Hiram Johnson said, “The first casualty of war is truth.” That is exactly what Gulf War II has killed and buried. Truth left the government’s lips the minute war met the media’s eye, an eye that is subjective in itself and misleading to its viewers.

The war may be over but while it was living it wasn’t simply being reported about, it was being hackneyed to death. I distinctly remember seeing American soldiers carrying hurt children to safety. A picture of Iraqi civilians being cared for in American hospitals in the foreign country remains highlighted in my mind. To me, it seems as though rescue was emphasized more than warfare. No one wants to watch bloodied uniforms fight for the beliefs of their countries, but at least combat is real. Our country is being portrayed as a hero, there is no doubt that the men and women who fight are, but our country doesn’t deserve to hold such a title.

    I commend our country for standing up to threatening powers that posed perilous futures. Bush has won the war his father started and that is a respectable feat as well. But America has showed its people one side of a war, whose aftermath will be more difficult to handle than its battles.

    I don’t recall the media reporting how our militia and its weapons were superior compared to Iraq’s. I don’t recall a number of Iraqi casualties being reported. I do recall, however, the fancy way our government said ‘they don’t know how many loses Iraq suffered’ meaning ‘they don’t want the public to know.’ Saddam Hussein was a very powerful and vitriolic leader but he was no match for our Army and allies.

The media wasn’t just reaching me in my living room, it followed me to every room. It was behind me as I walked out the front door and all around me when I turned on my radio.

The media does a great job of reporting, their broadcast journalism is to be applauded as well; however, their reports were as biased and opinionated as an author writing his own book review.

I am an American citizen. I want to know the story, but I want to know the whole story. I want to know—in a word—truth.