Do you believe what the media tells you about the war in Iraq?

Question

I am realizing slowly that civilians have a very slanted view of what is actually happening in Iraq. Do you believe what you hear/see on the news and why do you put your faith in that particular source?

Bruce: Because I have been there.

Answer 1

I can make this very clear and easy for you to understand.

Take your mom or sister to Iraq and drop her off there for about a month. If she survives the experience, she will have lost probably about 30 pounds, ate food that had bugs in it, had to stay in her house for fear of terrorist bombings, and drank water with live sewage in it.

I DON'T KNOW WHY PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT TERRORISM IS ABOUT.

IT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING WE HOLD DEAR TO OUR HEART AS AMERICANS.

For those of you with your head up your a s s that don't understand WHY terrorism is, LET ME EXPLAIN IT TO YOU.

TERRORISM happens because the psychotic people that used to be in charge FEAR LOSING CONTROL OF THE PEOPLE.

THEY DO NOT WANT WOMEN TO HAVE RIGHTS.

THEY DO NOT WANT THEIR WOMEN TO DRIVE.

THEY DO NOT WANT THEIR WOMEN TO BE LAWYERS, DOCTORS, OR ANY KIND OF PROFESSIONALS.

THEY DO NOT WANT THEIR WOMEN TO VOTE.

AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEY HAVE LAWS THAT ALLOW THEM TO STONE THEIR WOMEN TO DEATH FOR JUST ABOUT ANY REASON THEY CAN COME UP WITH.

THEY DO NOT WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO WEAR JEANS AND LISTEN TO ROCK AND ROLL OR RAP MUSIC. (Like every other country where the people have become FREE.)

One of the big secrets about terrorists is they thought they could bring down the world economy (our quality of life and civilization) by destroying a fair chunk of the world's petroleum distribution system. I guess you don't realize what would happen TO ANY COUNTRY ON THIS PLANET if enough of the oil distribution were interrupted. Besides not being able to drive your car, YOU COULD EASILY FREEZE IN THE WINTER. So for all of the dummies that said Bush only did this for oil, understand that without oil, the world stops turning. So yes, this war did have to do a lot with oil. Take away any country's food and you will have a war. Take away any country's land, and you will have a war. Well, taking away any country's energy source will also cause a war.

BUT THE PART THAT REALLY HURTS ME PERSONALLY, IS THE FACT THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO COME INTO OUR COUNTRY AND DESTROY OUR PYRAMIDS ON SEPTEMBER 11th. (I watched the buildings fall that day. If you didn't, try YouTube.) Over three thousand people died that day. It was America's job to protect those people. The fact that we've been at war for these few years and only lost only a little over 3,000 of our God Blessed soldiers is proof of how well we can fight a modern war. When we were fighting for your grandfather's freedom, to remove the last scourge of the planet, (Hitler), 20 MILLION OF OUR SOLDIERS DIED.

SO YOU COULD HAVE THE LIFE YOU HAVE TODAY.

Keep these facts in mind.

It may take a while, but all the FREE countries of the world WILL REMOVE TERRORISM FROM THIS PLANET.

No matter what they do, or how badly they hurt a few of us, FREEDOM WILL PREVAIL.

TERRORISTS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN THE MODERN ROACH OF PLANET EARTH.

And by the way, to the morons who say we are no safer today than 9/11, when was the last time that American soil was attacked? It seems to me that they are doing a DAMN GOOD JOB protecting us. REMEMBER, the terrorists only have to get it right once, WE have to get it right every time.

Answer 2

Why is it a failure? Because we don't belong there. We never did. No matter what "military" successes you have there, we failed from Day 1. We are seen by the vast majority of their population as foreign invaders. Which we are. Which they do not like. We are there, in their opinion, to secure oil supplies for ourselves. And they know that is true, since it pretty much is. Not only is our being there at all detrimental to the opinion of the average Muslim, but it's also detrimental to the entire world's opinion of the US. It's never been lower than it is right now. We're not even remotely secure in many places in Iraq, in fact, most places in Iraq. If you think we're doing so fantastic over there, why not go for a visit? Look around. Talk to the natives. Be a tourist! LMAO. And once we declare "victory" and leave, the civil war that's been waiting to spill over will happen. Do you think Sadr is just laying down now? Do you think Iran will just stop supporting Shia militias in Iraq? Do you believe for a second that anyone but the politicians there (who benefit tremendously from our presence and are screwed when we leave) think the US is doing something good for the people of Iraq? No, and no right thinking person would, either. Fortunately for us, most of the US understands this now too, which is why you won't have a Republican President in 2008 and you don't a Republican Congress now. If it were possible, we probably wouldn't have a Republican Supreme Court, either. But we can't fix that broken system at the moment.

