Have We Forgotten About Iraq?

Stephen Colbert has launched a calculated multimedia initiative to honor the American soldiers that are still fighting in Iraq and to remind Americans that there are still soldiers fighting in Iraq. Has American really forgotten about them?

The Answer: Yes and No.

Operations in Iraq have resulted in fewer fatalities while concern for international peace has shifted to areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Korea. At the same time the new President has been dealing with an economic shit storm here at home. Not to mention healthcare, education, unemployment and the collapse of the automobile industry. At some point Iraq took a backseat to more pressing social, political and economic issues.

I'm not debating the appropriateness of this hierarchy, I'm simply reiterating that Iraq is still somewhere on that list. I think that Colbert is trying to do the same, albeit with a wealth of resources and the international spotlight at his disposal.

This week Colbert is filming his show in one of Saddam's former palaces in Baghdad. The set is amazingly patriotic, the crowd is massive and the respect and humor he brings to the troops is evident in every furl of his brow.

I especially enjoy his opening monologue in which he delivers audience appropriate jokes while holding a #7 driver over his shoulder. The club plays homage to the work Bob Hope did as a USO entertainer and the golf club he famously held during many of his performances. Although I can’t imagine that hitting the links has gotten much easier seeing as how Baghdad is smack in the middle of the world’s largest sand trap.

In addition to his broadcast from Iraq, Colbert guest edited this week's issue of Newsweek Magazine. With the permission of Jon Meacham (Editor) and the help of Newsweek staff (as mentioned in "Top of the Week") Colbert crafted an issue dedicated to the unique perspectives of individuals touched by the Iraq war and how it has shaped their lives and molded their futures.

Though Stephen happily accepts all the credit for the composition of this issue, it shows great growth on the part of the Newsweek staff to think outside the gloss. NW has been undergoing big changes and its effort to respond to consumer demand is evident on both its pages and its website.

While I don't see guest editing as a frequent solution to the uncertain news media horizon I think that this issue reveals a new side of Newsweek and I enjoyed the change of pace. Above all I think that the message was well executed. Soldiers, veterans and their families are dealing with this war in ways we need to recognize and understand. The debate is no longer over the validity of the war, but the depth of its effect on its participants and how they are cared for and honored as we bring the war to a close.