The Armies of Iraq (Al Jazeera)

The Armies of Iraq

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Four years ago the fighting in Iraq was just beginning. The armed group al-Qaeda in Iraq did not even exist and Sunni and Shia groups were working together against the US-led forces.

Three years ago, sectarian divisions escalated into a battle some believe has reached civil war proportions.

Now the fighters have turned against each other.

This year has seen Shia infighting on the streets of Iraqi cities such as Karbala and Sunni armed groups fighting to keep al-Qaeda out of their regions.

In a series of exclusive reports, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reports on the new reality of Iraq's many armies.
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Part One - Iraq's Sunni armies ( Click here to watch Part One - on YouTube )

Part Two - Iraq's Shia militias

Part Three - Iraq's security forces

Part Four - the US army

Part Five - al-Qaeda

filter the presentations and try to cut through that bias. Some people are willing to do that, others want to accept -- or violently reject -- that bias.

Been my observation that three sources, preferably opposing and competing, with logical filtering are the minimum required to get an approximate picture. It is virtually impossible to get an accurate picture unless one is actually at the point of the item or issue.

Anyone who bases a course of action solely on media accounts -- or an Intel estimate, they suffer from the same bias problem; it's a human foible -- will likely err.

Please correct me if I'm wrong and I'm tracking down the references as we speak, but it is my understanding that al jazeera had tapped Mohammed Saed al-Shaf, the former Iraqi Information Minister, aka Baghdad Bob, for Intel and PR takes on US Military forces - they had some interviews with him on standby for future references and reporting. He was pretty credible on the Arab street for a while you know.

Just relax. Media spins (lies, whatever). It's what they do. NO media outlet is pure or innocent in this regard. I like looking at them just to see how events can be viewed through different perspectives. Ken's got a good point about remembering bias and seeing that of others.

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Originally Posted by Ken White

filter the presentations and try to cut through that bias. Some people are willing to do that, others want to accept -- or violently reject -- that bias.

Been my observation that three sources, preferably opposing and competing, with logical filtering are the minimum required to get an approximate picture. It is virtually impossible to get an accurate picture unless one is actually at the point of the item or issue.

Anyone who bases a course of action solely on media accounts -- or an Intel estimate, they suffer from the same bias problem; it's a human foible -- will likely err.

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Originally Posted by Steve Blair

Just relax. Media spins (lies, whatever). It's what they do. NO media outlet is pure or innocent in this regard. I like looking at them just to see how events can be viewed through different perspectives. Ken's got a good point about remembering bias and seeing that of others.

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I totally agree with both of you... That's what I did before and that's what I do now. Disinformations and media lies are well known to me.

Personally, I hate Al-Jazeera as i think it is the most bias channel i watch. When i watch discussions it makes me annoyed as they sympathise with terrorists.