This morning's Des Moines Register Iraq headline provides evidence of
two very important Republican arguments in such a limpid manner that
it would be commentary malpractice to ignore it. The headline screams,
"Officials report massacre in Diyala". Remembering my limited
education in journalism I have always thought that the headline was
supposed to capture the most significant information in the story. If
a news source is committed to reporting objective news, would the
repetition of a daily occurrence be worthy of a headline? Terrorists
commit massacres every day in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else they
operate. The commission of yet another "massacre" is, sadly, a routine
event in the Age of Terror. News worthy? Of course. Headline material?
Only if the purpose of the headline is to hammer the public with the
senseless brutality of war and not to provide useful information to
the public.

Labels: Iraq