Fair and Balanced

Her are some radical word from Gian P. Gentile in the Army Times:

From my foxhole-view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.

Contrary to what most believe in the American military, as well as some conservative columnists and a few politicians, the American press does give a reasonably full, fair and balanced picture of what is happening in Iraq. ...

It is my opinion that the American military’s ongoing condemnation of the American press’s reporting of the Iraq war has more to do with its own mistaken belief that the American media lost the Vietnam War and has less to do with the current reporting on Iraq. I also believe that because the American military fears so deeply the loss of support of the American people over Iraq as an outgrowth of Vietnam it tends, wrongly, to allay these fears by blaming the American press for not reporting enough of its successes in Iraq.

I am probably in a minority for saying this, but the so-called "culture wars" make me weary. A bunch of people still fighting about the 60s isn't helpful or relevant today -- I just see ideologues using worn-out themes and storylines while trying to mobilize their "base" to go to the polls or open their wallets. All of this is tearing the country apart and it isn't helping us find constructive solutions to very real 21st Century problems.