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| Home Front: Politix |
| MSM gets it wrong again |
| 2008-07-21 |
| Troops Angry At Media Bias and Laziness July 21, 2008: American troops in Afghanistan are not happy with how a July 13th battle with the Taliban was reported. In that action, some 200 Taliban attacked a U.S. "base" and killed or wounded more than half the 50 or so U.S. and Afghan troops found there. Actual U.S. casualties were nine dead and fifteen wounded (including walking wounded). ABC article from the 14th here. U.S. troops were irked that, once again, the mass media got lazy and didn't bother to report the action accurately. For one thing, there was no "base". What? ABC reported it as a "newly built base" What the Taliban attacked was a temporary parking area for vehicles used to conduct patrols of the area. These are set up regularly, and have been used for years. These are secure areas, but basically a parking lot surrounded by barbed wire and several sandbagged observation posts. This one was set a few days before the attack, and was due to be taken down soon, as the patrol activity moved to another area. Such defensive precautions are taken any time U.S. troops stop for more than a few hours. That's a tactic pioneered by the Romans over two thousand years ago. In this case, it paid off. The Taliban infiltrated several hundred fighters into a nearby village, and opened fire from homes, businesses and a mosque. Say it isn't so! ABC reported the 'insurgents' "raid that penetrated an American outpost" The U.S. and Afghan troops called in air support and kept fighting until the Taliban fled, taking most of their dead and wounded with them. Special note: ABC got most of its info on this 'attack' from Tamim Nuristani, who was fired as provincial governor last week by President Hamid Karzai The troops are angry because, while the Taliban got lucky (such attacks are rare), the enemy did not succeed in taking the U.S. position, and fled the battlefield after suffering heavier casualties. The U.S. troops are much better shots, and know they killed far more of the Taliban. Moreover, they saw smart bombs and missiles hitting buildings that Taliban were firing from. From long experience, they know that people inside bombed buildings rarely survive the explosion. Finally, the troops involved were from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and paratroopers do not like anyone implying they were beaten at anything. Especially because, in this case, they weren't. Said Nuristani of the attack to ABC "The coordinated assault at Wanat sent a strong signal to other insurgent groups that "America cannot resist them anymore," ", with emphasis added by ABC. Kudos to the troops taking the battle to the terrorists. My boy just got back from that 'sandbox'. Everybody talks about Iran, but my $$ is on Pakistan being a smoking hole in the earth... |
| Posted by:logi_cal |
| #4 Rorke's Drift, any reporters that know of the place certainly saw the movie Zulu. Of course they may think it was made-up. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-07-21 14:37 |
| #3 There they go again, the MSM trying to manufacture defeat in the face of US Military victory |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-07-21 13:24 |
| #2 There's bias in the MSM? Who would have known? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-07-21 13:22 |
| #1 U.S. troops were irked that, once again, the mass media got lazy and didn't bother to report the action accurately. If you wanted to work for a living, why would you want to be a reporter? Creative writing works with resumes as much as with a story. For one thing, there was no "base". No more than Rorkes Drift was a base either. Bets on the number of reporters, editors, and fact checkers who've ever heard of Rorke's Drift? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-07-21 12:28 |