership has more to do with it.

And the fact it was an obvoiusly stupid idea to begin with.

[Terran1212]

60. Blame blame blame blame the media!!!

If they say it enough times, many idiots will think it's true.

[number6]

62. Colonel (Clueless)Jeffrey Snow

:eyes:
"the United States could lose the war in Iraq if public support for it at home is sapped by negative media coverage"

hey! what about the Iraqis

[MGD]

64. The right blames the left/left-wing media for our loss in Vietnam too.

Apparently we were winning until Walter Kronkite reported the news as he saw it...

[struggle4progress]

66. Setting up the post-war search for scapegoats: shades of Weimar Germany!

Pointless war supported by hoorah-yahoos who -- rather than admit any error from their nitwit leaders -- will next spend their waking hours looking for some innocent to blame for the whole disaster ...

[truthisfreedom]

67. this is the bushco "war on freedom of speech." they've been gearing up for

it for years, and now we're seeing it in full bloom. "SILENCE! WE DEMAND SILENCE, OR YOU WILL BE SHOT!"

they hate Americans for our freedoms. they'd prefer to dictate, to elminate all branches of government except bushco.