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Zac's Mom
Ensign
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 53
Location: Texas
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 Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 6:12 am Post subject: US Army Chaplain in Iraq exposes Media Lies |
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I just saw this on the 911 Families For A Safe And Strong America!
web site and it sure seems to fit with discussions currently going on here!!
| Quote: | October 30, 2004 3:03 PM
Iraq and the Media
CAPT. Christopher Bassett, US Army Chaplain in Iraq.
Dear Friends and Family:
I am addressing this letter to you to express a frustration that I know has been voiced time and again, yet is met with little change. It concerns the media coverage of this war and the effect of that coverage on the morale of our troops. As a battalion chaplain I hear the comments and complaints of soldiers who, while performing an incredibly difficult job under hostile and stressful conditions, constantly see their efforts portrayed as futile. NBC's coverage this morning (your Thursday evening, 16 September 2004) is a prime example that I believe shows the gulf that exists between the truth of what is happening here and the deceitful agenda of the mainstream media at home and abroad.
Only 24 hours ago the NBC media crew arrived here and filmed hours of footage with our unit. They were told of numerous projects in which our unit is involved, not only in the area of force protection and Troop Medical Clinic support, but also in humanitarian aide to a local village here in Baghdad.
Here is an example of some of the projects to which they were introduced:
1. The reconstruction and furnishing of a clinic
2. Miscellaneous enhancements for a local elementary school and a local day care center
3. Reconstruction of the decimated electrical, sewer and water systems
4. Repair of exterior walls and gates surrounding the village
5. Rubble and garbage removal projects to clean up the entire village
6. Construction of a protective chain link fence around the local Shi'a Mosque
7. Studies to examine the development of agricultural systems and a garment industry to help the locals provide for themselves
8. The ever-growing clothing and school supplies drive for the children of the village
In the roughly one minute clip that they drew from their day of filming, what did they show? The First Lieutenant who is the primary driver of these projects was shown with one quote about never believing he would be in Iraq, being a National Guard soldier. This was followed by their interview of another soldier's wife, saying her husband was supposed to have retired this summer, that his responsibility to the military should be over and that he should be home. They showed NOTHING of the great humanitarian efforts that are going on here!
It is coverage like this that is convincing more and more soldiers that the consistent media agenda is to show you, the American people, the futility of our current efforts and how everything is going wrong. There is no apparent attempt to show all the good that is happening that, for those of us who are here, far outweighs the very weak, though spectacular, moments of insurgency. And we see it via satellite, just as you do. In a day of great violence across the country, last Sunday, where the insurgency failed to take one American life, what one film clip was shown over and over? They showed the lone burning Bradley fighting vehicle, with Iraqis dancing on and around it, waving flags of the insurgency. Out of the thousands of troops who made it safely around Baghdad and the country that day, the media focused on one piece of impressive footage and repeated it over and over until the viewer receives the message that this is all that went on in Iraq today -- an insurgent victory. I also remember how the body count, for two days thereafter, was printed in ever-increasing increments, never mentioning who the casualties were -- giving the impression that they were American casualties.
The despair and depression, as well as the thankfully limited antiwar sentiment, over our country's efforts in Iraq are not based upon all of the facts. They are rather based on what the media has chosen to show -- and what they have chosen NOT to show. The media knows that they can always find those willing to complain, grouse, protest and disagree. And they splash those voices all over their screens and pages, drowning out the voices that will tell you, as I am, that there is good going on here.
There are things going on here you would be proud of, things that would bring tears to your eyes; like the looks of parents whose children are going to school for the first time in years, equipped with pencils, pens and paper and clothed with clean new clothes. There are essential services being provided to people to whom they were denied under the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein. There is a trial going on for that man and at least eleven of his evil cronies who, let us remember, killed over 300,000 people under the watchful eye of the Untied Nations (pun intended) during the 12 years they had responsibility for the health and welfare of this nation (yes, the same, inept organization that is currently ignoring the Darfur, Sudan slaughter of Christians by Islamic fundamentalists). This was the same time that the oil-for-food program monies were being used to line the pockets of Saddam and his friends and build luxurious palaces like the ones our forces now occupy as headquarters all over this nation. And Saddam all the while complained that it was "American Sanctions" that were killing his people. I don't remember a sanction that required a mass grave.
