Does the news coverage of the war on terror seem skewed?

Question

My concern is not so much left or right, but it seems like all the news outlets give coverage to situations in which civilians are killed or wounded, But we see little coverage of the action occurring that lead up the incident. For example we hear about civilians killed and wounded 4 days after a firefight in Afghanistan. But we never saw any news about the firefight. I do not think this is due to a left ot right slant. I see the same thing on Fox, cnn and the networks. Perhaps the pentagon in its wisdom is cutting the press off too much from the action so all they get are the reports of 'collateral damage'. Thus we only get half the story. I think if we (and the rest of world) got the full story these situations would be seen in a more complete context.

I am not condoning civilian casualties, I simply do not think we are being fair to our soldiers. After all we put them in harms way.

Answer 1

I agree. For years we heard the conflict in Iraq described in a daily  body count, ours. We never hear of the days when no one dies or the numerous victories won by our men and women.

Answer 2

Yes, I think we only see what sells, violence.  And I don't think it's any better in print either.  I don't have the answer to that, but if you want to see uplifting stories, which you never see in the press, period, here's a blog where soldiers send in photos and stories of what they're doing in Iraq and Afghanistan"

http://ustorture.blogspot.com/

And here's the military's YouTube channel that has independent stories:  http://in.youtube.com/MNFIRAQ

Answer 3

OF COURSE. EVERYTHING IS CORRUPT. RELIGION, GOVERNMENT, ECONOMY. READ BETWEEN THE LINES. NOTHING IS PERFECT.  

Answer 4

Of course it is skewed! We are in the grips of a National Security Emergency that will last the rest of our lives.We are fighting a never ending war now. The war on terror. The Bill of Rights has basically been shredded to bits with the passing and renewing of the Patriot Act and F.I.S.A. Why do you think we don't see the caskets coming home? Is it out of respect for the dead? Or is it because the the media has been censored? I think it is the latter.

Answer 5

The Press is NOT cut off too much.  In fact they have AMPLE opportunity to make good news stories in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but they know that that doesnt make for a good story!  

I have spent 19 months in Iraq and 8 months in Afghanistan.  

I watched Iraq turn around almost over night.  From trying to find someone to recruit for their Police or Army, to having so many that we had to change our strategy in training them!

Remember also that the Taliban will not hesitate to use civilians (including their family) as shields.  Since we are fighting an enemy that does not fight traditionally, civilian casualties are eminent.  We would have had to send around 80 to 200 troops (on the ground) to take on 30 sheltered / armed Taliban in a small city.  If the target was high enough.  I say BOMB AWAY!  We would NOT drop those bombs without positive identifications.

If Afghanistan is ready to do this fight without foreign military or money, I say, have at Afghans!  But they wont.  They know they need our support right now, and incidents, as bad as they are, are abound to happen!  It is such a political battle over there.  I wonder if the Afghans will EVER turn to anything logical like the Iraqis finally did!

Answer 6

Do you hear about the ''quagmire'',''civil war'' do you hear the daily body count any more ?

Those 197 Russian kids who had their heads blown off were front page news on the New York Times 7 times Gitmo was front page over 50 times so you tell me

I lived over the pond two years ago it was all over the news The E U gives more in aid than the U S I know it was B/S as I live with this self centered lot Last year a E U commissioner exposed that they were including load forgiveness that is a no no Today you just must go by your gut feelings

Answer 7

Skewed toward Official Pentagon Sources.

When the truth comes out it's usually later and not on the front page.

The pattern I've found in newspapers like the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle is as follows:

1) Story appears on page one citing Official Military Sources saying "militants," "insurgents," "al-Qaeda" or "Taliban forces" were killed in an attack.

Then

2) Two days later on page 8 or 10 the Iraqi Government or Afghanistan Government confirms that dozens of women and children were killed in the U.S. Air Attack.

Answer 8

Yes, Bush has forbidden press to cover funerals or contact with survivors, even though they agree. Something similar is happening in Canada imposed by Bush clone. Steven Harper. The purpose is to tamp down opposition to the wars

Answer 9

no longer watch the BS.  Sick of being lied to over and over again.

Answer 10

It really does seem like it's being pushed aside and we are only given the half truth.  And also it seems like the war isn't really being covered now that the elections take up so much of the time.  I think they are getting so preoccupied with the future of the war and the U.S. and forgetting about the present.

Answer 11

You're absolutely correct. As much as some people would like to believe, the media is not free and the media is certainly not telling the public half of the story. It's been like that for ages, this is nothing new. That is why I do not watch the mainstream press. I get my information through other means. So, yes it is skewed. Severely. And I agree, we are selling our servicemen and women short buy ignoring the entire story. In fact, by ignoring the story, many of our servicemens and womens lives are being lost in vain. It's getting worse as time goes on and ultimately it will lead to the demise of this country.