After 'losing Fallujah,' US media 'mends military fences' RAW STORY

Published: Monday January 7, 2008



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Print This Email This A shift in war coverage has helped mend relations between the United States military and the media, according to an article in Monday's New York Times. "The anguished relationship between the military and the news media appears to be on the mend as battlefield successes from the troop increase in Iraq are reflected in more upbeat news coverage," Thom Shankar reports. "Efforts from the new Pentagon leadership, as well as by top commanders at the headquarters in Baghdad, have also eased tensions between reporters and those in uniform." Shankar writes that "dozens" of interviews conducted with military officers stationed in Iraq revealed a consensus opinion that media coverage of the war is now being presented in a fairer light. "It is obvious that many of the stories in print and television now have a more positive tenor; it ties directly to what is happening on the ground," Lt. Col. James Hutton, a public affairs officer for Multinational Corps-Iraq, told the paper. "Im satisfied that the majority of reporters on the ground want to get the story right and are responsive when their reporting is seen as less than accurate and we call them on it." The Times piece comes on the heels of a newly revealed US Army assessment of 2004 military actions in Fallujah, a study which found that media portrayal of the battle in part contributed to US forces' withdrawal from the town. "The outcome of a purely military contest in Fallujah was always a foregone conclusion  coalition victory," stated the assessment from the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center. "But Fallujah was not simply a military action, it was a political and informational battle. ... The effects of media coverage, enemy information operations and the fragility of the political environment conspired to force a halt to U.S. military operations." As reported by United Press International, the assessment added that "the decision to order an immediate assault on Fallujah, in response to the televised killing of four contractors from the private military firm Blackwater, effectively prevented the Marine Expeditionary Force charged with retaking the town from carrying out 'shaping operations,' such as clearing civilians from the area, which would have improved their chances of success." The study called the press "crucial to building political pressure to halt military operations." An Investor's Business Daily editorial last week agreed with the military's view. "In fact, the U.S. Marines entering Fallujah did take casualties and met heavy armed resistance," said the paper. "But without the misleading media coverage that led to political pressure, they would have almost certainly cleaned out what had become a viper's nest of terrorist activity." FULL NY TIMES ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK



