[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15200-15202]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               MEDIA BIAS

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, recently I returned from Iraq where I 
visited Tikrit, Baghdad, Bamadi, and Balad with three of my 
congressional colleagues. We had the opportunity to meet with the 
commanding officers and troops on each location. On the floor of the 
Senate I spoke to you about witnessing firsthand some of the progress 
being made. Since I have seen so little coverage of that progress, I 
think progress bears repeating.
  The new plan, the counterinsurgency plan, is showing initial signs of 
progress. Violence in al-Qaim, Haditha, Hit, Ramadi, and Falluja has 
dramatically decreased due to local leaders now siding with coalition 
forces pursuing al-Qaida in Iraq.
  In Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi security forces are clearing and holding 
some of the most dangerous areas, and sectarian violence has decreased.
  I was especially impressed with the successes in Ramadi, where only a 
few months ago some were claiming it lost forever, and al-Qaida said it 
was going to establish its headquarters there. In April, attacks in 
Ramadi decreased by 74 percent. All 23 tribal areas in Ramadi are 
cooperating with U.S. forces to fight al-Qaida militants, 263 weapons 
caches were discovered in the preceding 3 months, and Iraqis are 
volunteering by the thousands to join the Army and local police force.
  I am disappointed this progress has not been widely covered by the 
media in the United States. In fact, the only TV coverage I have seen 
was a 60-second clip by Nick Johnson of CNN, who did an excellent job. 
I see the LA Times

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had a story, ``Iraqi Tribal Chiefs Forming an Anti-Insurgent Party.''
  The frustration at the failure of our media to call the successes 
what they were is very high. Earlier last week, my office received an 
e-mail from one of our troops serving in Iraq. He detailed an exciting 
success story, the establishment of a new joint command precinct for 
Iraqi police, Iraqi Army and Marines, the first such precinct 
headquarters to be established in Falluja. His e-mail detailed what a 
success the operation had been. Almost 200 Iraqis volunteered for 
police recruitment, hundreds more received outpatient medical care, 
damage claims were settled, and all present received food and oil 
rations. And the Iraqis seemed to be very pleased to be cooperating 
with the United States.
  But the enemy, being very clever, working to thwart any and all 
progress, reacted to this success story by sending in some poor suicide 
bomber. Thanks to aggressive patrolling efforts by Iraqi forces, the 
bomber was forced to detonate his vest almost half a mile away when he 
was halted by police. He caused superficial wounds to one Iraqi 
civilian and killed himself. No one else was injured, no other damage 
caused. In the aftermath of the incident the precinct signed up an 
additional 75 recruits for police service.
  As this American warrior wrote to us:

       This bomber failed. He failed to kill innocents and he 
     failed to deter the progress of standing up Iraqi police.

  But to his frustration there was no coverage of this good news story. 
Indeed, the media, the U.S. media totally misreported the story. A 
number of media outlets carried these headlines. From the Baltimore 
Sun, ``Attack on Iraq Police, At Least 20 Dead.''
  From the Los Angeles Times, ``Twenty Iraqis Die in Suicide Attacks.''
  Our correspondent wrote that he was shocked. He checked it out every 
way he could, but it appears to have been a false report. The headlines 
refer to the failed attack but depicted a dramatically different 
outcome. There has been no apparent retraction, so thousands upon 
thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands who saw the headline assumed yet 
another tragic incident occurred in Falluja and just lumped that in 
with all the other bad news that makes up a grim picture of Iraq. And 
you see why our men and women fighting over there are frustrated.
  The following morning our correspondent found himself in another 
situation. He learned a combined Iraqi Army police and U.S. Marine 
patrol in Falluja encountered a small band of insurgents at a suicide 
vehicle factory. The police engaged the enemy, killing four of them, 
and the Iraqi Army and Marines trapped additional escaping insurgents, 
killing three more. Two large trucks laden with explosives and rigged 
to be suicide vehicles were found.
  This was a best case scenario: enemy killed in his tracks, weapon was 
discovered before it caused any harm, there were no civilian casualties 
whatsoever, and U.S. demolition forces blew up the two suicide 
vehicles. Instead of celebrating this success, the e-mail noted--the 
writer noted it was disappointing to read a headline, ``Children 
Killed.''
  According to the story, the U.S. tank fired a high-explosive round at 
insurgents placing an IED in Fallujah yesterday, killing three Iraqi 
children. The insurgents got away. To anyone watching the news that 
day, it would seem the war in Iraq is being lost and the terrorists are 
winning. While there has been significant progress in Iraq, there is no 
doubt we are losing the war of information. I couldn't have said it 
better than the young man who wrote my office in frustration, who said:

