Victor Davis Hanson once opined that the war in Iraq could be won in 30 days if
all media coverage were banned. The chance of that happening is pretty close to
zero (unless, of course, Hillary gets elected).
But there are curious rumblings in the mainstream media. After five years of
relentless antiwar reporting, after five years of headlining the mistakes and miscalculations
of the Bush administration, two events last Sunday signaled a possible turnaround
in the way the 'mainstream media' covers the war.
First, and most surprising, was an editorial in the New York Times entitled 'We
Just Might Be Winning The War In Iraq' which claimed that "We are finally getting
somewhere in Iraq," "morale is high," and, as a result, this is "a war we just might
win."
For five years now, the New York Times has been relentless in its antiwar message,
reporting every civilian death as evidence of misguided American imperialism. Reporting
every screw-up made by the Bush administration as evidence of Bush's inferior intellect.
The NYT's had all but conceded that the recent 'surge' was a failure, even before
it started. Reporting on military success stories was relegated to page 391, if
reported at all.
To date, members of the old media have spoken with one voice in condemning America
and George Bush for the 'fiasco' in Iraq. Until Sunday. Following on the heels of
the surprising New York Times editorial, 'Hardball' with Chris Matthews, featured
esteemed pundits from the Washington Post, NBC, Time magazine, etc. who actually
debated why America shouldn't withdraw troops from Iraq.
What to make of this 180 degree turnaround? Is Pinch Sulzberger on vacation? Has
the media finally seen the light? Doubtful. More likely, they're seeing the handwriting
on the wall.
Consider recent headlines reported in the foreign press, Fox News, talk radio and
the blogosphere:
'Mushareff Risks Civil War As He Invades Al-Qaeda Badlands'
'U.S. Gains Against Al-Qaeda In Iraq'
'Armed Group Reconciles With Iraq Government'
'Iraqi's Lead Coalition To Arms Cache'
'Tribal Leaders Sign On To Security Agreement'
'Al-Qaeda Faces Rebellion From The Ranks'
'U.S. Support For Iraq Invasion Inches Up'
The relentless trickle of good news is turning into a torrent. It is becoming harder
to ignore the actual reality on the ground in Iraq. But that doesn't explain the
abrupt media shift. One scenario is, the 'mainstream media' has finally become patriotic.
Another scenario is they've received a heads-up regarding the report currently being
written by General Petraeus. Only hindsight will tell.
In the meantime, Speaker Harry Reid, has issued a press release trumpeting his accomplishment
in earmarking $400,000 of the taxpayers money for bark beetle research.
Reid's counterpart in the House, Nancy Pelosi, has issued a press release trumpeting
a House vote on 'ethics reform' which states in part, "From the first day of the
110th Congress, we began a new era of honest, open government, returning this House
to the American people." (Cold Cash Jefferson and land baron Harry Reid notwithstanding.)
Meanwhile, the left's designated point man, unindicted co-conspirator, John Murtha,
is busy as a bee with legislation guaranteed to put a halt to any constructive efforts
in Iraq. As chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, he is
readying plans to use the $469.6 billion defense appropriations bill, which comes
to the floor this week, to short-circuit the current military campaign against jihadists
in Iraq and shut down Guantanamo Bay.
If that doesn't work, another Murtha amendment "would implement the Pennsylvania
Democrat's 'slow-bleed' strategy for ensuring a U.S. military defeat by conditioning
funds for the war upon the military meeting some unattainable standards for training
and equipping the troops."
The apparent turnaround of media reporting could be short-lived. It's impossible
to predict. What's easier to predict is that should the media decide this is a war
worth winning, you can bet our esteemed elected officials will be jumping on board
and jostling for position. It doesn't take a top secret intelligence report to predict
that.
Here's hoping.
Nancy Morgan is senior editor for
www.RightBias.com and a columnist.
She lives in South Carolina.
Article may be reproduced, with attribution.
