Then why hasn't Iraq been a total failure as that was really the first war of the 21st century to be fully covered almost minute to minute?
It wasn't covered minute to minute. And those embedded journalists that journeyed to Baghdad with their assigned units (the first time since the Gulf War that the military allowed it on such scale) were accused of being too close and unable to remain impartial and "honest" to the realities by those seasoned journalists who remained far behind in Qutar (reporter headquarters). What has occurred after is exactly what the military was trying to prevent. The great rift between military and media was created during Vietnam when it was fashionable to "bring down the man" whether he was a General or a Platoon Sergeant. The military decided to lift this ban on reporters and embed a few, thereby controlling it to an extent. The reasoning was that if reporters placed their lives in the troops they reported on, ate with them, and grieved with them, then maybe they would be kinder. But this went right out the window when it again became fashionable to report on imperfection, mistakes, and drama.
Despite the pundit and the ignorant critic who clinged to whimsical fantasies of possible failure this entire time, Iraq was never going to fail. And despite our politicians and media's greatest efforts, the American military succeeded with what it was supposed to do.
However, this doesn't mean that the media didn't fuel rage across Iraq, causing more deaths than needed, made the effort that much more difficult, and dictated the outcome of battles. I have already mentioned Fallujah I. The violence and structural devistation that came out of Fallujah II was the direct result of our military hastily striking before the media cameras could ruin it again. It is impossible to tell just how many soldiers and Marines died from the hands of enraged insurgents who were bombarded with photos and coverage of Abu-Ghraib for a year (the two American soldiers that were captured, tortured, and beheaded mere two weeks before Abu-Graib didn't rate such media attention, you see.)
I'll offer another example on how ther media has made matters worse for those in uniform. Sadr lives to this day because the news cameras lobbied for his life. We had at least two chances to rid Iraq of his fanaticism. On one occassion, he was trapped in a Mosque in Al-Nasr after three days of fighting. The military surrounded the Mosque and awaited the order to destroy. But with the media watching and every news camera making military business a global drama played out in their living rooms, his life was spared and we simply left. Another occassion saw him wisk away through the streets of Baghdad towards the news cameras where his life was again spared. Today, he is a politician and represents the fanaticism of the Iraqi government.
So, the news cameras were never going to dictate the end of this war unless Bush buckled to the mass public who whined and complained about what they didn't understand anyway (as it did over Vietnam). But it did cause one disaster after another for those tasked to "win" this war by the very people who treat them like yo-yos. I place exactly the emphasis deserved and earned upon our media.
IMO, Afghanistan is a waste of time because there aren't any realistic economic development paths it can take. Which apparently is the fundamental basis of why my old former marine teacher explicitly stated from the very beginning as to why Afghanistan will fail. Without development, we're going to be fighting this war forever.
Understand it for starters. This "war" is exactly what it was going to be as far as back as 2001. Afghanistan is a tribal waste land like much of the Middle East and this is what will ultimately define failure for them. And we need not to force ourselves to believe that we owe anything to these people. If they aren't willing to at least meet us half way, then our role should simply be one of disciplinarian.
"Punitive Strikes" used to resolve many issues in the days of old. When it comes to the Afghanis/Pakistani region, our special forces, UAVs, and missiles are more than capable of exacting revenge and order. But with the media dictating military action as it does, our people behaving like fools, and our politicians having no sense of military affairs, we will continue to place an unfair burden upon our military. Considering who our enemy is, our strikes need to be so vicious and devistating that even our allies cringe.
But it will take a lot more American deaths on our soil before they pull their heads out of their asses. Our people are quick to cry for blood. They are quick to send other Americans into the fray to destroy and slaughter in their name. And they are just as quick to buckle the first time they see through their television sets what destrucion and slaughter looks like. And this is where the militrary finds itself fighting the enemy, the critics at home, and the media.