Answer 3

I mostly listen to CSPAN and watch the hearings and/or the generals talk about it. Also, many of the Senate/Congress have visited. They are only allowed to go to the safest parts of Iraq and the generals aren't even sure what is going on in some parts of the country. Even when they talk to the troops you get a different version according to their personal experiences. So the answer is, there is no source that knows for sure the whole truth of the matter and we will never be told what we aren't supposed to hear.

Many people seem to base their opinion on the fact that the war in Iraq was a mistake to begin with so we shouldn't be there. Then there is a group who agree with that but think we should finish what we started. Then we have those who want out now no matter what. Some want to leave in 1 to 1 1/2 years and others would stay there until eternity.

At some point, people are going to have to realize that we only have so many troops and so much money and then the U.S. will have to become the priority if things don't turn around before very long. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter what I think about it. My thoughts are irrelevant to the outcome.

Answer 4

I believe what I hear from different soldiers that have taken the time to speak publicly and some that I've been able to converse with privately. I have to agree with "The Wise One", whose comment is above mine, that mentions FOX News. I believe that they are fair in their reports. It's funny how many people say that the news they see supports our President and are upset about this. I have never seen such footage before yet I would be inclined to agree with it if I were to see it. People don't seem to want to accept that we are where we are, not because of something that we did, but because people hate us (Americans). They hate us for the simple fact that the U.S.A. is a successful country in which people live free. Regardless, I think that most media distorts the truth because it creates controversy and gets people in an uproar and, of course, their ratings are positively affected by this. I think if people took the time to look at what is happening, read between the lines, and look at history and the patterns of certain groups, they would be much more eager to know the truth and be supportive of our efforts here and abroad.

Answer 5

No, I don't watch the news, but I do read a wide variety of printed sources, as well as talk to people who are there and have been there.

The truth is, no one *really* knows what is really happening in Iraq, because the situation is too large, too complex and too fluid for any one person to be able to absorb that much information.

The military over there has a very biased opinion too, I hope you understand, because their experience of life in Iraq is radically different than an Iraqi's experience.

Your best hope it to try and synthesize from a variety of sources and realize that you will never do anything better than have a rough approximation.

Answer 6

It is ABSOLUTELY NOT as bad as it's being portrayed in the media. Far left liberals want you to believe the entire country has been burnt to the ground. It's simply not true. The media reports every time our soldiers are killed and any time there are any bombings, they are all over it. They're not hiding anything or covering it up. That can't happen. There are way too many anti-American networks that would be all over it, like Reuters or the BBC or even MSNBC. The attacks that are going on are ISOLATED. And many Iraqis support our troops and are glad they are there.

Baghdad and other Iraqi cities look just like any other in the middle east.

Answer 7

We as civilians will never know to the full extent of what's going on in Iraq. You hear from so many different sources and most stories are extremely different. I try to decifer on my own which stories are good and which are not. If you take a little information from every source you should come up with a somewhat rounded idea.

Answer 8

No, I don't believe it. I have never even paid attention to all the news they report about Iraq. Really, it is just what one person sees and they report on that story, which could be wrong. It is hard for 1 person to know exactly what is going on, and they might think they know but some stuff is left unsaid or unseen.

I also believe they report based on what they see and then THEIR opinion about it, or their opinion about what is going to happen, or what is going on.

Answer 9

Since I travel over seas to different countries in the middle east as well as eastern Europe I read different views.I would say consider the source.Ask a Kurdish person what they feel about Bush verses a Democrat in the U.s. you will see what I mean.

Answer 10

Civilians have a very slanted view?

Everyone has a slanted view. That's why it's called a 'view'. Sadaam had a view, Bush had a view, the soldiers had a view, I have a view.

What makes MY view any more biased than yours?