The draw-down fanfare

The last U.S. combat brigade marched out of Iraq yesterday, symbolizing just that – the end of the combat component of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A heartfelt and sincere thank you to all of the troops and civilians, both standing and fallen, who served so courageously over the last seven years in Iraq. Thank you. Regardless of your function, rank or file – you, our military – are the epitome of selflessness in America.

Yesterday was a day to celebrate the American soldier.

Instead, the American press managed to twist this all up by making the draw-down a holiday of sorts for themselves and the current administration. You know – the (liberal) pundits were able to go on and on at nauseaum about the big, bad, evil war being over. (Forget that minor dictator called Saddam Hussein and his little acts of genocide.) Of course, it was the perfect platform to once again villainize the Bush Administration.

Here is a one example from yesterday. Watch here: Maddow and Olbermann

Personally, I find such news coverage to be nothing short of unnecessary, narrow and borderline insulting. Live from the Green Zone, Rachel Maddow spewed her talking points straight into your living room. Did Maddow really need to start in on “lies” the war was premised upon last night? Surely the families of the soldiers were thrilled to hear her rant about “the inhumanity of the politics” that started the war in which their sons, daughters, husbands and wives so valiantly fought. (It was all very “infuriating” to her, you know!)

Rather than going from negative to more negative – it would have been refreshing and, indeed, more fitting to hear about:

• what was accomplished over the past seven years.
• the large agenda ahead that remains.
• (back to my original point) some praise for our troops.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t just MSNBC that was the sole culprit here.  The press, overall, was loud and obnoxiously proud with the “Mission Accomplished” theme. (Recall that this theme did not go over so well for President Bush in May of 2003 when he announced that “major combat operations” had ended in Iraq. Yes, it was premature, but the point remains.)

With the coverage last night, you would think that the Obama Administration had turned water into wine by merely drawing down. This administration is untouchable.

But, not so fast – let’s not forget that on Sept 1, Operation Iraqi Freedom will be transformed into Operation New Dawn. Some 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq for reconstruction and stability purposes. This party is far from over.

Sarah Lenti is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net’s The Savvy. E-mail her at sarah@nmpolitics.net.