This opinion piece was published in the Army Times, 23 April.

U.S. media reports fairly on success, failure in Iraq
By Gian P. Gentile


From my foxhole-view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.

Contrary to what most believe in the American military, as well as some conservative columnists and a few politicians, the American press does give a reasonably full, fair and balanced picture of what is happening in Iraq.

The war in Iraq is complex, difficult, deadly and heartbreaking, but with glimmers of hope and success that sometimes shine through the death and violence. Do we expect the press to only report the good and not the bad? Now, sadly, the bad tends to outweigh the good, and I, as a soldier and citizen, want the press to report the war accordingly. [snip]
Here's the link to the rest of the story.

http://www.armytimes.com/community/o...entile_070416/


I attended the West Point Summer Seminar in Military History when Gentile ran it. He's quite a character, very bright, very intellectually engaged in the subject matter, both as a historian in his own right and as a practitioner. He's also the guy who wrote the book that cut the WWII Airpower Survey down to size.

On a comical note, we had possibly the most awkward conversation that, with any two other people, could have ended terribly. He came up to me one evening, midway through the seminar, and opened the conversation with, "Hey, what size is your bed?" Now, I cocked my head to the side, trying desperately to figure out where this was going, and answered, tentatively, "Uh, king size, sir." He then goes on to explain that, given a screw-up with the hotel, some of the fellows were being moved to a different motel, but one of the women who had volunteered to switch had changed her mind, and so he wanted to know whether I would be willing to bunk up with her. If I had a king-size bed, that would make it easier. At which point I got a little impish, and replied, "Well, sir, it's certainly big enough for two, but not for three!" I went on to explain that my husband was coming back from a 2 year unaccompanied tour to Okinawa the next night, and was going to come visit me for the evening. He got a little dejected looking, and I knew he couldn't ask me to move, so I offered to switch rooms outright. He was so relieved. In this day and age, it's not often that a conversation can open with a query about a woman's bed and end with a comment about a threesome without a lawsuit or brouhaha ensuing.