Shaped Charges

We've already noted the media's recent selective quoting of General George Casey, commanding general of the Multinational Forces in Iraq. This past weekend another fine example of the technique played out on national television.

First, take a look at General Casey's introductory comments from that press briefing again. He's explaining why he believes the aftermath of the Shrine bombing reveals that the Iraqi security forces and government are becoming increasingly capable of handling issues on their own:

I did want to give you a perspective, my perspective, on really the last 10 days of what's gone on here in the aftermath of the Samarra mosque bombing. As Ambassador Khalilzad and I said in our initial joint statement condemning the bombings, we saw this as a deliberate attempt to foment sectarian strife at a very sensitive time in Iraq's political development. And while it's been a difficult few days, I can tell you that Iraqis have again risen to the occasion.

Let me give you a couple of data points here. First of all, the Iraqi security forces performed well across the country, generally well, not uniformly well. And I'll give you some examples of both the positive and the negative here later. But we're quite pleased with what we saw both in the Iraqi army, in some of the Iraqi police and with the coordination -- improved coordination that we're seeing between the army and the police.

In general, Iraqi security force leaders took the initiative early on in moving to full alert and to securing key sites. In eight of the 18 provinces in Iraq , there was little to no reaction to the bombing, and this includes Anbar province, which as you know has been one of the most difficult challenges that we've wrestled with. In eight other provinces, there were demonstrations and there was militia activity, but it was quickly contained by Iraqi police and by the Iraqi army. And this demonstrates a maturing capability to cooperate and operate effectively in providing domestic order, and we saw this in several places around the country.

In Baghdad and Basra , where our security response was also strong, it did take the Iraqi security forces a few days to settle the situation, and this with the assistance of the coalition forces in a supporting role.

Now I think it's important to note here that in all cases, Iraqi security ministries and Iraqi security force leadership directed the operations, and the coalition responded in a supporting and assisting role.

Q General Casey, Charlie Aldinger with Reuters. You seem to concede that -- certainly that sectarian violence was fomented by the attack on the mosque. Could this happen again?

GEN. CASEY: Charlie, could this happen again? Sure -- yes, it could happen again. As I said, Iraq is not out of danger. There is still a terrorist threat here that is working to foment continued sectarian violence.

I think they tried. They tried to have this the straw that broke the camel's back, and it failed. And the Iraqis, as I said, rose to the occasion. There are still sectarian tensions here now that the Iraqis are continuing to work their way through, and we will all continue to stay on the front foot here as we work our way through this sensitive period.

Q Once more, is the country close to civil war or could it fall into civil war?

GEN. CASEY: Anything can happen, but I think as long as there's -- the coalition forces are here in the -- on the ground working with the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi -- the vast majority of the Iraqi people remain committed to forming a government of national unity, which I firmly believe that they do, I think the chances of that are not good.

MR. RUSSERT: If you were to be asked whether things in Iraq are going well or badly, what would you say? How would you answer?

GEN. PACE: I'd say they're going well. I wouldn't put a great big smiley face on it, but I would say they're going very, very well from everything you look at, whether it be on the political side where they've had three elections, they've written their own constitution, they're forming their government. You look at the military side where this time last year there were just a handful of battalions in the field, Iraqi battalions in the field. Now there are over 100 battalions in the field. They had no brigades--that's about 3,000 men each. Now they've got about 31 brigades. No matter where you look at their military, their police, their society, things are much better this year than they were last.

MR. RUSSERT: The American people were asked that exact same question, how things are going in Iraq, and here's how they responded: Well, 36; badly, 62. Why do you think there's such a disconnect from your view and that of the American people?

GEN. PACE: I don't think we're getting the goodness out to the American people the way we should. Somehow we need to find a way to have balance in the amount of reporting that we're able to get out. If you remember back when the war began, we had 24/7 coverage. Folks could watch television, they could read newspapers, they could read magazines, and they could put together their own opinion of what's going on. Now the amount of coverage from the war zone is much less than it used to be, and understandably, the coverage, then, that comes out is the bombings and the things like that. People don't get a chance to see or hear about all the good things that are happening.

MR. RUSSERT: After the mosque was blown up, General Casey this week talked to the Pentagon reporters, and let me show you a small exchange he had with the press. Let's watch.

(Videotape): General GEORGE CASEY (Commander, Multinational Force, Iraq): Could this happen again? Sure, yes, it could happen again. As I said, Iraq is not out of danger. There is still a terrorist threat here that is working to foment continued sectarian violence.

Unidentified Reporter: Is the country close to civil war, or could it fall into civil war?

GEN. CASEY: Anything can happen. (End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Anything can happen. Seventy-three percent of the American people believe we are headed to a likely civil war.

In fact, there have been several examples of this tactic this past week. Note the heavily edited quotes and frequent paraphrasing in the LA Times interview with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. Or this AP evaluation of remarks made by CENTCOM commander General John Abizaid:

Abizaid, meanwhile, said he was "very, very pleased" with the response of Iraqi armed forces in containing the recent sectarian bloodshed, disputing critics who said too little was done to quell attacks that killed more than 500 people the past week.

Abizaid's assessment was more upbeat than the one given Thursday by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey, who told reporters that Iraqi police and army units had performed "generally well, not uniformly well."

Which begs the question, why does the media want so desperately for it to be otherwise?

And it also answers this question:

MR. RUSSERT: The American people were asked that exact same question, how things are going in Iraq, and here's how they responded: Well, 36; badly, 62. Why do you think there's such a disconnect from your view and that of the American people?