Please know that the media is NOT giving you the right picture, much less the WHOLE picture. They have an agenda, it is clear, and that agenda does not include the current administration claiming success in this endeavor. It is unclear if their sensationalist "reporting" will change if the administration changes. The one thing I know as I watch the morale of the men who are here doing the job is that every time the enemy's paltry attacks are made out by the media to be marker events in Iraq, it becomes a little harder for soldiers to see value in even the greatest things we are doing. Your care packages, your letters and your constant prayers are the only things that remind us that the majority of thoughtful Americans are truly behind this effort and that what we are doing has great value. Don't let that go. Keep supporting your troops, not just in word, but in action. Remember this: You cannot support the troops AND denigrate the war effort. It is a logical and a practical inconsistency. While the soldier fights the enemy, he needs those behind him to offer support to his back, not daggers. The news media is one of the greatest threats to this war. Just ask a terrorist. Every time he can do something desperate and spectacular and have the effect with one man blowing himself up in a crowd that an entire U.S. Brigade has in securing a city, the media has thrown terror the victory. It is not the side that wins the most ground anymore that is victorious, but the one that can satiate the blood-hungry media. We have given them the stories they need to show how much we are truly doing. The question then must turn to why they have a fascination with making the villain the victor. If we win this war, it may not be much of a story for them, but if we lose it...
Your troops are doing amazing things here -- things many of them are not even trained to do, like a medical platoon leader doing public works projects! I hope that either the media start showing the REAL stories here or that you will show your contempt of their deceitfulness with your complaints and, ultimately, with your vote. Don't watch the news media that thrives on the death of American soldiers to bump their ratings! And remember your troops. Support of victory is support of your troops.
Sincerely,
Chaplain (Captain) Chris Bassett
Captain Christopher A. Bassett, US Army
Battalion Chaplain
Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 1/303 Artillery Battalion
Baghdad, Iraq
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http://www.911familiesforamerica.org/Page3.html
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"If you are going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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| I hope this Captain and all of the others there are comforted by America electing President Bush on Tuesday. This letter should be published. It would be great if a newspaper would pick it up. |
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DoGooder
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 08 Sep 2004
Posts: 102
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| Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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I think our next mission is to raise peoples aware ness of how Old Media lies.
Sending this out and asking it to be highlighted could be a good start. |
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JB Stone
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 3:04 pm Post subject: Let's get it OVER WITH....!!! |
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| Quote: | Fallujah Update from Marine officer on his 2nd tour
The Greenside.com ^ | Nov 3, 2004 | Lt Col Dave Bellon, USMCR
Dear Dad -
As you have no doubt been watching, we have had our hands full around Fallujah. It would seem as if the final reckoning is coming. The city has been on a consistent down hill spiral since we were ordered out in April. It's siren call for extremists and criminals has only increased steadily and the instability and violence that radiates out of the town has expanded exponentially. If there is another city in the world that contains more terrorists, I would be surprised. From the last two years, I just don't see a way that we can succeed in Iraq without reducing this threat. The cost of continuing on without taking decisive action is too high to dwell on.
The enemy inside the town have come to fight and kill Americans. Nothing will sate their bloodlust and hatred other than to kill everyone of us or at least die trying. It is hard to fathom as a Westerner as rational thought would dictate that we will only be here for a relatively short blip in their history and while we are here, billions of dollars in investments will pour in and opportunity that is beyond comprehension will open up for anyone willing to work. This is not Kansas and this enemy does not think like that.
If we build a school or clinic, they destroy it. They would rather deny medical care or education for the children of the citizens who live nearby than to have any symbol of the West in general and America specifically among them. It is hard to comprehend. Frankly, we are done trying.
For eight months, we have been on our chain. The enemy has fooled itself misinterpreting our humanity and restraint for lack of will and courage. For eight months, we have watched Marines, Soldiers and Sailors maimed and killed by invisible cowards hiding behind some wall or in a canal as he detonates another IED. For eight months, we have been witness to suicidal sociopaths driving vehicles laden with explosives into crowds of Iraqis and into our own convoys.
Just last week, we lost another nine Marines killed and an equal number of wounded as the result of some ignorant extremists who was able to convince himself that killing himself and as many Americans as possible would send him to paradise where he could finally get his virgins.
