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 Some
Sanity in Iraq Coverage
Will liberal media ever question its own doom and gloom?...
[by Roger Aronoff] 1/11/06
The people
want freedom and democracy, which is what our troops are fighting
and dying for.
Media bias
took a back seat when the media were forced to report the huge
and enthusiastic turnout in the Iraq elections. The people
want freedom and democracy, which is what our troops are fighting
and dying for. The stakes have been dramatized for all to see.
It had actually
been forecast in advance by an ABC poll, taken in cooperation
with Time magazine and released before the elections. It revealed
that 70% of Iraqis say "their own lives are going well" and
close to two-thirds "expect things to improve in the year
ahead."
One hopes
that this poll—and the election turnout—will give
the media a reason to question their constant drumbeat of gloom
and doom about the situation there.
ABC said
that "Surprising levels of optimism prevail in Iraq with
living conditions improved, security more a national worry
than a local one, and expectations for the future high." Another
surprise to ABC was the fact that more than six in 10 Iraqis
feel very safe in their neighborhoods, a figure that stood
at just 40 percent in June of 2004. Sixty-one percent consider
their local security to be good, up from 49 percent in an ABC
poll from February 2004.
ABC's story
about the poll had good economic news as well. "Average
household incomes have soared by 60 percent in the last 20
months, 70 percent of Iraqis rate their own economic situation
positively, and consumer goods are sweeping the country. In
early 2004, 6 percent of Iraqi households had cell phones;
now it's 62 percent. Ownership of satellite dishes has nearly
tripled, and many more families now own air conditioners (58
percent, up from 44 percent), cars, washing machines and kitchen
appliances."
News on the
political front was good as well, according to the poll. It
shows that three-quarters of Iraqis expressed confidence in
the December 15 national elections and that "70 percent
approve of the new constitution, and 70 percent—including
most people in Sunni and Shiite areas alike—want Iraq
to remain a unified country." In addition, 57% of Iraqis
want a democratic political structure, while just 14% prefer
an Islamic state. The rest, primarily in Sunni areas, want
a "single strong leader."
In other
results, two-thirds of Iraqis oppose the presence of the coalition
forces in Iraq, a 14-point increase since February 2004. "Nearly
six in 10 disapprove of how the United States has operated
in Iraq since the war, and most of them disapprove strongly.
And nearly half of Iraqis would like to see U.S. forces leave
soon, but only 26 percent say they want the U.S. to leave now."
But opposition
to foreign forces is to be expected. At the same time, the
poll also found that "nationally, security is seen as
the most pressing problem by far; 57 percent identify it as
the country's top priority." It goes without saying that
the foreign forces are the only hope of turning the security
situation around for the better.
Over at Fox
News, an optimistic view was presented in a special titled, "Winning
Iraq: The Untold Story." Fox reporters traveled the country
to see what they found. In much of the country, life has gotten
far better. Fox presented a picture of political progress,
including advances for women's rights. The program showed beautiful
and vibrant vacation spots, a thriving stock market, and growing
commerce, even while the terrorists commit bombings.
A Fox News/Opinion
Dynamics poll shows that 55% of Iraqis want the U.S. to finish
the job before leaving.
I recently
sat down with a group of six Iraqi female journalists visiting
the U.S. When asked if they considered America to be liberators
or occupiers, all but one indicated they were grateful to the
U.S. for what they said was clearly liberation. One was concerned
that the U.S. could do more to win hearts and minds, but overall
they strongly approved of what the U.S. is doing.
I agree that
we should win more hearts and minds. I just wish some of them
were in our own media. -one-
copyright
2006 Accuracy in Media
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