The media a blessing?

JR Dunn of the American Thinker notes that the concentration on negative news by the U.S. and world media in Iraq may have actually hurt the insurgency more than helped. He argues that the instant gratification from casualties and bloviating in the media caused by IEDs clouded the true picture that the insurgency was losing strategically. Consequently, the insurgency was not able to adjust in time to the larger strategic errors and defeats that were building.

I am not sure if I agree, but it is an interesting thought. Nevertheless, after the failure of the golden mosque bombing in Samarra failed to ignite civil war, what is left for the terrorists to try?

It is also interesting to consider how much reliance people outside the United States (notably the terrorists) put on our media and whether they are able to dissect the facts from the commentary in our media. As we all know, politicians and reporters often mix in opinion with fact. While many here easily identify the bloviating, how many people overseas are able to properly interpret the message. And further how many people overseas understand that the fickleness of the American public works both ways.