>just heard this on CNN...he said it's quite a blow to their morale given
>that they're supposed to be in control of the city...
>the anchor responded, "that seems quite different from what we've been
>reporting here about celebrations..." ha ha ha!!!
this was reported repeatedly, along with constant admonitions that there was plenty of firefighting to come? that there was a massive firefight going on even during the toppling of the statue.
rick leventhal reported on the firefight, as well, and in his reporting just now he was talking about losses during firefights in the west. Ollie just got done reporting that 35 casualties were evacuated, 1 dead. He didn't seem to be taken aback by that. Last evening, an embedded CNN reporter completely downplayed the toppling of the statue, in favor of discussing the University of Baghdad battle and losses there--he wasn't able yet to report on exact losses, only that there were some. Today, again, he's been talking about the fact that there is a divided city and the western part of the city as putting up considerable resistance.
sure, they're trying to manage expectations with prevariganda, but i don't understand how anyone can miss the dual messages. or the admission that the u.s. isn't in control of the whole city at all. there's repeated mention of the fact that the norhtern part of the city is also pretty much up for grabs (which I've seen some say is about following Sun Tzu's advice to leave the enemy an escape route.) Anyway, wherever I watched and listened, the drumbeat was "here's the cheering, here's the fighting, look out 'merika weren't not done."
perhaps this is the preferred prevariganda technique of media outlets more conservative than the boston globe?
kelley