WASHINGTON (AP) - "The No. 2 American commander in Iraq said Friday that coalition forces are planning "quick strike raids" aimed at smashing al-Qaida and other insurgents in far-flung parts of the country before the U.S. brings some of its buildup troops home".

I'm sorry but there are some things that should be announced after a planned coalition strike. Not before.

The relationship between media and the armed forces is a strange one at best. I can't imagine how WW II would have ended if todays media were reporting on the beaches on Normandy.

"Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy. This figure includes over 209,000 Allied casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,714 deaths amongst the Allied air forces. Of the Allied casualties, 83,045 were from 21st Army Group (British, Canadian and Polish ground forces), 125,847 from the US ground forces. The losses of the German forces during the Battle of Normandy can only be estimated. Roughly 200,000 German troops were killed or wounded. The Allies also captured 200,000 prisoners of war (not included in the 425,000 total, above). During the fighting around the Falaise Pocket (August 1944) alone, the Germans suffered losses of around 90,000, including prisoners".

Just imagine todays media take on D-Day right after the battle. Enough to make you think that we would have quit shortly after the victory and the world would be a different place today.

Michael