Now, their own ignorance and arrogance will be their undoing. They believe that they can hold Fallujah. In fact, they have come from all over to be part of its glorious defense. I cannot describe the atmosphere that exists in the Regiment right now. Of course the men are nervous but I think they are more nervous that we will not be allowed to clean the rats nest out and instead will be forced to continue operating as is.
Its as if a window of opportunity has opened and everyone just wants to get on with it before it closes. The Marines know the enemy has massed and has temporarily decided to stay and fight. For the first time, the men feel as though we may be allowed to do what needs to be done. If the enemy wants to sit in his citadel and try to defend it against the Marine Corps and some very hard Soldiers... then the men want to execute before the enemy sobers up and flees.
It may come off as an exceptionally bellicose perspective but where the Marines live and operate is a war zone in the starkest reality. When the Marines leave the front gate on an operation or patrol, someone within direct line of sight of that gate is trying to kill them. All have lost friends and watched as the enemy hides within his sanctuary that has been allowed out of what one must assume is political necessity. The enemy has been given every advantage by our sense of morality and restraint and by a set of operational rules that we are constrained to operate under. The Marines feel like their time has come and we will finally be ordered to do what must be done and be given the latitude to do it. Even though the price will be high, there is not a man here that would chose status quo over paying the price.
Every day, the enemy takes more hostages, assassinates developing Iraqi leaders and savagely beats suspected collaborators. I will give you just one recent example that happened last week. One of our patrols was moving down a street when they saw what looked like a fight. The Marines closed with the scene. It was a family that had come to Iraq on religious pilgrimage that was taken hostage and was being taken into Fallujah. The muj stopped for some reason and the father began fighting. The Marines interdicted and captured two of the kidnappers. Two more ran and the Marines could not get a shot without fear of killing/wounding others.
Every day, insurgents from inside Fallujah drive out and wait for Iraqis that work on our bases. Once the Iraqis leave they are stopped. The lucky ones are savagely beaten. The unfortunate ones are killed. A family that had fled Fallujah in order to get away from the fighting recently tried to return. When they got to their home, they found it taken over by terrorists (very common). When the patriarch showed the muj his deed in order to prove that the house was his, they took the old man out into the street and beat him senseless in front of his family.
Summary executions are common. Think about that. Summary executions inside Fallujah happen with sobering frequency. We have been witness to the scene on a number of occasions. Three men are taken from the trunk of a car and are made to walk to a ditch where they are shot. Bodies are found in the Euphrates without heads washed downstream from Fallujah. To date we have been allowed to do nothing.
I have no idea the numbers of beheadings that have occurred in Fallujah since I have been here. I have no idea the number of hostages that have ended up in Fallujah since we have been here. I just don't know that Americans would be able to comprehend the number anyway. Unfortunately, the situation has only gotten worse. There is no hope for any type of reasoned solution with an enemy like this.
Once again, we are being asked by citizens who have fled the city to go in and take the city back. They are willing for us to literally rubble the place in order to kill the terrorists within. Don't get me wrong, there are still many inside the town that support the terrorists and we cannot expect to be thanked publicly if we do take the city. There is a sense of de ja vu with the refugees telling us where their houses are and asking us to bomb them because the muj have taken them over. We heard the same thing in April only to end up letting the people down. Some no doubt have paid with their lives. The "good" people who may ultimately buy into a peaceful and prosperous Iraq are again asking us to do what we know must be done.
The Marines understand and are eager to get on with it. The only lingering fear in them is that we will be ordered to stop again. I don't know if this is going to happen but if it happens soon, I will write you when its over,
Love,
Dave |
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msindependent
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 891
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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| I got a call from my friend in Iraq on Sunday. He has been in Baghdad since January and they don't move him except when something is up. He said he was changing camps and fixing to change gears (so to speak). He would not tell me were he was going and said I wouldn't hear from him for awhile (he said I would see it on the news). Let's hope they let them get it done this time. |
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buffman
LCDR
Joined: 21 Aug 2004
Posts: 437
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| Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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You know, the Pentagon would be well served to give the media a massive dose of good accomplishments going on over there right now--they should be made to broadcast this, not just killings.
_________________
Never Ever Give Up
America First |
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Adnil77
Ensign
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 50
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| Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:49 pm Post subject: "To Our Heroes" a song for the troops in Iraq |
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"To Our Heroes"
This song is dedicated to all of the brave men and women who are serving in Iraq
To all of our soldiers, let this message ring clear. We're so very proud of you, and we wanted you to hear; that America is standing beside you. And we're proud of all that you've done. Don't think for one moment, we'll forget you, and we're praying that this war will soon be done.
