One-Sided Journalism?

And now the most interesting two minutes in television, the latest from the wartime grapevine:

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Introspection
The BBC, whose broadcasts are heard and seen worldwide, has been accused of being anti-war, but now that criticism has come from its own frontline defense correspondent. The Sun reports that Paul Adams has written an internal memo calling his network's war coverage "one-sided." He wrote, "I was gobsmacked to hear, in a set of headlines today, that the coalition was suffering significant casualties.... This is simply not true." He continues, "Who dreamed up the line that the coalition are 'achieving small victories at a very high price?' The truth is exactly the opposite. The gains are huge and the costs are relatively low." No comment from BBC management.

Missing the Means?
Scott Ritter, a former U.N. weapons inspector who has said Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction, now says the United States does not have the military means to take over Baghdad and will lose the war in Iraq. Ritter told a radio station in Lisbon, Portugal, that "The United States is going to leave Iraq with its tail between its legs, defeated.... Every time we confront Iraqi troops we may win some tactical battles, as we did for 10 years in Vietnam, but we will not be able to win this war, which in my opinion is already lost."

In the Name of Saddam
The preferred name for babies born in the West Bank and Gaza over the last few days is Saddam, in honor of the Iraqi leader. An Arab newspaper report, translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, says many Palestinians are proud of the name and even keep pictures of Saddam in their homes. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post reports that an Egyptian song praising Saddam is now quite popular in the West Bank.

Not a Poster Boy After All?
Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus has made a point of backing President Bush on many issues, especially the disarmament and dethroning of Saddam. So what was that antiwar poster declaring that "peace is patriotic" doing in the window of Baucus' Georgetown house. It turns out his wife, Wanda, put up the sign. She told the Washington Post there is no evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and she worries about "the children, their mothers, the farmers, the grandmothers and even the camels that are out grazing." She also worries about the sacred places hit by bombs, saying, "I disagree with those who say that Saddam Hussein doesn't think about this. He cares about these places and their people."