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Reporters say Baghdad too dangerous despite SURGE!
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| MisterOpus1 |
Ahh, yes, the smell of "progress":
| quote: | Nearly 90 percent of U.S. journalists in Iraq say much of Baghdad is still too dangerous to visit, despite a recent drop in violence attributed to the build-up of U.S. forces, a poll released on Wednesday said.
The survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed that many U.S. journalists believe coverage has painted too rosy a picture of the conflict.
A separate Pew poll released on Tuesday showed that 48 percent of Americans believe the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going very or fairly well, up from 34 percent in June, amid signs of declining Iraqi civilian casualties and progress against Islamist militants such as al Qaeda in Iraq.
But most journalists said they believe violence and the threat of violence have increased during their tenures.
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The journalists gave high marks to the overall reporting effort, with 74 percent rating news-gathering as good or excellent. The highest marks went to coverage of U.S. troops and the war against insurgents.
Despite claims by U.S. officials that reporting from Iraq is negatively biased, 70 percent of those surveyed believe overall coverage is accurate, while 15 percent say the coverage makes the situation look better than it is.
Forty-four percent of journalists believe reporting has treated the Bush administration fairly, while 43 percent said coverage has been too easy on U.S. officials.
But the data also showed that 67 percent are at least somewhat concerned that the accuracy and completeness of their reports have suffered because of ongoing security problems that limit their access to the country.
President George W. Bush's so-called surge strategy to stabilize Baghdad and its environs has been credited with a fall-off in attacks on Iraqi civilians and U.S. coalition forces over the past two months.
But 87 percent of respondents said at least half of Baghdad remains too dangerous for a Western journalist to visit, with the capital's Shi'ite-dominated Sadr City enclave rated the most dangerous spot in Iraq. Eighteen percent said the entire city of Baghdad is too dangerous for travel.
Most U.S. journalists have traveled to danger spots such as Sadr City, either under the protection of private security guards or the U.S. military.
"Eight in 10 journalists believe conditions have deteriorated for reporters since their own first posting in the country," the survey's authors said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27496676.htm |
Keep clapping, war supporters. If you don't clap loud enough, the troops will think you support the terrorists like the rest of us in the reality-based community.
And you'll also kill a little pony.
Or maybe it's an angel that won't get his wings?
Well, something very eeeevil happens when you don't clap loud enough. |
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| hardcore trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
Ahh, yes, the smell of "progress":
Keep clapping, war supporters. If you don't clap loud enough, the troops will think you support the terrorists like the rest of us in the reality-based community.
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lol best post ever opus!!!! |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
If you don't clap loud enough, the troops will think you support the terrorists like the rest of us in the reality-based community. |
this is something you and your ilk will never understand.
you don't have to clap at all really, just don't go out of your way to tell terrorists what they want to hear. it's easily mis-construed
Journos should be afraid. more have died in Iraq than any conflict in history.
Jihadis love getting their mits on Journos.
Journos will be the last ones to give the "all clear" sign.
so when the Journos are no loger afraid...then Opus, you should become afraid. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| whatever the hell is really going on, the death toll is down. that's better than the alternative, whatever the serious problems remaining happen to be. |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
this is something you and your ilk will never understand.
you don't have to clap at all really, just don't go out of your way to tell terrorists what they want to hear. it's easily mis-construed |
What, that we majority of Americans are against this war and therefore kill little ponies too?
| quote: | | Journos should be afraid. more have died in Iraq than any conflict in history. |
Which is quite telling about this war.
| quote: | Jihadis love getting their mits on Journos.
Journos will be the last ones to give the "all clear" sign. |
And considering they regard this as the most deadliest year, and considering they believe it's still incredibly unsafe, that alone undermines all the wonderful smell of Victory being propagated by your ilk.
By the way, what is Victory?
| quote: | | so when the Journos are no loger afraid...then Opus, you should become afraid. |
Why would I be? No more ponies killed, and our good soldiers can finally come home. It's a win-win for everyone! |
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| Fir3start3r |
Would you guys rather be fighting them over there or over here I guess is the question...
There's certainly no reason to believe that should everyone just decide to pack up and go home, that redemption wouldn't be in the cards.
I'd say you're stuck with what was created so suck it up and finish what you started...
/Not saying that he supports 'The War Machine' but doesn't believe in 'cut and run' either... |
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| Dale Gribble |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
Would you guys rather be fighting them over there or over here I guess is the question...
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Oh for f*** that is so fuc**** retarded what are they going to jump on their battle ships and attack washington? :mad:
WTF is wrong with people |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
Would you guys rather be fighting them over there or over here I guess is the question... |
Oh c'mon, you being serious here? The Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents (you know, that 90-95% of those who create the violence in Iraq - i.e. civil war violence) have a vested interest in attacking us?
Wait, are you gonna tell me "just like they did on 9/11" now too?
| quote: | There's certainly no reason to believe that should everyone just decide to pack up and go home, that redemption wouldn't be in the cards.
I'd say you're stuck with what was created so suck it up and finish what you started... |
That's the problem, Fir3star3r, what's SUPPOSED to happen, i.e. the political process going forward, isn't doing jack , which is leaving our troops in the middle of the ing civil war. And the two sides are going to continue hating and killing each other no matter what we do. That's the ing reality of it all, the one that no war supporter wants to grasp.
