Once a while I read Bill Rogio’s blog The Fourth Rail. Rogio is on the right side of the political spectrum, like in deep bush land. But his mostly military posts are sometimes bordering on being  interesting and his commentators are outright funny.

On a recent thread of his about the division size attack on Baqubah, I stumbled over this comment by one Tony:

For the last few years the MSM has been undermining morale on the home front for The Long War by telling us that major combat operations in Iraq have ended.
[…]
And the MSM needs to stop telling us that major combat operations are over in Iraq and start preparing us for the Long War. We will all need to make huge sacrifices, not just the brave young men and women in uniform.

Citing Tony one Rubin follows up:

Tony,  "For the last few years the MSM has been undermining morale on the home front for The Long War by telling us that major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

Yes, thank you. A sadly pathetic but most important dynamic to remind everyone about..

The MSM, the current crop of rapporteurs express their contempt for the current mission in A-stan and Iraq every day.

One Luke Willen adds:

The BBC are just as biased. If there is yet another car bombing in Baghdfdad or Kabul then it was committed by the "Insurgents."

Call it what it is – TERRORISM

First I thought Tony was a prankster of some kind, but his co-commentators seem to know him,  take the comment as serious and follow up in kind. So let’s look again what Tony says:

For the last few years the MSM has been undermining morale on the home front for The Long War by telling us that major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

Has the MSM really told us so?

Yes, I slightly remember it did. I even remember being quite angry when they started offering that claim. 

But how did they get the idea? What devilish liberal scumbag payed the MSM to propagate the outright ridiculous claim that major combat operations in Iraq have ended?

Googling the phrase the first hit is dated May 1, 2003 and from the well known media manipulation site www.whitehouse.gov. It says there:

President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended
Remarks by the President from the USS Abraham Lincoln
At Sea Off the Coast of San Diego, California

Obviously Tony blames the MSM for uncritically paroting the commander guy in chief. I certainly can join him there.

I’ll also join his call to make huge sacrifices maybe by doubling his income tax and by taxing U.S. gas prices to $8/gallon. That’s what I am used to pay here anyway, so why shouldn’t he.

Unfortunatly I can not ask him about his view on tax increases. Even my mild response to his comment, only pointing out the above white house link, was censored.

But then, it’s a right wing blog and I am not sure I want to see my comment there anyway.

There is some danger the MSM could grab off the link I’d serve and undermine morale on the home front by repeating its content over and over.

Happened before, you know.