Mainstream news organizations and journalists who cover Iraq are ecstatic that Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz apologized for remarks he made before a Congressional Committee critical of news coverage in Iraq.  This Thursday, Pamela McClintock of Variety (via Yahoo news) in Bushie backtracks on Iraq journos  explains just how courageous these journalists and their local Iraqi assistants really are, and how Wolfowitz's critique was totally off the mark.

Wolfowitz complained that the news people basically sit in their Baghdad hotels (actually, the bars of the hotels; but I digress), and didn't get out much, which resulted in flawed and incomplete coverage of the situation in Iraq.  Specifically, Wolfowitz said

Part of our problem is a lot of the press are afraid to travel very much, so they sit in Baghdad and they publish rumors.  And rumors are plentiful.  Our own media have some responsibility to try to present a balanced picture, instead of always gravitating for the sensational.  And the violence is certainly sensational.

However, the righteous indignation displayed by the press after Wolfowitz's remarks actually betrays the fact that the Deputy SecDef is essentially correct.  Nobody would doubt the dedication of the press venturing out of their hotels especially after the loss of 34 journalists to date.  But this Baghdad—centric mode of operation confirms the press' (intentional?) lack of interest in the Coalition's successful long—term operations across Iraq.

Adequate coverage of these events cannot be accomplished by periodically venturing out of the capital city for a few days, then returning to file a press report from a hotel.  A near—continuous presence with Coalition units in the field is the only way to provide unvarnished information to the American public about all the news, both good and bad, in Iraq.  Ironically, had the mainstream press established good relations with Coalition units at the start of the occupation, and routinely accompanied tactical units on their operations, the journalists' casualty rate would probably have been much lower.  But, their overwhelming desire to remain 'neutral' may have inadvertently increased the risk of getting themselves killed.

That Ms. McClintock's piece focuses on whether Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw will travel to Baghdad to cover the turnover to Iraqi sovereignty on June 30th, only reinforces the press' obvious notion of what is important in their eyes.  Meanwhile, the tremendous success stories coming out of Afghanistan  have been all but ignored by the mainstream media.  We'll be looking forward to Dan and Tom traveling to Afghanistan in September to cover the general elections in a country that a few short years ago, was ruled by the Taliban, Al—Qaeda, and various groups of smugglers and bandits.

But I'm not holding my breath.

Posted by Doug
06—27—04