20070317 Who Knew

Who knew?

March 17^th, 2007

I don’t know anything unless Katie Couric and the Baltimore Sun tell me.

I received the e-mail "Do you know? I didn't know! How could we?" below from Uncle R2.

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Of Iraq, I no longer have a clue as to what information is correct and what is not correct. I do know that e-mail reports, personal interviews with Iraq War veterans and posts on milblogger web sites are consistently in sharp contrast with the “news” we receive from the mainstream media.

In my Tentacle column, “An Uneasy Truce” on December 20^th, 2006 I wrote:

In particular, the veteran who served in the Kurdish Province had several opportunities to view CNN reports on actions in which he participated and was dismayed by the slant and spin; to the point where he hardly recognized the events as reported.

It will be interesting to see just how our greater society will be affected in future years by the military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The experience of the politics over the war has caused many of them to lose faith in much of our country's national leaders because they play parlor-politics with the deadly opera of life and death in a combat zone.

And their experience with the news media has caused many veterans to not only distrust, but to disdain the traditional mainstream media.

This stands in contrast with the last overseas armed conflict which fermented social and political upheaval on the home front, the Vietnam War. The government got a black eye, but the media came out smelling like a rose.

Read the rest of The Tentacle column here: “An Uneasy Truce”

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Here is the e-mail that I just received…

Do you know? I didn't know! How could we?

Did you know that 47 countries' have reestablished their embassies in Iraq?

Did you know that the Iraqi government currently employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?

Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 new schools are now under construction and 38 new schools have been completed in Iraq?

Did you know that Iraq's higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers, all currently operating?

Did you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2005 for the re-established Fulbright program?

Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational? They have 5 - 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment.

Did you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational squadrons, which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft (under Iraqi operational control) which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?

Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a commando Battalion?

Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers?

Did you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq
that produce over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?

Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq?

They include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.

Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5

have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?

Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?

Did you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and phone use has gone up 158%?

Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?

Did you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?

Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a televised debate recently?

OF COURSE WE DIDN'T KNOW! WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW?

OUR MEDIA WOULDN'T TELL US! Instead of reflecting our love for our country, we get photos of flag burning incidents at Abu Ghraib and people throwing snowballs at the presidential motorcades.

Tragically, the lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves two purposes: It is intended to undermine the world's perception of the United States thus minimizing consequent support, and it is intended to discourage American citizens. !

---- Above facts are verifiable on the Department of Defense web site. http://www.defenselink.mil/ .......Pass it on! Give it a Wide Dissemination!

If you can read, thank a soldier. If you can read this piece in English, thank an American soldier!

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