We leave now - they'll still hate and kill each other and cause civil unrest. We leave later, they'll still hate, kill, and cause civil unrest while our troops continue to get picked off one by one.
| quote: | | /Not saying that he supports 'The War Machine' but doesn't believe in 'cut and run' either... |
Does it ever occur to you guys that our troops being there may be part of the problem and not part of the solution?:
| quote: | The presence of British forces in downtown Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, was the single largest instigator of violence, Maj. Gen. Graham Binns told reporters Thursday on a visit to Baghdad’s Green Zone.
“We thought, ‘If 90 percent of the violence is directed at us, what would happen if we stepped back?,’” Binns said.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007...-Iraq-Basra.php |
This is the problem at hand:
| quote: | Still No Way Out
There has been so much horrible news out of Iraq for so long that it is natural to want to celebrate better news. Sending another 30,000 American troops into Iraq has made life better: attacks are down, as are the number of American and Iraqi casualties. Some refugees are even venturing home. The news has cheered Americans and dampened Democrats’ enthusiasm for keeping up the pressure on Iraq policy. Unfortunately, it is just as important to look at what has not happened since President Bush announced his surge: Iraq’s leaders are no closer to making the political deals that are the only hope for building a self-sustaining peace.
Without a serious effort at national conciliation, American troops are just holding down the lid on a pressure cooker. Iraq’s rival militias, the insurgents, the bitter sectarian resentments and the meddling neighbors haven’t gone anywhere. Consider this all too familiar horror: yesterday, police said they pulled six bodies from the Tigris River about 25 miles south of Baghdad. They were handcuffed and showed signs of having been tortured. And five, including a child, had been beheaded.
Perhaps 160,000 American troops could hold down the overall casualty numbers indefinitely, but they cannot wipe away that sort of hatred. That’s the job of Iraq’s leaders. Either way, the American military doesn’t have enough troops for such an occupation without end, and the American Treasury can’t keep spending $10 billion a month to maintain it.
Mr. Bush’s escalation was sold as a way to buy Iraqi politicians breathing room to finally address the problems driving the sectarian violence: by agreeing on an equitable division of oil wealth, rules for provincial elections and ways to bring more Sunnis and former Baath Party members into the Shiite-dominated government.
Instead, Iraq’s politicians — and their American backers — have squandered the time and the best efforts of American troops. Mr. Bush’s generals are so frustrated that they’ve begun to complain publicly about the fecklessness of Iraq’s leaders. The ever-feckless White House, rather than looking for ways to compel Iraq’s leaders to perform, is lessening the pressure.[\b] |
Ahh yes, moving those darn goalposts just a little bit closer:
| quote: | | The Times reported this week that the [b]Bush administration has scaled back its goals for political progress. Its newest low bar: Iraq’s dysfunctional government manages to pass a budget and approves legislation to allow former Baath Party members to rejoin the government. (And that was before the Iraqi Parliament dissolved into a shouting match over the Baath reconciliation bill and decided to put it off again.) |
YEAH! VICTORY!
| quote: | | At least part of the recent good news can be traced to a new collaboration between American troops and Sunni fighters that last year were trying to kill Americans in wholesale numbers. The question is how long that collaboration will last if the Shiite-dominated government continues to deny the Sunnis access to basic government services and jobs. |
Now why would we ever contemplate such long-term views? How silly of anyone to ask such questions.
| quote: | There are also suggestions that Iran may be exercising more restraint. Fewer roadside bombs are apparently making their way across the border, and Tehran’s allies in the Mahdi Army are lying low. But Mr. Bush and his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, still have not begun a serious dialogue with Iran and all of Iraq’s neighbors about what they’re willing to do to help contain Iraq’s chaos.
Even after putting another 30,000 Americans in harm’s way, Mr. Bush still sees no need for a strategy to get all 160,000 troops in Iraq safely home. And as long as they know that this is the case, that Mr. Bush is willing to go on paying the bills — and protecting the Green Zone — Iraqi politicians will see no reason to compromise.
Americans need to ask themselves the questions Mr. Bush is refusing to answer: Is this country signing on to keep the peace in Iraq indefinitely? If so, how many American and Iraqi deaths a month are an acceptable price? If not, what’s the plan for getting out?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/o...ion&oref=slogin |
Can you answer this? What is our plan for getting out? When Victory occurs? Okay, so what is Victory? |
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| Zharen |
| Damn, Opus has been on fire lately. My hat's off to you sir. |
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| hardcore trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
Would you guys rather be fighting them over there or over here I guess is the question... |
wow are you in kidding me?:haha:
you probably think we are safer now since Bush fighting the evil terrorists in their own land right? |
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| Cyrus King |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
Would you guys rather be fighting them over there or over here I guess is the question...
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You must be working for Fox News |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dale Gribble
Oh for f*** that is so fuc**** retarded what are they going to jump on their battle ships and attack washington? :mad:
WTF is wrong with people |
The same fuc*** retarded ppl that jumped on some planes and rammed them into big fuc*** buildings :mad:
WTF is wrong with people
/unless you're one of those kooked 'the government did it' ppl, then I digress... |
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