Military Questioning Excessive Coverage of Bob Woodruff

The military stationed in Iraq is beginning to question the excessive coverage given to the wounding of ABC co-anchor Bob Woodruff:

The American media stood up and took notice when an improvised explosive device grievously injured an ABC News crew Sunday.

In Iraq, and throughout the military, there is sympathy and concern for anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt, but there is also this question:

"Why do you think this is such a huge story?" wrote an officer stationed in Baqubah, Iraq, Monday via e-mail. "It's a bit stunning to us over here how absolutely dominant the story is on every network and front page. I mean, you'd think we lost the entire 1st Marine Division or something.

"There's a lot of grumbling from guys at all ranks about it. That's a really impolite and impolitic thing to say ... but it's what you would hear over here."

At least 2,242 troops have died in Iraq since the war's start, 1,753 of them killed in action. Another 16,000 have been injured, half of them seriously enough to require evacuation from the battlefield. According to the Pentagon, 60 percent of the deaths are the result of IEDs. IEDs have injured more than 9,200 troops, nine times more than gunshots.

"The point that is currently being made (is that) that press folks are more important than mere military folks," a senior military officer told UPI Tuesday.

I think this may become more and more common. Some of the comments from media folks would make it sound as though the Iraq war was just an abstract concept...until one of their own was wounded. David Westin is even quoted as saying the injury to Woodruff "made it all real".

Hey media - it's been real since March of 2003 and a lot of good people have been lost over there. They haven't all been news anchors, so I guess you haven't been paying attention. Maybe it's time you did.