Memorial Day and the AP

[Annie]

I've been looking at the headline of this article for at least 24 hours:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070527/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_memorial_day

U.S. deaths near grim Memorial Day mark

By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 26 minutes ago

Americans have opened nearly 1,000 new graves to bury U.S. troops killed in Iraq since Memorial Day a year ago. The figure is telling — and expected to rise in coming months.

I hadn't seen any real reaction to it, I kinda thought everyone was just going to accept it, it's what the media does.

But I should have known, that a journalist/editor blogger would notice:

http://www.julescrittenden.com/2007/05/27/happy-memorial-day/

Happy Memorial Day

I thought body counts went out with the Vietnam War. The AP is kicking off Memorial Day weekend with a fresh body count in Iraq.

How come no mention of Americans killed in Afghanistan since last Memorial Day?

The AP story leads with the number of new graves opened for dead American soldiers since Memorial Day last, but only those killed in Iraq. Why this slight? Are the dead in Afghanistan not worthy of respect in the eyes of the Associated Press? It is possible that this article is not about honoring the dead at all, or even about reporting the news, but just another thinly veiled editorial attack on the Bush administration? Would the Associated Press be so callous as to use American dead in this manner, as a political tool?

I’m beginning to get the impression there is nothing more important to the Associated Press in its Iraq reportage than the number of “American soldiers killed in this unpopular war.”

...

Since Memorial Day last year, we’ve seen Anbar turn, we’ve seen Sunni-Shiite reconciliation become popular enough that Moqtada al-Sadr is now trying to get in front of it. We’ve seen businesses reopen and people return to their homes in Baghdad. We’ve seen Shiite militias aggressively engaged and Sunni insurgents on the run. We’ve seen the number of sectarian murders drop. Those facts typically get buried when they are mentioned at all, unless there’s an uptick in death, when they suddenly become news again, to be cited as evidence of failure. AP prefers its milestones grim.

We have seen a backlash in the face of these advances, as our enemies attempt to undermine the surge strategy. The enemy, unhappy with the surge, has responded with a car-bomb campaign. This has been a great relief to the Associated Press and others who would like to see us lose in Iraq....

...

 

[Gunny]

I've been looking at the headline of this article for at least 24 hours:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070527/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_memorial_day

I hadn't seen any real reaction to it, I kinda thought everyone was just going to accept it, it's what the media does.

But I should have known, that a journalist/editor blogger would notice:

http://www.julescrittenden.com/2007/05/27/happy-memorial-day/

Wow. Am I ever lost. Properly posted articles. Who'd of thunk it?