Our Biggest Problem: Terrorists and the Media

[Tiger in Spain 0]

That is the judgement discovered by L. Brent Bozell when he asked a soldier recently returned from Iraq what our biggest military problem is:

My son's friend Todd Jones just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. At a celebratory gathering at his parents' home, we chatted a while, and I asked him what he thought were the biggest problems facing the military. Without hesitating, he shot back: "The terrorists and the media."

Of course, we already knew this - terrorism gets its strength from publicity. What a terrorist hopes to do with his murders is to create a public spectacle - to cause a sensation in the media. If the media was responsible and sensible, the last thing they'd ever show on TV would be the results of a terrorist bombimg. Report about it, sure...but don't show the video! That is what the terrorists want - its why they set off the bombs close by where the media hangs out. It'd also be helpful, of course, if it weren't up to bloggers like Arthur Chrenkoff to actually do some long reports about what is going on in Iraq...you know, get past the one (or even a dozen) bombings in the course of the day to see the hundreds (or even thousands) of great things accomplished in spite of terrorist bombs.