Opinion: The US media’s misleading coverage of Iraqi politics

According to Dreyfuss, coverage of the situation adheres to a uniform narrative of a seemingly hopeless situation, a history of sectarian violence, and an incomprehensible political system.  So ubiquitous is this narrative, Dreyfuss argues, that “even careful consumes of news about Iraq would be hard-pressed to challenge any of it.”  The press, he says, has been asking the wrong questions.

Rather than the explanation of violence between Sunni and Shia Arabs, Dreyfuss suggests that the conflict exists primarily between the majority Iraqi nationalists and a smaller faction of separatists. He wonders why the media have failed to cover this issue or ask why the US allegedly backs the “less popular” side. 

Furthermore, Dreyfuss wants to know why reporters are not following two major votes in parliament, one demanding for a withdrawal timetable and the other requiring the approval of the Iraqi parliament on any Iraqi effort to extend the UN mandate justifying US occupation.

Dreyfuss strongly insists that the press is covering the wrong issues and asking the wrong questions.  He challenges reporters to question the US government’s decision to support certain parties or to blame neighboring Iran for Iraqi violence. According to Dreyfuss, answers to these questions will provide more enlightening and accurate coverage of the situation, in other words, the coverage that we are currently denied by the press’ “tragic misunderstanding of Iraqi domestic politics.”

Source: Media Channel