Media's hand in the Iraq war

My exchange with Iraq war blogger Bill Roggio raises a sensitive issue.

from the May 22, 2007 edition

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Roggio: The Ramadi template has played out numerous times in Iraq. After a big operation in Tal Afar, the situation improved dramatically in the northern city. Tal Afar was declared a model of success by President Bush. Al Qaeda decided to pull off an occasional suicide attack in the city, so it could hang Tal Afar around the president's neck like an albatross. When attacks occur, you read, "A suicide attack killed X and wounded Y in Tal Afar, a city President Bush declared a model of success in Iraq...."

Does this mean Ramadi or Tal Afar are perfectly secure cities? No. But progress there has been dramatic, and there are only reports if something goes wrong. That is exactly what Al Qaeda in Iraq wishes to achieve.

Like it or not, the media is a part of the battlefield. Why do the media refuse to recognize their role as participants – even if passive – in this war?

There are numerous heads to the hydra. However, each poses a different level of threat. Al Qaeda is the most dangerous element as it seeks to ignite the sectarian violence and turn Iraqis against one another. They are responsible for the mass casualty suicide attacks. Even Sunni insurgent groups, which are by no means friends of the US, are beginning to recognize this.

Chinni: But regardless of who is doing the killing, it seems killing itself is the point now. So if attacks succeed in fomenting more violence, isn't it possible the violence itself may be more significant than who is behind it?

There is some truth to your point on the media's role as a participant. But doesn't the media's job include reporting those attacks? If you're saying the media aren't getting the whole picture, I doubt anyone would argue. Iraq, or any drawn-out insurgency, is close to impossible to grasp in its entirety, particularly in real time.

And there is a lot of bad news in Iraq beyond bombings. As the Brookings Institution's Iraq Index statistically shows, the country's schools and health system are in trouble, and unemployment is about 30 percent.

Still, from your perspective, the changing media landscape itself must be some consolation. People can always click on different websites for other perspectives.

Ten years ago, billroggio.com wouldn't have existed; now your reporting and views are out there with everyone else's.

• Dante Chinni, a senior associate at the Project for Excellence in Journalism, writes a twice-monthly column on media issues. E-mail him at Dante Chinni.

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