Odds and ends - Iraq and the American media

Betsy Newmark has some words of wisdom on the Constitutional progress in Iraq.

If the proposed constitution is what they end up with, it is so much better than what they had before and what so many seemed to be expecting. No one thought our Constitution was ideal when it was written. It was cobbled together by compromise after compromise. Everything from how to count slaves to how to elect the president came about because of compromise.

One advantage that our Constitution-writers had was that they were able to debate and write their draft in secret. No one was leaking to the press different drafts and ideas. People could throw out ideas that would be shot down and ridiculed, but they didn't have to worry that their proposal would be stuff of debate throughout the country the next day. And, of course, there wasn't the threat of violence from anti-Federalists determined to block the adoption of the Constitution. They didn't have an artifical date as their predetermined deadline. If the Iraqis need more time for discussion, let's cut them some slack.

I made that comparison the other day, but only in passing. She's absolutely right, and for all of the right reasons. The focus on the arbitrary "deadlines" that the Iraqis have set for themselves is counter-productive (and the AP is at it again this morning).

The problem is, the American media is completely agenda driven, and that agenda is "Bush is bad, Iraq was a mistake, it's a quagmire, it's Vietnam redux." And everything that doesn't fit that template is either shoe-horned into it, or ignored. Someone needs to step back for a minute and look at the big picture. 2 1/2 years ago, Saddam Hussein was in power. Now democratically elected Iraqi representatives are finalizing a constitution for the people of Iraq to vote on. There's been enormous progress in a relatively short period of time, even if the members of the American media (and certain American politicians - yes, that means you, Senator Hagel) refuse to acknowledge it.

Jack Kelly has a must-read about how good news in the real world becomes bad news in the New York Times. (H/T to Betsy's Page)

Katherine Kersten has an excellent piece in the Star Tribune (of all places to look for perspective, the Star Tribune is not generally high on the list) that goes deeply into that "big picture" thinking I was just talking about. (H/T to the Anchoress)

The media rarely give us the context we need to understand the fighting that produces these casualties -- the purpose and outcome of the missions the lost soldiers were engaged in. When that information is given, it's often buried in articles that focus on death.

Without this big picture, any war would appear a meaningless disaster. What if Americans had seen the casualty lists from Omaha Beach or Okinawa -- hills of sand -- without hearing about the objectives for which those bloody battles were fought?

To evaluate the war in Iraq, like any war, we need to understand what our troops are attempting and achieving, as well as how many of them are being killed. Take the 14 Marines who died in Haditha in early August in a much-publicized roadside bombing. Army Lt. Colonel Steve Boylan, a military spokesman I contacted in Baghdad, explained that they were laying the groundwork for Operation Quick Strike: a campaign to destroy the insurgency by depriving it of its bases and shutting down its "rat lines" -- infiltration routes running from the Syrian border to the heart of Iraq.

The Marines' mission was to undercut the insurgents' freedom of movement, and thus -- among other things -- to increase security for the Iraqis' constitutional process.
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Here's a glimpse of that bigger picture: According to government and policy organization sources, Iraq today has a vibrant free press, with roughly 170 independent newspapers and magazines, up from zero under Saddam Hussein. Thousands of schools have been constructed or refurbished, and more than 200 water treatment projects are underway or have been completed.

In Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf, the scene of brutal fighting last year, the American military is building schools and clinics, extending power lines and laying water and sewage pipes.

Thanks to those efforts, the Iraqi people will soon vote in a historic constitutional referendum. Sunni leaders, who boycotted the January 2005 elections, are urging their people to join the electoral process. But even heartening news like this, which does get media attention, is often drowned out in the public mind by reports of periodic American casualties.

Amen. If the American media were serving America's interests instead of the Democratic Party's (and isn't it sad that they aren't the same?) there would be a lot more of this in the press...