Old Media Attempting to Raise False Expectations

From the Full Story at Threats Watch:

"The headline, “Petraeus Says He Will Propose Troop Cuts”, while technically accurate, is misleading considering the current tenor and debate in the United States. Hurried news consumers will read that and conclude that General Petraeus is considering drawing down the surge when he briefs Congress in September. The full quote (and principal context) regarding a reduction in troop strength does appear until the end of the article.

Petraeus, who wrote the Army’s book on counterinsurgency, said he and his staff were “trying to do the battlefield geometry right now” as he prepared [Ed Note: Or rather, ‘prepares’] his troop-level recommendations.

“We know that the surge has to come to an end, there’s no question about that. I think everyone understands that by about a year or so from now we’ve got to be a good bit smaller than we are right now.

“The question is how do you do that … so that you can retain the gains we have fought so hard to achieve and so you can keep going. Again we are not at all satisfied where we are right now. We have made some progress but again there’s still a lot of hard work to be done against the different extremist elements that do threaten the new Iraq.”

When General Petraeus says “by about a year or so from now we’ve got to be a good bit smaller than we are right now,” he is speaking to the current troop rotation policy and the desire leave them relatively unaltered. This is a topic General Casey addressed as well recently."

The idea of force reduction in secure areas could easily become the straw man the left will attack to press the agenda of defeat in Iraq. With sources like Jason Blair and Scott Beauchamp muddying the waters around the reputation of the dinosaurs, the old media doesn't have the force of credibility it once had. The days of the journalist as objective observer are gone (they never really existed, but the myth persisted). So, no one source can declare the war is lost. They require a cacophony of misstatements to confuse the subject.

Checking my news aggregator, I see over 300 stories blaring the news that Petraeus will cut the size of U.S. Forces in Iraq. This looks to be the first stage in the all out assault on the General's credibility. First they will claim he promised to bring the troops home, then they will say he's "flip-flopping" on bringing the troops home when he clarifies the story.

We need to be blasting the news that the surge is working, but we should also publish the ful extent of General Petraeus' statements on issues as his report approaches. On this count, he's making no promises, only stating that the security issue is getting better and that local involvement in that security will allow for force reductions where security is established.

Again, he has made no promise to bring the troops home. Spread the word, before the lie becomes entrenched.