"Tug-of-War"

A conflicting agenda between the media and the military leaves Americans stumped at the difference between Falluja and Iraq.

FALLUJA, A SINGLE CITY OF HATE IN IRAQ, MISREPRESENTS Iraqi feelings toward Americans, and Falluja's influence on American sentiments toward Iraqis leaves both countries' citizens lost in translation. The U.S. military attributes the media's focused objective as a catalyst for this disconnect. When those on the front lines of Iraq face off with those writing the headlines on Iraq, the "tug-of-war" for the opinion of the people gets heated.
     "Falluja might as well be its own country," says Russ Langland, Marine Corporal stationed in Falluja. "Other cities have accepted us [ U.S.] as a legitimate force. Falluja just refuses to conform."
     Over 90 Americans have died in Falluja which makes up 7% of all U.S. casualties, but the city of 300,000 people only represents around 1% of the entire population of Iraq. Many feel Americans often do not get the whole story with the big picture.
     "They [the media] focus on the fighting mostly. Fighting is only a part of what goes on here and its not the most important part. But it makes good headlines," Langland said.
     Falluja, a hornet's nest of insurgents, has an accompanying swarm of media personnel to cover the violence. Langland sees this as a political move on the media's part.
     "I think if the media were to support our actions here then they would be supporting our present administration's actions, and the liberals in the media cannot risk that during an election year,' Langland said.
     Some may argue that the media's focus on Falluja is understandable because there is more action there.
     "I know there is a lot more bad-guy activity [in Falluja]," says Rick Taylor, Staff Sergeant. But should that translate into more media activity in Falluja? About everything Americans hear coming out of Iraq is death and destruction and rarely do Americans hear anything positive about the war. Taylor attributes this to the negative spin he feels the media puts on the war.
     Langland can site many positive things happening in Iraq.
     "The most prominent improvements have taken place in the hospitals and schools. There are now full staffs of doctors and teachers at these institutions. They also have more equipment to work with than they did in February when we arrived. Also, more girls and young women are attending school than ever before," Langland said. "Aside from that, the other improvements have been mostly with local governments. When we arrived, local governments were non-existent or in disarray. Now they are able to provide things for the communities like a police and fire department. Sanitation and garbage departments are now serving many areas. Getting these people to act for their own benefit has been a big improvement."
     On the subject of reconstruction efforts, the media does not see eye to eye with the military. Newsweek explained that "reporters who covered the war say that some of the Coalition's achievements are less impressive than they sound. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, proudly announced the reopening of Iraq's schools [in October], while White House officials point to the opening of Iraq's 240 hospitals. In fact, many schools were already open in May, once major combat ended, and no major hospital closed during the war."
     Many reporters see the "opening" of these institutions in a different light.
     "The hospitals are open. If you've been in a hospital in Iraq, however, the reality is far different. One should not picture a hospital in the United States. A typical hospital in Iraq is a nightmarish place where they don't have electricity yet. Where there's people sleeping on the floors; where the emergency rooms at night are flooded with people who have been shot and maimed in the chaos that breaks out after curfew," said Dexter Filkins, New York Times reporter.
     "The schools, for example, need rehabilitation in large part because of the chaotic looting touched off by the U.S. military's entry into Baghdad in April. And many schools have not been rehabilitated, particularly in poorer neighborhoods and the south," the Associated Press explained.
     In response to a question posed by soldiers during last month's visit to Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. secretary of defense, attempted to answer for the media's lack of coverage on these reconstruction efforts.
     "...I wish it was possible that more of the good works you're [U.S. forces] doing here… were considered newsworthy and were reported in a way that people would understand the progress that is being made..." Rumsfeld said. "I guess what's news has to be bad news to get on the press."
     But the media wonders whether irritated advocates of the war complain because of bad press, or simply complain because of bad news. Neal Karlinsky, Baghdad correspondent, explained to Nightline that "there's a lot of good news stories here that we are trying to get out. And, quite frankly, news events sometimes get in the way of that. It's hard to work on a feature story about life in Baghdad getting back to normal when there is suddenly a car bombing that kills a half dozen people nearby."
     The media feels in many cases the military makes it more difficult to report on the reconstruction.
     "In Baghdad, official control over the news is getting tighter. Journalists used to walk freely into the city's hospitals and the morgue to keep count of the day's dead and wounded. Now the hospitals have been declared off-limits and morgue officials turn away reporters who aren’t accompanied by a Coalition escort," Newsweek pointed out.
     The military wants to get the point across that despite the amount of attention the media gives Falluja, the rest of Iraq does not resemble that city.
     "In Falluja, everyone hates you. In other cities only a few people hate you and cause trouble," Langland said. "Even when Saddam was in power, he could not control that city. He sent troops in there several times and the militias kicked his a-- out. They refuse to be ruled or taxed by any nation. They have been a free-standing city for over 2,000 years. Najaf refuses [to conform] for religious reasons; it is a holy city to the Shiite, but Falluja is just stubborn. Falluja has better, more organized militias with weapons ranging from knives to tanks. They have anti-aircraft guns and plenty of ammo for everything. Other cities gave in to intense bombing and more coalition troops but not Falluja. In Falluja every look you get from the people is a mean one. You cannot even turn your back on a little kid there because he will hit you with a rock and then try to stab you in the balls. In other cities the militants have to use guerilla tactics to hurt us; lots of roadside bombs and ambushes. Falluja has these things too, but the bad guys are not afraid to stand and fight for short amounts of time. When we roll into Falluja, we bring as much heat as we can. All our trucks are loaded with as much ammo, grenades, and rocket launchers that we can find room for."
     The Project for Excellence in Journalism, a journalist-initiated organization, determined that 94% of the stories filed by embedded correspondents in the war's first week were factual, yet government officials do not like what the media is telling Americans.
     "We’re making good progress in Iraq. Sometimes it's hard to tell it when you listen to the filter," said George Bush in June. His administration's view of the media has not changed since, but many argue that the situation in Iraq remains unchanged as well. Out of all of those experiencing Iraq firsthand, so many have differing perspectives of the condition of the country. From liberal spin to government propaganda, the truth may possibly lie in the middle, but it certainly lies in the Middle East.