The SurrenderMedia has a tough choice to make this Christmas season – what kind of behavior will they reward with their attention (which is reflected in headlines and stories in their precious limited bandwidth)? For the first part of 2007 the media obsessed over every bombing to illustrate their preferred story line that Iraq was a failure. But after the tide turned in Iraq and there was success the media turned its attention elsewhere – unable to face their own errors in judgement. This inability to be honest brokers of journalism has created a sick symbiosis between al-Qaeda and the SurrenderMedia. al-Qaeda keeps killing indiscriminately so that they can get the attention of the SurrenderMedia, and the SurrenderMedia obliges by only giving its attention to death and destruction. Why can they not give their attention to the other side of the story – Peace and Victory in Iraq? First the Peace side:

pproximately 1,000 Iraqi citizens, of both Shia and Sunni religions, joined together on the sectarian fault line in Rawaniyah, the Karkh District of Baghdad, to march with one another in what they called a “Peace March”, Dec. 19.
It was an Iraqi initiative to ease sectarian tensions, solely driven by Iraqi Neighborhood Council (NAC) and District Advisory Council (DAC) leaders and Sheiks from both religious sects in the area, said Capt. Marcus Melton, commander of Pale Horse Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

With Iraqi Army and Iraqi policemen maintaining the security on the streets and within the crowd during the event, they were able to successfully complete the march for united peace among all Iraqis.

Is this story so below interest of the vaunted Western Media it will ignore this too and keep up with its ghoulish body bag count? And why is their peace breaking out? Because victory proceeded it and made peace possible:

Until recently this region was known for the most brutal al Qaeda atrocities, including the beheading of corpses in Shiite funeral convoys. Al Qaeda in Iraq controlled the rural, Sunni areas while Shiite extremists infiltrated the mostly Shiite town and drove out Sunni families.

I flew down here to look at a stunning transformation. Al Qaeda has been badly hit (but not finished); Sunni tribesmen now work with U.S. troops.

Shiite extremists are standing down, for now. Sunni and Shiite sheikhs are holding reconciliation meetings, some organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace, an American think tank. The Rasheed outdoor market in Mahmoudiya is busy selling piles of tomatoes, grapefruits, oranges, clothing, machine parts and sundries; not so long ago it was a burnt-out eyesore. An Iraqi army unit is working in strong partnership with U.S. forces.

These gains could be reversed, but this tortured town is enjoying a tentative peace. It provides a textbook case of the Army’s new counterinsurgency doctrine, which emphasizes protecting the civilian population as much as fighting.

The SurrenderMedia should familiarize itself with the psychological science surrounding the experiment of Pavlov’s Dog. The science of reenforcing one behavior over the other is very important for a element of society that provides attention as a reward for acts of interest and ignores other acts as ‘un-newsworthy’. The fact is the media should treat both sides equally, just so they don’t accidentally reward the bloodshed and ignore the peace and hope. But I doubt they can face this reality anymore than they can deal with victory in Iraq. Too much invested in their bias to get past their own blinders and obsession with body bags.