Let’s look at the
other side of the coin
   When this great country falls, Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and other left wing liberals will be leading the charge.
Over the last few days the public has been inundated with images of prisoner mistreatment in Iraq. Day after day we see the same pictures; new ones have recently emerged.
Following the release of these pictures the media has gone wild. The rest of the world, including the Arab world has followed the lead of the American media, and our military has become the subject of endless analysis and criticism.
  The alleged torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners is of course, not a subject to be taken lightly. America has long advocated the fair and humane treatment of prisoners of war. Nevertheless, as this endless assault upon our military continues, we cannot help but wonder where this is headed.
  Why does no one focus upon the actions of the other 99.9% of our troops abroad? Why are there no stories which focus on the men and women of our armed services who are restoring power and vital services to Iraqi citizens?   Where are the stories about American physicians now in Iraq who are providing specialized care and medical services never before available to Iraq citizens? Also, why has no one reported on the activities of the prisoners which led them to incarceration in the first place? Were these “victims” among the Iraqis who attacked American convoys and slaughtered American civilians? Were these “victims” among the Iraqis who desecrated the bodies of American contractors and dragged them through the streets or hung them for public display? While not justifying what is shown in the pictures, such reporting could perhaps provide a little more objectivity.
  To read these recent stories, one is led to believe that our military is a corrupt and evil force not much different from that of toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Nothing could be further from the truth.
  Perhaps most importantly we should all be asking just what objective the media is trying to achieve. No one questions that long before CBS “broke” this story the Department of Defense began an investigation into these abuses and was in the process of taking corrective action. Where is the need to replay these images daily across the world?
  Maybe the media should stop competing with Al Jazeera and start contemplating the effects of their stories. Has anyone wondered just how this will effect our innocent troops still serving in Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world? Isn’t it fairly obvious that the repeated airing of these images does little but foster anti American sentiment and risk additional uprising and violence against Americans abroad?
  This is not Iraq, President Bush is not Saddam Hussein. Our government will deal with these allegations and correct them.   Americans and others should not be led to believe that our military is a lawless and evil force.
  Milo A. Nickel is the former President and COO of Louisiana State Newspapers.

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