Falluja: how the U.S. military can be matched by a single blogger

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1206-03.htm

Published on Monday, December 6, 2004 by the Seattle Times

Web Sites Spin Fallujah Battle Different Ways
by Thomas E. Ricks

WASHINGTON — Two photo-rich summaries of the battle of Fallujah — one produced by the U.S. military in Iraq, the other by an anonymous American blogger — highlight how the terrain in such counterinsurgency fights can be as much psychological as physical.

Both presentations have gained increasing Internet audiences recently and attempt to convey, among other things, the suffering imposed on Iraqi civilians in Fallujah.

That is where similarities end, however. The military's presentation depicts the fight for Fallujah as a liberation of a city from the insurgents. The Web log posts far more graphic photos, and it tends to point the finger of blame for civilian suffering at the military.

Judging by the reaction of several soldiers and military experts, a comparison of the two presentations shows, among other things, how the might of the U.S. military can be matched by a single blogger working part time.



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