For an undeniable instance of liberal spin by the mainstream media, look no further than the coverage of the Marine who shot a wounded Iraqi insurgent on November 14. Portrayal of this story shows the usual disregard for moral and credible journalism that we have come to expect from major media outlets. Also, it confirms that the American Left is still Hell-bent on indicting President Bush for U.S. involvement in Iraq, whatever the cost. As a refresher, said footage was shot by imbedded NBC reporter Kevin Sites, who captured a Marine shooting a possibly unarmed and wounded man lying on the floor of a Fallujah mosque. The networks and media outlets jumped on this footage immediately, replaying it as though it was the Macarena in the 1990s. Understandably, some public outrage ensued: how could an American soldier kill an unarmed Iraqi? How could anybody let this happen?

Two weeks later the exact circumstances of the shooting are still murky – but several things are crystal clear. It is clear that Americans have been wounded and killed by booby-trapped insurgents who were wounded, dead or pretending to be dead. It is clear that U.S. forces have faced fire from inside of mosques and from children and have uncovered endless caches of weapons intended for them. It is also clear from Sites’ own words – the most complete first-hand account to date – that there was general confusion regarding the insurgents in the Mosque and that the Marine expressed remorse and fear minutes after he pulled the trigger. It is also apparent that the military is handling the incident swiftly and properly. The Marine in question was immediately pulled from combat and a complete internal investigation is being conducted. Essentially, there is little that can rationally be concluded until more information is known. Meanwhile, the American people are left with the real crime needless hand-wringing intended to guilt supporters of the war and twist an unfortunate happening into the fault of the Bush Administration. The Left would love nothing more than to blame the Marine’s action on shoddy military training that was somehow condoned by Secretary Rumsfeld and supported by President Bush. If Dan Rather didn’t “retire” this week, somebody might find a memo from Secretary Rumsfeld requesting that U.S. soldiers shoot any wounded Iraqis that they encounter.

Out of the anti-Bush left’s delusion about the realities of the terrorism, an interesting dichotomy has emerged: while denying that the War on Terror is real, they seek to damn America for the deaths of thousands overseas. We are told video of 9/11 and of insurgents actions against U.S. workers are too painful to be continually shown; yet when any negative story about Americans surfaces, visuals are replayed without discretion. Regardless of the strategy leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, America is now fighting the War on Terror daily in Iraq. We face enemy combatants, not simply criminals, who have demonstrated a desire to humiliate, torture and kill U.S. and foreign civilians at will. But the media wants America to forget about this and feel responsible for the actions of a select few. Despite its inability to defeat President Bush over the last four years, the Left is still stuck on the strategy of using shocking events to turn sentiment against the Administration. Instead of focusing on positive messages and re-energizing their jaded base, they insist on continuing the approach that continues to reduce popularity among the majority of Americans. Unfortunately for America, such reform doesn’t appear to be on the Left’s agenda anytime soon.