I got an email from a friend of mine that is serving in Iraq now, I'm including the info that has to do with this topic.
Quote:
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I'm sure that listening to media coverage of what is going on over here can get very discouraging for everyone back home. So let me leave you with the oppinion of a humble soldier who is just trying to make sense of what is going on over here. I have whitnessed first hand that good things are happening over here. Things have improved tremendousely in the 10 short monthns that we have been here. Most Iraqis like us and appreciate what we are doing for them. Most of the insurgents fighting against us are not from Iraq. Finally, if we were to leave now or in the near future, things would quickly deteriorate and this country would be in worse shape than when we got here. Personally, that goes against everything I have been taught about being an American.
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His group, (please excuse my ignorance of army group names) was attacked by a suicide bomber a few days before I got this email. Despite having seen first hand his friends and peers being hurt by the terrorists opperating in Iraq, his view is still an overall positive one.
I admit that I don't watch the news, so I don't know everything that is being reported. Of what I have heard and seen, the only reporting of positive events I have seen invlove the freedom riders. The Iraq news is liimited to number of deaths and attacks. Maybe the media outlets are limited in the space and time they can dedicate to reporting, so they report what they personally see as important, maybe there is an agenda they are following or maybe I only see the negative because of my low opinion of the media in general. I don't know that I can give a general answer to any of it.
I haven't heard very much of the mean spirited protests, the spitting and calling soldiers baby killers etc. I think that would make me very angry though, and would likely stick out in my mind more than shows of support. My friend who wrote the above paragraph is one of the most gentle, kind and intelligent people I know, it would be horrifying to me to hear someone call him heartless or a mindless follower.
What I'm trying to say is that we generally remember the extremes and unusual before we recall the commonplace. Generally people support and love our troops, even if they dont feel the same way for our troops leaders. So when someone, or a small group of someones, are cruel it stands out more.
I hope my rambling here makes sense, I just needed to share my thoughts on the subject.