Papers Cover Discontent Among Soldiers in Iraq

[Nambe]

Editor & Publisher

NEW YORK -- As U.S. military casualties in Iraq continue to mount, newspapers find themselves thrust into a new area of coverage: the growing discontent among soldiers who have to remain in the war-torn country, and the angry protests of some of their families back home. Newspapers have used everything from a column by an angry spouse to the publication of an anonymous e-mail dispatch purported to be from a soldier in Iraq.

Meanwhile, questions about how the Pentagon is reporting the deaths of soldiers -- and the exact cause of those fatalities -- have placed new scrutiny on how much information the military is willing to reveal to the press and how long they are taking to report their findings, especially in cases that may involve "friendly fire," suicides, or mysterious accidents.

All of this has placed a new burden on reporters and editors who thought postwar coverage would be simply reporting on a new Iraqi government and the swift return of U.S. troops. "We are having to spend more time on it than we planned, more coverage on the families," said Dennis Sodomka, executive editor of The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, which is located near Fort Gordon, home to the 319th Transportation Company now in Iraq. ---

Banish bush From Texas Too

[Cha]

1. Who wouldn't be "discontent" with 120 degrees and

not enough water and grenades being thrown at them after being told it was going to be a "cakewalk"?

[Kolesar]

9. Baghdad weather forecast from the Weather Channel,

Wed
Jul 30 Sunny 108°/79° 0 %
Thu
Jul 31 Sunny 109°/77° 0 %
Fri
Aug 01 Sunny 111°/78° 0 %
Sat
Aug 02 Sunny 112°/78° 0 %
Sun
Aug 03 Sunny 113°/79° 0 %
Mon
Aug 04 Sunny 113°/79° 0 %
Tue
Aug 05 Sunny 112°/78° 0 %
Wed
Aug 06 Sunny 112°/77° 0 %
Thu
Aug 07 Sunny 111°/77° 0 %

[IndianaGreen]

2. Yeah, how are they reporting the casualties?

But a report in another paper, the Ukiah (Calif.) Daily Journal -- nearly 3,000 miles away -- raised speculation that Small may have committed suicide. In a Daily Journal article published July 13, the paper quoted a local woman as saying her daughter, stationed in Iraq, had witnessed a fellow soldier shoot himself in the mouth on July 4, but did not know his name. A review of the official list of military deaths in Iraq reveals Small as the only non-combat death on July 3 or 4, indicating his may have been a suicide. Hetzel did not know about this until informed by an E&P reporter.

Another questionable death is U.S. Army Sgt. Melissa Valles, 26, of Eagle Pass, Texas, who died July 9 after a non-combat gunshot wound to the abdomen. "You can't list the cause if you don't have all of the facts," said Col. Jay DeFrank, director of press operations for the Department of Defense.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1943279

[alfredo]

3. they are now saying that

the Jessica Lynch story was actually the story of another soldier that died that day. the stabbing and shooting and the heroic fight did happen, but the army or the administration wanted Jessica who conveniently lost her memory to be the hero. That bronze star should go to the soldier who died that day. He stayed and fought to the death.

[Cha]

5. Oh No! This is all gonna catch up to them one

cold drizzly day in hell.

[dArKeR]

4. I want to see the list of type of wounded; blind, loss of legs,

loss of arms, eardrums blown out, permanent burn scars, pyschological fear...

Whose country is this and who has a right to conceal our children's information?

[fizzana]

6. Here is one article about the wounded

WASHINGTON — The taxicab pulls up to the curb of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Pfc. Garth Stewart slides into the back seat. A nurse stows his duffel bag in the trunk, offering her last advice: "Move your leg around on the flight," she says.

The American flag hangs slack on the flagpole. Stewart lays his crutches across his lap. The lanky 20-year-old from Minnesota rubs where his leg was amputated. The throbbing alternates with jolts that feel like electrical shocks. Two Percocets are in his pocket for the plane ride home.

The bed Stewart left behind on Ward 57 will be filled by day's end. Even though major combat operations in Iraq are over, the wounded keep arriving. Twice a week, transport planes land at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., bringing fresh casualties. Nearly 650 soldiers have passed through Walter Reed during Operation Iraqi Freedom, more than half since major combat was officially declared over.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001262111_wounded27.html

I'd like to see Bush and all his cronies pay a visit to Ward 57 although I suspect pigs will fly a lot sooner.

[schultzee]

7. Since Soldiers give up their civil rights, its our duty to speak out.

I heard this argument on Thom Hartman and it makes good sense.

[GalleryGod]

8. WHY Do They Have To Reveal These Guys Name,Rank & Unit?

How about "A highly placed source close to the House-to-House operation":think: ? Oh, but Nooooooooooooooo! We can Shield the Shills in the Adminstration and Congress :puke: but can't protect (or SUPPORT) OUR Troops when it comes to helping them vent-the-truth?

Friggin' 'Wipes!:mad: :mad: