Perspective

From the BBC, the violent murder rate in Columbia last year:

Police chief Gen Jorge Daniel Castro said that a total of 17,206 people suffered violent deaths in 2006, 517 fewer than in 2005.  Kidnappings also fell from 329 in 2005 to 200 in 2006, he said.

Colombia continues to have one of the highest murder rates in the world, but observers say security has been gradually improving in recent years.

Now compare that to Iraq’s violent murder rate, from the AP:

Iraq reported Tuesday that about 12,000 civilians were killed last year – the third full year since the U.S.-led invasion – with a dramatic rise in the last three months, when 5,000 died. Only about half as many Iraqi soldiers died in 2006 as American troops.

But the number of Iraqi security forces killed jumps to 1,543, nearly double the American death count of 823 for the year, when the deaths of police, who conduct paramilitary operations, are added to the number of slain Iraqi soldiers.

In all, the Iraqi ministries of Health, Defense and Interior reported a total of 13,896 Iraqi civilians, police and soldiers died last year, 162 more than the tally kept by The Associated Press.

So how come the media is not talking about troop surges in Columbia?  Actually better how come they aren’t talking about Columbia at all?  There are US soldiers there on the ground and Columbia is the third largest recipient of US foreign aid.  Plus I think a very strong argument could be mad that drugs coming from Columbia are more dangerous to the US than Al Qaida terrorists.  Think about it, Al Qaida may be able to kill more US citizens in one strike like they did during 9/11, but compare that to the loss of life from drug overdoses and the violent crime related to drug abuse.  I was able to find this statistic on total drug overdoses from 2000, which put the number at 17,000 that year,  while this statistic from the US Department of Justice, said that 14,860 homicides occurred in 2005 that were drug related.  Both numbers are higher than the total number of violent deaths in Iraq.  Drugs have effected the lives of more Americans than any terrorist ever has and yet it is back burner issue not considered news worthy. 

I’m not saying Iraq isn’t a news worthy event but very little perspective is given by the media on what is going on there compared to other similar situations around the world.  Take for example the media glee over the 3,000th US military death happened recently.  Yes the death is tragic, but just like the media glee over the civilian deaths in Iraq, no perspective is given that US military deaths are down from last year and that the total number is no where near the casualties the US military took during World War II, the Korean War, or Vietnam.  Yet the media will come out and tell you that the Iraq War has gone on longer than World War II.  Comparing the Iraq War to World War II is utterly ridiculous but this is the perspective the media is giving the American people.

The Iraq War is almost treated as a reality TV show by the media.  If you ever watch interviews from Survivor contestants after they finish competing on the show they always say that the footage from the island is always manipulated to create better storylines when it is edited for TV.  Talk to an Iraq veteran and most will tell you the same thing about the US media. 

If the US can turn Iraq into a Middle Eastern version of Columbia that should be considered a success, but will the media ever give the American people that kind of perspective?  I seriously doubt it.

HT: Milblogs