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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! May 29, 2008 The Battle for AnbarBy GreyhawkA look at mainstream media coverage of events as they unfolded - this entry is designed as a companion piece to an upcoming series here. In January, 2006, USA Today ran a story headlined "General sees rift in Iraq enemy " - a rift described as "an opportunity for American forces to try to persuade local guerrillas to put down their weapons and join the political process": "Now you actually have a wedge, or a split, between the Sunni population and al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner, deputy chief of staff for intelligence for multinational forces in Iraq. "It poses a significant crossroads for these groups as they look at where they head." By February 06, 2006, The Christian Science Monitor headlined Sunni tribes turn against jihadis: "We realized that these foreign terrorists were hiding behind the veil of the noble Iraqi resistance," says Mr. Jadaan. "They claim to be striking at the US occupation, but the reality is they are killing innocent Iraqis in the markets, in mosques, in churches, and in our schools."...and also noted that "Support for attacks on US remains": It's a statistic that Jedaan, the tribal sheikh, is well aware of. "Iraq has its men, its honorable resistance, and we will drive out the Americans and liberate our country ourselves."Al Qaeda's response was reported in the Washington Post: A prominent Sunni Muslim cleric and civic leader who ran for a seat in Iraq's parliament and worked closely with American forces policing Fallujah was fatally shot Tuesday on his way to work in the western city....and in the London The Sunday Times: A SUNNI tribal leader was murdered in the Iraqi city of Ramadi a day after taking part in talks with American and Iraqi officials aimed at curbing violence there.Shortly after that, the Samarra bombing blew all other news from Iraq off the front pages. But a March 2006 Washington Post article acknowledged the ongoing movement in Anbar with the headline Iraqi Tribes Strike Back at Insurgents: BAGHDAD, March 6 -- First they killed the chief of the Naim tribe and his son. Then they killed a top tribal sheik who headed the Fallujah city council. Then they assassinated the leader of the al-Jubur tribe.But in an odd twist... Fahdawi, the sheik from the Albu Fahd tribe, said the militia was forged in a series of secret meetings among tribal leaders, each of whom was asked to help form the group. Some contributed men, some money, Fahdawi said. U.S. military officers attended some of the meetings, he said, and helped "with "all kinds of financial support."If they weren't then, they soon would be. An al Qaeda spokesman responded: A fighter in Zarqawi's group, calling himself Abu Azzam, said the al-Anbar Revolutionaries "are collaborators and dogs for America. They kill the mujaheddin to get money from the American crusaders. They are cowards and we have killed a lot of them. . . . All the people here support us and our jihad against the Americans and their followers."Clearly the "Awakening Movement" had it's growing pains. But while the early stories of the development of what would become the Awakening Movement were reasonably balanced any references at all to further progress were rare. Clearly that progress was ongoing, but the story of the transition from disparate groups opposed to the US and al Qaeda to a full ally of US forces never made the papers - it didn't quite fit the popular "civil war" narrative in use at the time. In fact, within a few months of that final mention negative reporting from Iraq became so overwhelming that even the death of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi was portrayed as a marginally significant event, at best: BAGHDAD, June 8 --Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the mastermind behind hundreds of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq, was killed early Wednesday by an airstrike --north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday.An approach that appeared all the more transparent when the death of the founder of the Anbar Awakening movement was reported one year later: The assassination Thursday of the leader of the Sunni Arab revolt against al-Qaida militants dealt a setback to one of the few success stories in U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq, but tribesmen in Anbar province vowed not to be deterred in fighting the terror movement.Sufficient time has elapsed that we may now judge the accuracy of those forecasts. As I noted here (link to follow), those who attempt to accomplish any of those tasks without constant monitoring of the situation or first hand experience therein do so at a distinct disadvantage. Further, while those of a certain partisan stripe might find my conclusions more appealing than others, another key to understanding is to be able to view the scene without partisan prejudice of any sort - at least as far as that is humanly possible - separate facts from feelings, and limit motives to truth over a desired outcome. But even the release of a letter from senior al Qaeda leaders to Zarqawi (a document that clearly demonstrated the weakened position of the group in Iraq) was discovered and released, many pundits chose to tout it as evidence that the hopes for coalition success in Iraq had actually diminished with Zarqawi's death. Throughout the remainder of 2006 the growing "Awakening Movement" would be largely ignored in the American media. That trend would continue well into 2007, until the point that the turnaround in fortunes that accompanied the surge was undeniable. As noted previously, at that point it was hailed as "the real reason" for decreased violence in Iraq - the surge itself (and the efforts of American troops) was a failure. Posted by Greyhawk / May 29, 2008 10:29 AM | Permalink 3 Comments |
March 15, 2010Dawn Patrol 03/15/2010 [Greyhawk]
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.Refresh for updates.
