The War at Home...

From here:

Feb 9, 4:28 PM EST

In Minnesota, veterans take to TV to build Iraq war support

By BRIAN BAKST
Associated Press Writer

ST. PAUL (AP) -- As images of smoke pouring from the World Trade Center flash by, Lt. Col. Bob Stephenson boils down the Iraq war to a battle to squash the al-Qaida terrorist network.

"You'd never know it from the news reports," Stephenson says firmly. "But our enemy in Iraq is al-Qaida, the same terrorists who killed 3,000 Americans on 9-11, the same terrorists from the first World Trade Center bombing, the USS Cole, Madrid, London and many more."

Stephenson, a Marine reservist from Woodbury who spent five months in Iraq, delivered his message as part of a television ad that debuted Thursday in Minnesota. The 60-second spot aims to shore up support for the war by touting accomplishments, such as recent Iraqi elections.

It also mirrors President Bush's campaign to define the war as essential to national security, and ends with another soldier asking, "Where do you want to fight terrorists? We want to fight them and destroy them in Iraq."

The ad was paid for by the conservative Progress for America Voter Fund, which will air it on network and cable stations in Minnesota over the next week. The Washington-based interest group wouldn't reveal the amount it spent, but spokesman Stuart Roy said the average television viewer should see it 10 times - a hefty number as ad rotation goes.

For now, Minnesota viewers are the sole target audience. Roy said the group hasn't decided whether to reach into other states.

Minnesota's 2006 U.S. Senate race is shaping up to be one of the nation's most competitive, but Roy insisted that wasn't a factor in choosing the state.

But, as one can see coming as sure as one can see steam coming off a manure pile in the middle of February, the fifth-column moonbats chime in:

John Rash, who teaches a mass media and politics course at the University of Minnesota, questioned whether its possible to divorce the war and its politics.

"Support for the troops is near universal - bipartisan, if indeed, nonpartisan," said Rash, a Minneapolis ad agency executive. "It's support for the policy that presents partisan divides that already are part of the dialogue and debate moving into the November elections."(Gads--that is so much friggen nonsensical CYA blather put out by the moonbat left that is so trite, it's sickening)

Marty Kaplan, associate dean at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, suspects the ad is focused more on fortifying supporters of the war than on converting opponents.

A parent of a fallen soldier also weighed in:

Regardless of the aim, Lila Angell is irritated that a group is paying to put its spin on the war. Angell's grandson, Lance Cpl. Levi Angell of Cloquet, Minn., was killed in April 2004 in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq.

"How dare they run an ad like this," she said, arguing that it presents a false picture of the conditions in Iraq. "Every day I have to cry when I hear another one has been killed. It's so needless. It's useless."

Yet,

Stephenson, who was stationed at the Camp Kalsu air base and didn't see combat during his tour, said in an interview that Americans are mostly hearing about death tolls, security problems and other negative aspects of war. He said the ad is a chance to convey the other side.

"The mainstream media has a message about the war in Iraq that perhaps isn't shared by a lot of people involved in the military," he said. "Some folks that haven't had a different perspective on the war on terror will have this perspective added to the mix."

A different perspective, indeed. When was the last time you have heard about progress being made in Iraq from anyone in the dinosaur media? And did the fact that Stephenson did not see combat mean that he did not see the positive effects of our efforts? When the negative news regarding Iraq in the major American media outlets is given no discernible measure of balance with positive news (such as can be found here, here or here), the only possible outcome with regard to the general public will be results like this:

Marty Kaplan, associate dean at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, suspects the ad is focused more on fortifying supporters of the war than on converting opponents.

"They are really swimming upstream against a tide. Every number I've seen in the last six months shows at best 40 percent of the public agrees with the message of this ad," Kaplan said. "Everyone else is looking for an exit strategy."

As a parent of a son who will be in harms' way within a matter of a few weeks, I appreciate the work that Stephenson is doing. Someone needs to tell the other side of the story. The effort wouldn't even be required if the American media was doing its job, instead of pushing an agenda.

(Filed under heroes, Iraq, the fifth column)