Interview with US Soldier in Iraq - "Media has no integrity"

The following are excerpts from an interview conducted with SFC Smith who is serving his country in the area around Basra, Iraq.

Reposted from Thinking Right.com -

• Tell me about some good things that are happening there…

  There are hundreds of missions going on EVERYDAY that you all back home do not hear about. It does not meet the media agenda I guess. We have teams here that specialize in rebuilding Iraq, and they carry out tons of projects to better this place. They are repairing sewer systems, building wells, building schools, even repairing the roads in this country.

  The truth is that there are hundreds of them going on everyday....

• Do you feel the security situation is improving?

  YES. Problem for you all is that they will never report it back there in the states. For instance, I saw a press conference from General Casey, the MNF-I Commander, in regards to the provinces here. Iraq basically has 19 “states” compared to our 50, except they call them provinces. That said, in terms of security 14 are considered “green”, 3 are “amber” and 2 are still “red”.

  Instead of telling the American public that story (I believe it is called the truth) the reporters they send over here sit in their cozy hotel in the IZ in Baghdad and only report the doom and gloom from the footage they buy from local reporters.

  Has your nightly news ever started their coverage with the feature story “14 of 19 Iraqi provinces show MAJOR improvements” or “heavy fighting reduced to 2 provinces”? ......

• What can the American public do to help you… to support both the troops and the mission?
• What can the American public do to better support those that are coming home?

  I will answer both of these together. The answer is certainly complex, but I’ll point out one thing. The American soldiers are growing VERY disenfranchised with the American media and the impact it is having on the American people’s view of this war. The media is not telling the truth about this war, they are not telling what is going on over here.

  There just seems to be no integrity in the entire media empire- how in the hell do those guys sleep at night?....

• What are your thoughts on the call for an immediate pull out? And what would the effects be on the troops?

  To quit in Iraq now, will make every life lost part of something less. If we leave Iraq, Iran, Syria and Al Qaeda will undermine everything we have done. Iran will mobilize the Shiites and Al Qaeda the Sunni’s. The country will fall into complete rebellion as both groups fight to gain control of one of the world’s largest oil reserves.

  All of these left-wing groups and out of touch politicians- what do they really think is going to happen if we just pull out like they grandstand about? ....

To read the whole interview and complete answers click here.