Iraq: The 2% Truth

Iraq: The 2% Truth

Conservatives who whine and bray that the media is presenting a distorted picture of the war may be inadvertently correct. Indeed, things are probably worse than even the darkest and most pessimistic reports.

Respected New York Times war correspondent Dexter Filkins says that Iraq has become so anarchic and dangerous that as much as “98%” of it is now off-limits to reporters.

Even worse, Filkins says, the U.S. military might be similarly isolated and out of touch. His description of the literal small army that the New York Times must deploy just to get minimal reporting done is both mind-boggling and depressing. Imagine a news organization that needs a fleet of armored cars and four-dozen machine-gunners to protect its reporters. Read the details here.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Conservatives who whine and bray that the media is presenting a distorted picture of the war may be inadvertently correct. Indeed, things are probably worse than even the darkest and most pessimistic reports.

Respected New York Times war correspondent Dexter Filkins says that Iraq has become so anarchic and dangerous that as much as “98%” of it is now off-limits to reporters.

Even worse, Filkins says, the U.S. military might be similarly isolated and out of touch. His description of the literal small army that the New York Times must deploy just to get minimal reporting done is both mind-boggling and depressing. Imagine a news organization that needs a fleet of armored cars and four-dozen machine-gunners to protect its reporters. Read the details here.

Support The Nation’s June Fundraising Campaign

With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.

It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Huevel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x