It takes courage to stand for what is right. To have peace, sometimes you have to fight. We're behind you all the way. And for America we say, 'hurry back to the good old USA'.
To our heroes, from the good old USA. You're not alone; you're in our prayers each day. And with you we do unite. We are with you in this fight. And there we'll stay, till you're home safe, in the USA.
Don't be hurt by those who criticize. They want peace, but they're mad at the wrong guys. If Sadam had had his way, we would all be dead one day, So we thank you, from the good old USA.
To our heroes, from the good old USA. You're not alone; you're in our prayers each day. And with you we do unite. We were with you in this fight. And there we'll stay, till you're home safe, in the USA.
Mine eyes have seen the glory, and the power of the Lord, He has marched across the desert, where the death weapons were stored, He has used a mighty army, and He yielded a swift sword, His truth is marching on.
To our heroes, from the good old USA. You're not alone; you're in our prayers each day. And with you we do unite. We are with you in this fight. And there we'll stay, till you're home safe, in the USA!
Written by Linda & Greg Lewis. (C)2004 BMI |
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Guest
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| Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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Our troops and the coalition are hereos. Thank God our President has a vision of a free and democratic Iraq. IT WILL COME TO PASS.
The msm stinks. |
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Cazador
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 113
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| Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 4:01 am Post subject: |
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Hi,
Okay, there is enough brain power in this group of people to change this with ideas.
Ideas like:
An Internet news service covering what's good in Iraq. A fair and balanced service to counter-act the MSM. Video and words. Iraqi and US contributors. That can expand into what's good about America and the positive things we do in the world.
Raise the capital and go for it. Surely there are experienced news people that can take this on.
We'll have access to some of the biggest names that the MSM will not have 
Call it SVTV.
Just a thought...
Cazador
PS: I know whom I would ask to be "chief" of research  |
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3rd gen Navy
Lieutenant
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 227
Location: Gainesville, Fl.
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| Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 4:13 am Post subject: |
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GREAT IDEA CAZADOR! I, for one, will keep putting my money where the Swift Vets mouth is! Let's head the MSM off at the pass!
_________________
Warm Regards,
Sean G. Smith,
RN, BSN, EMT-B, U.S. Navy, 1994 - 2003.
BS Biology, Business Administration, Nursing
The Deal with Life: Make decisions based on what you might gain, not on what you may lose.
!!!!!! LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN !!!!!! |
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vet_supporter
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 19 Aug 2004
Posts: 114
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| Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 4:22 am Post subject: |
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This is one of several sites trying to get the good news out:
Truth About Iraq
It's despicable that the American media aids and abets the enemy, encouraging them and getting both innocent Iraqis and our troops killed. We have 50 days of the stupid panties on the head prison stories and two sentences on kidnapped civilians being brutally murder by cutting off their heads with a dull kitchen knife.
Poetic just would be forcing the media in Iraq to clean up the remains after a car bombing if they want to report it. I think that would be a fair trade. Just my opinion.
The only thing that would have any effect is for the Government to reinstitute the information service that was dismantled during the Clinton years and broadcast the good news as public service announcements along with demanding documentary time.
From an Iraqi Blogger:
| Quote: | All those who have been following my blog from the start should know how I feel towards El Bush, the Avenger, the Lion-Heart and I cannot hide my happiness for this outcome, purely from a personal feeling of gratitude for what he has done for us, despite all the pain and hardships that we suffered and still do. But the objective is so great and so important that all sacrifices and difficulties pale when contemplating the benefits and goals that are hoped for.
And now that we have this campaign behind us, it is time to roll up our shirt sleeves and attend to the urgent business ahead. We are liberated from electoral worries and can start talking business. So for the near future I plan to tell you some of my ideas in plain and frank terms in the hope of stimulating a serious debate about how to win this war and achieve the desired objectives.
Meanwhile I don’t want to spoil this sublime moment; and raise my hand in military salute to honor our great Allied American people and their fighting men and women, who have demonstrated their true fiber and true worth through civilized democratic choice. |
The Mesopotamian
As always, our troops are doing the good work helping the oppressed and it is appreciated by many. We need to demand that the media start reporting the whole story about the good things we have done, not just serving as the American bureau of Al Jazzera. 
VS |
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