As in Vietnam, the complaint by hawks has been that the media exaggerates the bad news in Iraq, while ignoring positive developments: schools being built, guerrillas being routed, hearts and minds being won. This has the effect of compelling journalists to report stories more in line with government propaganda, until reality rears its ugly head.

It will be hard for the Administration to spin this story. According to the Pentagon, thirteen soldiers have committed suicide since engagements started back in March, or more than ten percent of the non-combat related fatalities among U.S. troops. Half of the soldiers polled by that notorious leftist broadsheet, Stars and Stripes, describe their unit's morale as "low" or "very low", and almost half said that they did not intend to reenlist once their hitch expires.

The Rumsfeld P.R. offensive has triggered negative reaction amongst the grunts as well ("a dog and pony show"), an opinion seemingly borne out by the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, who "told reporters he was personally worried that when he and other top officers visited troops, they were only allowed to talk to 'all the happy folks.' 'I want to see the folks that have complaints. And sometimes they won't let them near me,' Myers said when pressed about the Stars and Stripes newspaper survey...." Soldiers who took part in the survey expressed concern that statements of complaint had triggerred punishment in the form of "Article 15"s, which could lead to the loss of pay, reprimands, and extra work duties.