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Maddening Media Misrepresentation
By Thomas D. Segel
October 13, 2003

It made the headlines again today. There was an American killed, more Americans were wounded and injured, there was an explosion, there were fires. A power plant was put out of commission. People don't have lights, sewers, running water. We just can't stop the constant infiltration of aliens crossing the border.

With all of these horrible concerns, there is only one thing left to do. We must pull all the Americans out of harms way. If we are to believe everything the media reports that is the only answer to the "quagmire" of Iraq. The only thing wrong with this scenario is it isn't Iraq being reported on in the statement above. It isn't even the mid east. These are the stories, which fill the newspapers, are blurted out on radio and find themselves as the lead items on the evening television news in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. And, yes, the only answer is we must remove all of the Americans from this "quagmire".

Just before I wrote these words, a man was shot down in Brownsville and the killer escaped on a bicycle. There was some kind of explosion or fire at a power plant in San Bentio yesterday. People in two cities found themselves without electricity. There are those immigrants living in colonias near the border who find themselves without running water, plumbing, sewers, and paved roads. They are lacking just about all basic services and infrastructure. Every day we find aliens from many countries crossing the Rio Grande River and infiltrating into the United States. These are the events, which make our local headlines and have for years.

There is little to distinguish between what happens in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and what takes place in Iraq. The only difference is we have a Border Patrol facing danger, instead of an Infantry Patrol. The point I am trying to make is.. we can no more close our eyes and remove the Americans from Iraq than we can remove the Americans from South Texas.

And just as there are hundreds of good things here on the Texas border for every bad thing that is reported in the media the same holds true for Iraq. Every day I read and hear the maddening media misrepresentations, which fill our national headlines and airways. Every day I also read wonderful stories about all the amazing things our American troops are doing to make life better for the people of Iraq. The only thing is I find the bad stuff in our national media and the good stuff in Internet news releases sent out every day by military reporters in Iraq. These are the reports our major media fail to pass on to the public.

Back during the early days of the conflict we had more than 700 "embedded reporters" in the war zone. With so many covering so much, there were many great stories being told. Today there are less than 30 reporters in all of Iraq and they each zero-in on what they perceive as the "big story" of the day. Sadly, they always find that story to be one where Americans are killed, hurt, or make some horrible mistake. The media doesn't have time to tell you about medics giving of their time in civilian hospitals. Reporters are never able to locate any of the hundreds of schools our troops have repaired, repainted, reroofed, and reopened. They don't write about Americans risking their lives to remove landmines which place civilians in harms way. (Landmines, which by the way, were placed there by Saddam's forces.) All of the stories of caring and improving quality of life are ignored in favor of the sick old media adage, "If it bleeds, it leads!"

You have often heard people say that our own media is giving aid and comfort to the enemy. When they report all the bad and ugly of a conflict, while failing to report all the good and beautiful that is just what they are doing.