Getting a fuller picture

Interested Soldier writes a lengthy reply to my abbreviated coverage of this NYT story about US soldiers in Iraq who have lots of stuff. I agree completely - the most important condition for our democracy to make informed decisions about what steps to take in Iraq is to have as full as possible disclosure of the conditions faced by troops there. I hear almost constantly that our friends, siblings, children and parents over there have shortages of supplies, from body armor down to sandbags. Some pundits and certain politicians often disagree. The response to such contention I expect of big media organizations with lots of resources and access to information is that they (a) systematically (rather than anecdotally) assess the situation and (b) provide us with as much information as is possible without endangering troops. Like the Interested Soldier, I don't see that in anything I read. That problem isn't limited to Iraq coverage, though...