Baghdad dangerous as ever: Journalists

For some reason Iraq has been relegated down the totem-pole in the news. TV, radio or print. Perhaps it has something to do with the pr and hype being put out, by the Americans especially, that things are looking up in the war-torn country, the strikes by insurgents are allegedly down, etc. etc.

The facts, according to this Reuters report, are far different to the positive ones out of Baghdad [or Washington]:

"Nearly 90 percent of U.S. journalists in Iraq say much of Baghdad is still too dangerous to visit, despite a recent drop in violence attributed to the build-up of U.S. forces, a poll released on Wednesday said.

The survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed that many U.S. journalists believe coverage has painted too rosy a picture of the conflict.

A separate Pew poll released on Tuesday showed that 48 percent of Americans believe the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going very or fairly well, up from 34 percent in June, amid signs of declining Iraqi civilian casualties and progress against Islamist militants such as al Qaeda in Iraq.

But most journalists said they believe violence and the threat of violence have increased during their tenures."

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Mahler's Prodigal Son

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