One CPTs View

Over at CPT Patti, Tim runs down a briefing given to families whose soldiers have had their tours recently extended in Iraq, including his. From the briefing:

If you see it in the popular media there is a 90% chance that it is wrong or incomplete on some important detail. Why? The media doesn't "get it"...meaning they don't understand military operations, terrorism, the vagueries of birthing democracy. The media isn't embedded with the soldiers seeing from the inside...the top notch reporters, as a rule, have been pulled out of the area, leaving us with young, hungry guys who want to make a name for themselves....and how do you do that? Well, it isn't by reporting happy stories, apparently...nor buy covering the big stories that aren't "convenient" to cover. He said "I've been studying military history for 30 years...and the recent battle of Kut, which no one reported, is the most significant military reversal in the shortest time I've ever heard of. You'll be impressed when somebody finally writes the story.

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The uprising last week was "relatively minor". And if you've seen reports that al Sadr is offering to negotiate, well, there "ain't gonna be any negotiations".