MSM Buries Story on Troop Increase in Iraq by Republic of Georgia

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Q. How do you know the liberal American media are doing their best to bury a good-news story about Iraq?

A. When an official Chinese communist news outlet gives it more coverage than the MSM.

When the UK recently announced that it was reducing the number of its troops in Iraq by 1,600, the news was the subject of massive media coverage in the United States. In addition to innumerable MSM news reports on the development, pundits filled the airwaves with hours of dire conjecture as to whether the British move signalled the collapse of the coalition, etc.

But when news comes that another member of the coalition is proposing to send more additional troops to Iraq than the UK is withdrawing, MSM reaction has been the proverbial cricket-chirp.

As per this official press release of March 8th from the Embassy of the Republic of Georgia in Washington, DC, Georgian President Mikheil Saakhashvili has proposed tripling the contingent of Georgian troops in Iraq. Given the current Georgian troop level of 850, the proposal represents an increase of 1,700 -- more than the 1,600 Brits are withdrawing.

MNF commander General David Petraeus also mentioned the Georgian proposal in his press conference last Thursday.

I Googled the news, and found very little in the US press. An item by Bill Roggio at the Weekly Standard. One Reuters story.

What about ABC/CBS/NBC or the major liberal newspapers? If there has been coverage, I haven't seen it. Certainly any coverage by them hasn't begun to rival the way those same news organizations trumpeted the news of the British withdrawal.

I did note that a number of foreign news outlets picked up the story, including, yes, the People's Daily Online, an official publication of the government of communist China. The story's headline even had a positive ring: Georgia's planned military increase in Iraq shows support for U.S.: official.

If only the MSM's coverage of Iraq were as fair and balanced as Beijing's!

Mark was in Iraq in November. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net