It’s 7:05 P.M. on Wednesday, July 23, and I’m channel surfing the networks to hear the latest on the war. On Tuesday, unconfirmed reports that Saddam Hussein’s sons, Uday and Qusay, had been killed were floating the airwaves. So, naturally, I’m eager to hear what had transpired throughout the day.
NBC confirms the report, but immediately bashes the U.S. military for using “such heavy firepower to take down a few lightly armed men.” Interesting. Quickly fed up, I flip over to ABC where reporters insist that the operation was a failure because the military didn’t take the diplomatic route and bring them out alive. Rolling my eyes and looking for another angle, I switch to CBS where I’m excited to see one of their reporters LIVE from Baghdad. Now, we’re getting somewhere — some local perspective. The journalist reports on the gunfire in Baghdad following the raid, and wonders if it was a result of anger or jublilation. He decides that “some of it was most certainly” in “anger.”
Really? Did he take a poll? As I recall, gunfire (obviously when not aimed at another person) in Mideast culture is normally a sign of celebration. As odd as that may sound to us Americans, Middle Easterners even tend to shoot off a few rounds at weddings. Or, maybe, that too is a sign of anger. But I digress.
So, I sit back and think: Are we forgetting about the big picture? This a very pivotal moment in history for the Iraqi people. Since their liberation day on April 9th, this is the greatest triumph we’ve seen in the last four months. Shouldn’t someone be saying that?
Shouldn’t someone, other than our military leaders, be praising the men of the 101st airborne who risked their lives carrying out this mission? I admit that I am not old enough to remember the anti-military days of Vietnam, but this is coming too close to the scenarios I remember from Forrest Gump. And I don’t like it.
And with so much negativity being placed on U.S. intelligence these days, shouldn’t someone be praising them for getting this one right?
I know I’m not alone when I say that I’m fed up with negative news coverage from the elite media. And when you consider the fact that millions of Americans are turning the channel and exercising their freedom to choose cable news over network news, you would think that the chiefs that adorn the offices of the Manhattan skyline would get the hint. Yet, the Big Three networks continue to mislead us and abuse our trust by feeding us continual pessimistic commentary instead of the facts.
Here’s the real story about this week’s events: Two of the most vicious members of the former Iraqi regime are now dead. Brave and heroic Americans risked their lives carrying out this mission. Our military is doing the best job it can, and at the very least, our soldiers deserve our respect and our gratitude. While not perfect, Iraqis are sleeping better tonight, and they will for years to come.
— Angela J. Phelps is an Assyrian American whose mother is a native of Baghdad, Iraq. Phelps is the producer of Concerned Women for America’s national radio program Concerned Women Today.