William A. Alexander – 6/27/06

This page was last updated on June 28, 2006.

Let’s talk about bias; William A. Alexander; Beaver County Times; June 27, 2006.

Mr. Alexander has written at least 14 letters since December 2004, and they all bashed Republicans for something.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“The writer of Tuesday’s letter to the editor ‘Biased coverage - again’ believes everything the Bush administration says or infers and nothing from any other source.

[RWC] While Mr./Ms. DiTommaso appears to be a dedicated Republican, I don’t know the basis for Mr. Alexander claiming Mr./Ms. DiTommaso “believes everything the Bush administration says or infers and nothing from any other source.”

In a little bit of nitpicking, I believe Mr. Alexander meant to write, “implies” instead of “infers.”

“Just to list a few numbers, comparing before the war or May 2003, May 2004 vs. May 2006 that have credibility and give an indication of just how well things are going in Iraq after spending $300-400 billion dollars and 2,500 U.S. service personnel lives:

“- Iraqi civilian deaths: May 2003, 250; May 2006, 1,500.

“- Multi-fatality bombings: May 2003, zero; May 2006, 56.

“- Iraqis kidnapped per day: May 2003, 2; May 2006, 35.

“- Percent of Iraqis optimistic about the future: May 2003, 75 percent; May 2006, 30 percent.

“- Iraqi police officers and soldiers trained and ready in the top two of four readiness tiers: May 2003, zero; May 2005, 20,000; May 2006, 60,000.

“- U.S. troop fatalities: May 2003, 37; May 2006, 68.

“- Oil production (barrels per day): prewar, 2.5 million; May 2003, 300,000; May 2004, 1.9 million; May 2006, 2.1 million.

“- Average electric power from official grid in megawatts: prewar, 4,000; May 2003, 500; May 2004, 3,900; May 2006, 3,800.

“- Estimated number of insurgents: May 2003, 3,000; May 2004, 15,000; May 2006, 20,000.

“- Estimated number of foreign fighters: May 2003, 100; May 2006, 1500.

“- Daily attacks by insurgents: May 2003, 5; May 2004, 53; May 2006, 90.

“- Monthly incidents of sectarian violence: May 2003, 5; May 2004, 10; May 2006, 250.

“With all this effort, sacrifice and costs, the few miles of highway from the airport to the Green Zone in Baghdad are still not safe.”

[RWC] I’m sure Mr. Alexander could have drawn up a similar list during World War II, the Revolutionary War, et cetera.

Here are some points Mr. Alexander failed to note.

· Real elections: pre-war, 0; since 2003, 5.

· Democratic governments: pre-war, 0; since 2003, 1.

· Real income of Iraqis is increasing.

· Iraq’s population is growing as a result of birth rate and Iraqis returning home.

· Electricity demand is growing.

“In 2003, reporters and visitors were able to travel around much of Iraq in relative safety. This has not been the case for years, and the rebuilding has been nearly impossible due to this tragic lack of security.”

[RWC] “In 2003, reporters and visitors were able to travel around much of Iraq in relative safety?” What is Mr. Alexander smoking?

If “the rebuilding has been nearly impossible,” explain the improvements to the infrastructure, including electricity availability, hospitals, schools, Iraq’s only seaport, et cetera.