I and many of the people I talk with are totally convinced that the biggest problems in Iraq began with and will end with how the media has covered the war.

I personally beleive that embedding reporters with combat troops from the beginning was the wrong thing to do and seriously undermines the way the troops do their jobs. You may disagree with that but try to look at it from a soldier or Marines point if view.
First here is this civilian hanging around 24 hours a day looking for a story, you have one more person you have to worry about being responsible for by providing for their security and second, when you have to make a split second decision in combat about killing an enemy combatant under what a reporter considers a questionable shooting, the next thing you know is even before your superiors can here about it and investigate it, it has already been broadcast all over the world and reported as a possible war crime.

Every day we are flooded with the number of american troops or Iraqi civilians that have been killed with a heavy running total in particular of the american dead but without a balance of any kind as to how many of the enemy has been killed. Does the public not have the need to know this information as well?

The enemy knows this and they count on the media to keep this information on american television every night because they also know that if you can kill enough americans and the public can be constantly reminded of it day in and day out eventually the americans will lose heart, pack up and go home all because the media has the power to sway public opinion. If you don't beleive that you can refer to Viet Nam. After the war there were interviews with North Vietnamese Generals who admitted that they lost the battles in the jungles but won it on the streets of america. The same thing happened in Somilia, we lost a few soldiers in the battle of Mogadishu and what happened? CNN shows our dead being dragged through the streets on TV over and over and public outcry causes the President to cut and run.

I do not beleive in censorship of any kind but I do beleive in responsible reporting. For example, Dan Rather showed the pictures of the Blackwater security
personel who were butchered, burnt and hung form the bridge in Iraq after first giving a warning that the pictures would be disturbing, but he felt that he had to show the pictures in order for us,the viewers,to fully understand what happened. To be fair he probably wasn't the only one to do that but I watched
him do it.

As for the NBC piece by Andrea Mitchell concerning the debate over how the media reports the war that aired I beleive two nights ago in response to President Bushs comments on the same day I have to say if that was supposed to convince me that what the President said was wrong it failed miserably.

While we have troops in the field we americans have to support them and they have to know that we support them. They also watch TV and read newspapers and you bet they can see right through the negative reporting.

This war on terror is something new for america and will not be won on any timetable. This is a war that involves every nation on the planet, this is the new face of war and if we cannot stay the course. like God help us as a nation if we don't.

Like it or not this is the world that we live in today.

This is like I have thought for sometime now that most of the press are Democrats or want to be part of Hollywood. It seems to me that some movie star's oponion seems to hold more sway with the media that what the President or some government offical thinks. I do not like war. But I feel that President Bush and the Joint Chiefs' of staff know more about protecting our county than I do. As for how long the Iraq War will last...? How long did the American Revolution last? I'll bet George Washington is sure glad that he did not have the media breathing down his neck. I also agree with Mr. Baker form New York about the way the press address' President Bush, He is the President and we should show some respect to the Office! No one said you have to be his best friend. Just show a little respect.

I have a two-year-old son, and I fear for his safety and the safety of all of our children. Bush has made this world a more dangerous place for the US with more Middle Eastern people hating the US and its policies. Also, this administration has alienated many countries with its unilateral, pre-emptive, cowboy approach to foreign relations, lack of diplomacy, and pre-emptive strikes. And Iraq has become the new breeding & training ground of young terrorists. Of course, our presence there will only increase the hostility over time.

We need real leadership with real plans to get us out of the mess in Iraq, and to find valid solutions to making America safe from terorists.

On the third anniversary of Iraq, Americans need to remember and consider:

* As of March 14, 2006 There have been 2,514 coalition deaths, 2,309 Americans from the Iraq War

* To date more than 20,000 men and women have been wounded in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq

* According to U.S Senate research, the amputation rate has doubled: 6% of those injured in Iraq have amputations compared with 3% in previous wars.

* As of April 30, there were 268 amputees, 41 of whom had lost two limbs. There are triple amputees, according to Walter Reed Officials. Unfortunately, these numbers will continue to rise.

* Hundreds of soldiers have been severely burned, and some initial reports indicate that soldiers have suffered eye injuries at a rate far higher than any previous war.

* Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican, agreed to subpoena records of funds transmitted to Iraq, his House Government Reform Subcommittee learned that nearly $12 billion in U.S. currency was shipped to Iraq from the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, much of it with little accountability.

* Shays is also conducting hearings on the administration's efforts to silence whistle-blowers who ferret out corruption and other problems.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. There will be more mismanagement and corruption uncovered about this administration's handling of the Iraq war, and not to mention Katrina.

God help us as a nation come out of this mess.

I have three young children. A safer world is important to me! Thank you, President Bush, for putting my children's safety ahead of your points in the media driven opinion polls. Our safety as Americans is a stake and yet the liberal media wants to discredit any good coming out of the war in Iraq. And to retired military who criticize Bush and the war, did you learn nothing from Vietnam and the consequences of the media on our brave troops? Come on! Support our troops, our President, and our children!!!

Thanks for the excellent New Orleans coverage that has aired on NBC Nightly this week, especially last night's report on plans for the mayoral election--keep it up.

Also, kudos to the "Iraq 3-Years Later" reports, which I find very informative and interesting, and last but not least "Blogging Baghdad," with its inside information that I don't usually see anywhere else.

Just finished reading Michael Hirsch's article for Newsweek "Breaking the Silence." This may go to prove what I had sadly suspected for a very long time - that this administration's Iraq policy was simply a pay back scheme for their backers in the 2000 election cycle. Please tell me that you will be following up with your own insight on this very important story.

Bush and Laura Ingraham and all the rest of them are trying to keep the truth about Iraq from the American public. They intimidate anyone who dares to tell it with slurs against the critic's patriotism. Cheers for NBC standing up to this kind of pressure.

It may seem trivial to some but the media has a duty to show respect where respect is due, regardless of politics. On approximately 4 occasions during David Gregory's story about President Bush, the PRESIDENT was referred to as MR. BUSH. George W. Bush is the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES and deserves to be addressed as President Bush. I would afford the same respect to former Presidents Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford etc.... It seems as the partisanship cranks up, the basic foundations of respect become forgotten or trivialized. I have come to expect this kind of journalism from CBS and the Rather followers but was very disappointed in NBC and David Gregory.

Thank you Ms. Brown for keepinng us out here up to speed. We the audience are as passionate about our news and this blog as are the reporters and writers.
Would like to see more entries by a varied set of perspectives.

as good as williams is, it's so nice to see you on my screen campbell.

When will Americans understand the full meaning of the Administrations story. We initially received a "bullet" version of the story when the Pentagon suggested the war would be shock and awe. The real story is-----Cost of war SHOCKS Americans and the results of the war are AWEful.