Iraq Veteran on the "Truth Tour"

This is a coupla weeks old, but well worth reading seeing as how we're climbing Media's frame today. Iraq Veteran Paul Rieckhoff at The Huffington Post (which isn't turning out too badly, I think):

In an act of blatant propaganda, half-a-dozen conservative talk radio hosts spent the past week broadcasting from Iraq on a Defense Department-sponsored trip aimed at finding the "good news that the old-line liberal news media won't tell you about." The trip was sponsored by "Move America Forward"--the same idiots who sold "I Love Gitmo" bumper stickers on their website.

Even before arriving in country, the so-called 'Truth Tour' had taken to depicting the conflict in rosy terms. After a barbecue at CENTCOM in Tampa, commentator Howard Kaloogian spoke with excitement about the upcoming, "vacation adventure."

Mr. Kaloogian, take your war tourism and stick it up your microphone. You and your buddies stayed for a mere four days in the luxurious confines of the Green Zone and saw images like these. Real troops are there for a year and see images like these (Note: link is to OpTruth. Original page not found).

This is a war zone, not a photo op. For the Troops in Baghdad, Tikrit and Fallujah, who are being deployed for their second and third tours, this war is far from a 'vacation adventure.' This type of shameless cheerleading and agenda-driven journalism is an insult to those who have sacrificed on the frontlines of this war and experienced its terrible toll.

What's a coupla thousand American lives compared to a chance to ingratiate yourself with the White House and further your career? These wingnut deejays are despicable.