       What incredible economy of effort the enemy is afforded 
     when U.S. media is their megaphone. Why spend precious 
     resources on developing your own propaganda machine when you 
     can make your opponent's own news outlets scream your message 
     louder than you ever hoped to do independently.

  The young man ended his e-mail by saying the incidents he detailed 
were very important to him and his comrades who were serving in Iraq. 
Typical of our brave warfighters, the young man stressed that he and 
his fellow soldiers will continue to fight the fight. He acknowledged 
there will be mistakes, setbacks, and casualties that the world will 
hear about, but there will also be successes, victories over enemy 
combatants, progress, stability, and growth in the new Iraq, but, 
tragically, it appears no one is going to hear about that in our media 
since it has been increasingly clear that our media is unwilling or 
able to report anything except bloody headlines and bad news. The U.S. 
Government has a responsibility to do a better job of public diplomacy, 
strategic influence getting our story out.
  The U.S. military has made a real difference in Iraqi communities. 
There are examples of good stories, such as the local new precinct 
joint command headquarters. But somehow we are not doing an adequate 
job of spreading the news. Let me cite an example from today's 
Washington Post page A11: ``Tribal Coalition In Anbar Said To Be 
Crumbling.'' Well, I have missed it, perhaps, if I saw anything in the 
Washington Post about the coalition. About 23 sheiks in the tribal 
areas are cooperating with the United States. But when you read the 
story a little farther, you see the headline is about one Sunni leader 
who has great concern about another Sunni leader, and calls him a 
``traitor.'' Unfortunately, this happens to go on frequently among 
tribes.
  When you read farther down in the story, we finally interview General 
Petraeus. General Petraeus said: I think they have done this for their 
lives. This is not just a business deal that they have struck; when you 
oppose al-Qaida, you are putting it all on the line. This is not an 
economic issue.
  That was the message from our commander. He did not get the headline. 
There was another member of the council who said that: The salvation is 
like one family. There are no problems between us and the members.
  U.S. military officials said virtually everyone in Anbar belongs to a 
tribe and that rather than ignore that fact, they were trying to 
exploit it.

       There is an overlay of government structure and tribal 
     structure, and the two, when they work well, mesh and, in a 
     sense, complement each other in Anbar.

  I was able to see an article, a TV story by Ollie North this past 
Sunday, a war story. He was talking about the good old days in World 
War II. If there was anything good about the old days in World War II, 
Hollywood and the media were on the same side as our troops. What a 
wonderful vestige of the old times.
  I thought this was a great opportunity to see what had happened in 
the past. The war of ideas and public opinion is not just critical in 
Iraq, it is critical in the broad war on terror.
  As we know from reading the statements of Ayman al-Zawahari, the No. 
2 in command, he knows they cannot win the war militarily; they can win 
it only by influencing public opinion in the United States. 
Unfortunately, recent congressional action indicates the terrorists may 
not be far off base. Resolutions to withdraw from Iraq, delaying 
funding for the troops, telling the Sunni terror cells and the Shia 
militias that America's political will is wavering--the supporters of 
these resolutions are sending a message: Hang on, the United States 
will not have the political will to outlast them. Our men and women in 
uniform are right to be disheartened that we have not only the media 
but some Members of Congress who are unduly influenced by our enemy. It 
is critical that we not fall into this trap set by al-Qaida and the 
other Islamic terrorists who wish to defeat us. It is about time we 
realize our brave men and women in Iraq are putting their lives on the 
line, they are under fire every day. They are fighting a battle and 
they are making progress in the global war on terror. They need the 
funds for equipment, which we finally passed to them, but they also 
deserve our moral support and support in winning the hearts and minds 
not only of the United States but of the world.
  I yield the floor, and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HATCH. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.

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  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Webb). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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