re: You're good at research.
Okay, if we're going to work by this rule, what the heck is the definition of "your own propaganda?" Any information from any American source? Any information from the military? Anything that doesn't match your worldview? Anything other than al Jazeera? What exactly is your "propaganda" filter?
I get most of my information on what's going on with our military in Iraq from military guys in Iraq who run their own blogs, from letters from over there, and articles they write.
If you want a really good example of this, read this guy. Take an evening and scroll back through a long ways. He has some really good insights on what an operation like this entails.