AFGHANISTANMore Marjah Madness -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan] Downrange: An Informal Report on a trip to Afghanistan with Marine Gen. James N. Mattis -- [Steven Pressfield - in Afghanistan] Blast From the Past -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan] AAR -- [Riding Shotgun with Team Zombie Killer - in Afghanistan] The Deep End of the Pool -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan] The Economics of Insurgency -- [270 Days in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan] A true Cavalry officer -- [Mob 2009 Blog - in Afghanistan] Excess Humvees to BAF -- [Afghanistan my Last Tour - in Afghanistan] Details -- [Sgt Danger - in Afghanistan] Man Versus Afghanistan -- [A Major's Perspective - in Afghanistan] Tracking New Blog -- [My View, Our Mission - in Afghanistan] Friday Motivator -- [The Sniper]  (Click image for larger version) IRAQJambo! -- [Ramblings from a painter - in Iraq] Maliki has shaky lead in Iraq vote count -- [LA Times] Iraqi PM Remains Ahead After Partial Vote Count -- [Voice of America] Iraq vote signals shift from hard-line leaders -- [Washington Times] Issue of Presidency Endangers Iraq's Tenuous Balance -- [NY Times] U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLDPanic in Georgia over Russian 'invasion' report -- [Times (UK) Online] WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISMJustice, CIA clash over probe of interrogator IDs -- [Washington Times] SUPPORTING THE TROOPSSoldier Rocks with Bad Company (See also "Jambo!" from Ramblings from a Painter, milblogger in Iraq.) MILITARY LIFEThe Hardest Thing I've Ever Done: A Series of Screw-Ups and Lessons Learned -- [Andi/Spouse Buzz] WELCOME HOMELZ Lambeau seen as overdue welcome home for Vietnam veterans -- [Green Bay Press-Gazette] VETERANSTime to refresh your memories... -- [Castle Argghhh] BLOGGING/MILBLOGS/SOCIAL MEDIASaving Abel to Perform at the 2010 MilBlog Conference -- [Andi/milblogging.com] CULTURE/THE MEDIALiveblogging The Pacific -- [Jules Crittenden] Prelude to The Pacific -- [Comment from Bill D] 'The Pacific' review: Brilliant, brutal, and, yes, very enjoyable -- [Entertainment Weekly] EOD on standby -- [Greyhawk] Weekend Box Office -- [Box Office Mojo] POLITICSPA12 GOP: Burns over Russell -- [Greyhawk] Kokesh's final delegate count? -- [This Ain't Hell] STRATEGY & TACTICSMuch Ado? -- [Neptunus Lex] MILITARY HISTORYFrench Counterinsurgency in Algeria: HUMOR/SATIREThe CDS goes to war -- [Greyhawk]  (Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.) Iraq, Afghanistan, War, Terrorism, Military, Politics, Media, MilBlogs, dawn patrol Mudville
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
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It always has made me wonder. If McCain had got his way, and we started something like the surge, a year ealier, would the "Awakening" ever of happened? Did the fact that we stayed there as long as we did, without commiting as many atrocities as the enemy, help?
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 05/29/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.
Pointing out how the godawful media has 'shaped' the information battlefield is akin to carrying coals to Newcastle as the old saying went.
I NEVER read or view the MSM propaganda organs now unless a link has been provided by a blog such as yours.
They lie --- either by commission or omission or sometimes both. Frankly I would rather have a Goebbels-like figure just tell me the news. At least I would then be on the same wavelength. Both he and I would be perfectly aware that he was lying through his teeth for the 'greater good' as he defined it. There wouldn't be the insult of 'stated objectivity', added to the injury of complete distortion.
This perfidious and pernicious type of media will eventually kill any form of liberal democracy, which in the end depends on the INFORMED consent of its citizens.