Media vs. the truth
This is typical of what you hear in letters from troops overseas.
...Army Specialist Neice of the 51st Airborne Signal Battalion in Iraq, was serving with U.S. Army Rangers as well as Special Forces alongside his best friend, Specialist Justin Jacobsen, who he described as his "brother."
The two said they are glad to be home but angered by the way certain things have been handled, primarily by the media.
"CNN only airs what they want you to see," said Jacobsen. "I finally told my mom to stop watching, because it wasn't true."
Neice said the reality of a soldier's life in Iraq is quite the opposite from what is seen on the evening news.
"When we go through town, the crowds are cheering, crying, thanking us, giving us all thumbs up," Neice said.
Neice said the support from the locals in Baghdad was "at least 95 percent." He said the media is "wrong" and that the picture they are depicting for Americans is inaccurate.
"Americans need to know the truth. They (Iraqis) want us there. The support we got from locals was unreal," said Neice. "Sure, there are small pockets of resistance, but it's rare."
When you hear someone saying, usually with derision, that it's a myth that our troops were received with joy by most Iraqis, that person is not telling the truth. The letters tell the story, and the Iraqi bloggers tell the story.
But like the "war for oil" myth, I expect this will hang on in perpetuity anyway.
