Are there any Heros in Iraq or how about just some Good News?

I have written about this before, but today Thomas Sowell brings it up again eloquently in his piece “No heroes?” at www.Townhall.com.

It is reprehensible the way the media is covering this war. They play up the American military deaths and any news about a bad apple in the military but hardly ever have any good news fit to print on the “Front Page.” When I mobilized to come over here back in February the media made it seem every convoy was getting hit and if you went out on the roads you were almost certain to die or get maimed in a horrible road side bombing. When I finally got over here after some fear and trepidation, I quickly realized the media had blown the situation WAY out of proportion. There are literally hundreds of convoys running around this country. Not only that, in most areas the military convoy is sort of an armored parade for the local Iraqis. It is entertainment for the kids who all come out and cheer and jump up and down when a convoy passes. Getting hit in a convoy is somewhat less likly than getting into a car accident in the US. (Now saying this, I hope I have not jinxed myself to prove an ironic point:) But I digress from the main point of this post….Tom Sowell says in his piece:

You cannot fight a war without many brave men taking risks with their lives in order to try to accomplish their mission. Yet can you name a single American hero in either of the two wars going on today in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Chances are you can't -- not if you rely on the mainstream media. You may be able to name someone from the little band of people involved in the prison scandal in Iraq or perhaps Jessica Lynch who was rescued, but not those who rescued her.

There are apparently no heroes among the more than 100,000 men and women fighting for us overseas -- only victims. At least, that is how the news gets filtered and spun in most of the media.

He goes on to what I think is the main point….

Those who are busy "honoring" the deaths of American troops in Iraq seldom have much to say about what those troops accomplished. The restoration of electricity, the re-opening of hospitals and schools, and all the other things being done to try to restore a war-devastated country get little attention, and everything that has gone wrong makes the front pages and TV news for weeks on end.

I would recommend reading the whole article here:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/ts20041202.shtml

As a soldier who has been over here for 10 months, I am extremely upset at the portrayal of this war in the MSM. Like Tom Sowell, I say any one has the right to oppose this war, but to only play up the bad facts that are taking place over here while down playing the good facts on the front page is just plain wrong for the troops. Taking a more balanced approach to reporting the facts and leaving the opinion to editorialist would be a smart move.