"Any incident reported by the media involving the US Armed Forces is reported to the American public irresponsibly. This was best identified during Operation Iraqi Freedom when the military allowed reporters to be embedded with different units. The reporters were not interested in the hundreds of Iraqi citizens saved by American military personnel, all they reported on was the accidental shootings or bombings of "innocent" Iraqi women and children. These being the same women and children that would walk up to American checkpoints strapped with explosives and commit suicide in order to kill a few American soldiers. Soldiers whom were sent to their country to assist the Iraqi people and save them from a harsh dictator.
"One incident stands out most in my mind, an Iraqi woman with a car full of children refused to stop at an American checkpoint to get her vehicle checked which had become customary in the new Iraqi environment. US personnel asked her to stop several times and she continued to roll through the checkpoint, weapons were shot into the air as a warning, yet she refused to stop. American soldiers shot at the vehicle and struck her 2-year-old child in the head, killing him. The media made the US military out to be a bunch of bloodthirsty murderers who shot to kill. Oblivious to the fact that military personnel are required to follow protocol and that they had done exactly as they were instructed. They were quick to blame the military for the death of a child.
"More recently a cameraman was standing by the side of a road in Iraq as an M1A1 American tank was rolling by. The cameraman pulled up his camera and put it on his shoulder and was shot by an American shoulder who mistook the camera for a shoulder fired weapon. This soldier thought he was protecting his fellow sevicemen from a firey death from a rocket propelled grenade but was berated by the media. The media stated that servicemen and women were too quick to jump to conclusions without further investigation. Once again the US military took a beating from the media.
"The media has shown numerous victims from misplaced gravity bombs. The most famous; however, was a little boy whose parents were killed and he lost limbs from his house being hit with the gravity bomb. The media rushed in with a translator and listened as this little boy cursed the US military, blaming them for his misery. The media again took the opportunity to show how incompetent the military was, showing the injuries sustained by the little boy. It was a horrific sight for all to see and broadcasting this picture to the American people threw them into a feeding frenzy, disgracing the military.
"Anyone who serves or has served understands that there is always the chance that we might be sent into harm's way and will be forced to make a decision that could change the lives of so many. Soldiers make this decision because they have a love for the country and the American people and they choose to lay down their life in the event that be the case. War is not a pretty thing, it should not be glorified or shown to the American people play by play. The American people were not ready for all that they saw, and with the media portraying the military in a negative way, support for the troops has decreased. American servicemen and women do what they do to protect the freedoms that we all enjoy, freedoms that did not come without bloodshed and warfare. Embedding reporters with service members was a terrible idea, they were given access to soldiers all day and night and saw every incident that occurred. The media took incidents that they knew would infuriate the American people and pasted them all over the news networks. The US Armed Forces has a job to do, just like so many others, ours may not be as glorified as others but it is the most important job to do. American service members deserve to be held in high regard; however, with the media portraying them in a negative light, the American people will never know the wonderful job they do."
Thanks for taking the time to read this. And, before offering any criticism on our actions or the "need to investigate" before reacting, put yourself in the solider's boots - any delay could cost them their lives. God Bless you and our military personnel.
Proud to be the mother of 2 military kids......
