I read Shithi Kamal’s letter about Iraq (“Media Needs to Cover Both Fronts of Despair in War,” Daily Nexus, Sept. 28) and I agree with some parts of the article but disagree with most.

Yes, the media does have to show more than one side. How often do we hear how much damage and how much Iraqis hate us? How much do we hear about the American casualties? How often do we hear that our Marines and soldiers do not want to be there? That is pretty much all we hear about. You never hear of the hordes of children running up to Marines opening their arms embracing them and thanking them. You never hear of the schoolteachers who come up and thank the Marines for opening up schools and asking what they should because they have only been allowed to teach how “great of a man” Saddam Hussein was. You do not hear these stories.

I bet you have not heard of Capt. Chontosh. Capt. Chontosh was awarded the Navy Cross in Iraq after he drove his convoy into an ambush while taking heavy enemy machine gun fire and ordered his driver to crash the barricade. Capt. Chontosh’s platoon received no casualties, and he single-handedly killed 20 enemies and wounded others. I thought the media was supposed to report the news indiscriminately and tell all sides of the story. This is America, isn’t it?