It’s a damn shame that private citizens need to buy ads on TV to tell a side of the story that the traditional media is ignoring in its news coverage. But that’s exactly what the folks at TheTruthAboutIraq.org are doing, only because the media seems uninterested in reporting the full story about Iraq.

You only see Iraq in the news when a bomb goes off or a soldier is killed. You probably haven’t heard much about our military successes, such as our recent one in Samarra, for example. You probably never hear about the rebuilding of Iraq or the routine discovery of yet another one of Saddam’s mass graves. If you want a full picture of what’s happening in Iraq, you’re not going to get it from the traditional press.

Several months ago, I remember listening to a radio show when a serviceman who spent some time in Iraq called in to chastise the press. He said—and I’m paraprasing—that “the media only wants to talk about soldiers when we die. But you never hear what we’re doing every day of our lives. You get the impression that we’re not worth talking about unless we’re dead.”

Unfortunately, that’s exactly how the news media is covering Iraq. Maybe TheTruthAboutIraq.org will help bring some attention to the things that are getting ignored.