Today's must-read

Matthew Hoy
By Matthew Hoy on August 28, 2005

If you've been surfing the blogosphere for the past few days and missed Michael Yon's latest report from Iraq, then this must be the only blog site you visit. Take some time this morning and read Yon's tale of heroism -- including a little of his own.

There are a few things that struck me as I read Yon's piece yesterday: First, The New York Times noted several weeks ago that, unlike World War II, the liberation of Iraq wasn't producing any heroes. The most famous Iraq War veteran isn't someone who saved countless lives and lost his own. Nope, it's an attractive young lady who got shot and captured -- Jessica Lynch. Whose fault is this? I put the blame squarely on the media. We're more than two years into a war that everyone on the left likes to compare to Vietnam, yet during Vietnam we had hundreds of journalists chronicling the battle from the front lines. Today, most of them are holed up in a hotel in the Green Zone. Yon is out there with our soldiers on a daily basis and he is reporting like no one else in the media is.

Second, Yon actually picked up a weapon in an effort to defend an American soldier from a terrorist. Embedded journalists wielding firearms is a no-no nowadays and it could've gotten Yon kicked out of Iraq -- that would've been a tragedy. However, for those who have seen the movie "We Were Soldiers," or better yet, read the book, you'll remember at one point journalist Joe Galloway picked up a machine gun, shot and killed attacking NVA soldiers. There was no doubt then where Galloway's sympathies layed. Likewise, it's apparent that Yon is on the side of the American soldier -- "unbiased" journalism (where there is no difference between an American soldier and an insurgent terrorist) ends at the water's edge. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that too many journalists nowadays have become like Peter Jennings when confronted by Mike Wallace.

Third, if a newspaper editor was really smart and innovative, they'd buy Yon's piece and print it.

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