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logo    Journalism and Wars--World War II and Iraq


Oh, Steve, blow off! Comparing the coverage of WW2 to the coverage of the current war in Iraq can be likened to comparing an elephant to a gnat. I was old enough to read newspapers during WW2, so I don't need to go into the archives to read a few days coverage.

First, WW2 always was front page news, not buried somewhere on back pages, and the articles were extensive, not just a few column inches long.

Second, in the current war in Iraq, heroism is difficult to identify because, by calling everyone serving there an American Hero, we have stripped the word of all of its content. Although, being a veteran of the Korean war, I am sure there are true heroes, there is no way to distinguish them from the ordinary.

Third, building an uncounted number of schoolhouses can't be compared to a monthly shipbuilding record during WW2. Compared to a ship, a schoolhouse is a puny construction. Furthermore, many of these newly constructed schoolhouses have since been destroyed. So much for wasted effort.

Fourth, bombing civilian domiciles in Fallujah or any other Iraqi city, even if such raids successfully kill a number of insurgents, isn't comparable to a successful air strike on a New Guinea airfield.

Fifth, during WW2, correspondents went where and reported on what they wanted to. They were not embedded in American units under the control of the Pentagon. Today's correspondents in Iraq see only what the Army wants them to see, and whenever something horrific is seen, as does happen on occasion, it is seen by happenstance.

Sixth, there is a world of difference between the news received from WW2 correspondents and what we hear from the generals interviewed on the Sunday morning talk shows, who hew the official line and are well known for dissimulation.

Lastly, the only way Americans have of getting the truth about the war in Iraq is to read the blogs written by Iraqis living in Baghdad, Basrah, Mosul, and other places. You ought to try it. On second though, don't waste your time; your newspaper wont publish it. (Steve Blow DMN 5/24/2006)