"Planted" Stories in the Iraqi Press

O.K., O.K., so my conservative skirts are showing! Now allow me to openly plant a little common sense into the "Omigod-I'm-shocked" brigade comprised of U.S. Democrats (no shocker here), mainstream press pundits, and--shamefully--a goodly cross-section of the political party in power!

This isn't a complicated issue. As long as the "planted" stories being offered for remuneration are verifiably true, then to right-thinking folks, this is a no-brainer. In case we've forgotten it, we're involved in a life-and-death war in Iraq. We're fighting not only Iraqi "insurgents" and "foreign terrorists," but an odd coalition comprised of U.S. congressional Democrats, the PC-crowd, mischievous French empire re-constructionists, and others harboring ill-will for the U.S.A. , or even their own odd death wish.

Journalists are holed up in the Green Zone in Baghdad, afraid to go out to see what progress has been made in the reconstruction of Iraq and what ordinary citizens think. So reporting from the struggling country boils down to the daily count of incidents and bodies--both U.S. soldiers and innocent Iraqis. After their brief embedded experiences in the Spring of 2003, the post-invasion chapter has not been journalists' finest hour.

So if Iraqi news sources need a little "priming" to balance the largely meaningless reporting efforts of the "U.S. journalist community," then I say great--maybe this will give its members a kick in the posterior to inspire a little more dedication to their profession! And to the sanctimonious cowards hanging out in the government briefing rooms and local Green Zone bars who are now seizing the opportunity to criticize the "ethical standards" of journalism being breached, I laugh in their faces. I disdain their hypocrisy. And mostly I resent the stupidity which they regard me and my fellow Americans.

To the Bush Administration: For God's sake, don't be sucked into this maelstrom of stupidity and moral effeteness! Stand up for what's right, get on with it, and ignore those who--for whatever reasons--are dismayed that U.S. military efforts may be achieving progress, or are simply "stuck on stupid"