I am curious to find out where the notion came from that the Iraqi conflict we are involved with would be a "cake walk”, whatever a "cake walk” actually is. I assume that it means the easy completion of whatever the action at hand may be. As we are talking about a military action, a conflict, a war, I am not sure the term "cake walk” is an appropriate term to use for describing the violent means to an end that avoided a diplomatic solution. The term itself brings an air of nonchalance to mind and war should never be thought of in a nonchalant manner, ever. If we start to think that war is a "cake walk” I fear for humanity as a whole.

But getting back to the verbiage being used in the media reports of late that suggest the action in Iraq is some how turning from a "cake walk” into something more serious, the more common word being used is a quagmire, I am curious as to where this idea came from.

President Bush never said that the military campaign in Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, would be a "cake walk”. Quite the opposite, all he has been saying since the idea came to the forefront is that it would be a much longer and much more dangerous campaign then everyone may think. He has gone to great lengths, each time he speaks, to be brutally honest with the American people and the people of the world who would choose to listen about the dangers of what we were about to embark on and the fact that no one can ever know how long something like this might take. He is very steadfast in his assertion that we all prepare ourselves for the inevitability of American and coalition casualties, wounded and POW’s. He has never shied away from the truth of the matter and in fact he has never really changed the words he uses when he speaks about the endeavor. So, to those who say that the president is changing his stance on the "cake walk” issue I would have to say that you have your facts wrong and should pretty much refrain from spreading malicious rumors, unless of course you are Terry McAuliffe in which case just about everything that comes out of your mouth is a malicious rumor.

Secretary of State Colin Powell never said that the military action would be a "cake walk”. When he sat before the United Nations Security Council trying to convince them to put some teeth into Resolution 1441, showing them picture after picture of contraband weaponry that the Iraqi military possessed and playing intercepted cellular and satellite phone conversations between Iraqi military officers discussing what to do with the biochemical weaponry should the inspectors come calling, he insisted that because of the danger of the weaponry they possess any military action would have to be well thought out and patiently executed. I find it hard to find any indication in his words that would lead even the most feebleminded of persons to think that the military action would be a "cake walk”.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has repeatedly said that even though the operation was "on schedule” that we, the American public and the people of the world, should be prepared for a more lengthy commitment to the liberation of Iraq and the demolition of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. "Cake walk” was never mentioned. Kenneth Adelman, a Rumsfeld underling used the phrase in passing during a December interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer but his boss, Don Rumsfeld, swiftly corrected his assertion. He was corrected and the world moved on.

Even the opposition, Saddam Hussein and his generals, have said that if the coalition forces come into their country that it would be a long drawn out affair with many dead and wounded although I don’t believe that they envisioned themselves being the dead and the wounded in mass at this point…silly Iraqi regime.

No, as far as I can tell, with the exception of one subordinate in the Defense Department who was quickly corrected by a superior who happens to be a cabinet member, no one of any real consequence has ever said that the military conflict in Iraq was going to be a "cake walk” especially in days since the start of military action, which puts us back at square one. Who is using the term "cake walk” to describe the Iraqi conflict and the time the coalition forces are having with it? If this were the 1970’s I suppose I would be asking who used the term "cake walk” and when did they start using it ala Watergate. The only suspect left would be the mainstream media and somehow that comes as no surprise to me.

In this age when reporters carrying phones that double as cameras are embedded into the military units that are on the front lines, the media has come to expect everything to happen right now. With each technological step into the future they have come to demand instant gratification and immediate results. Gone are the days when distance, time zones and location were all factors as to when a report could be filed. So, too, is the practice of getting several sources for a story before it airs. But with pictures of it happening right in front of you, as it happens, sometimes multiple sources aren’t needed. Today the action is brought right into the living room in real time with the real stuff. I’m not talking about the behind the lines reporting that we all got used to while we were watching the Gulf War or even the Vietnam War for that matter, I am talking about reports from the frontlines; bullets whizzing by and munitions exploding directly in front of our faces as we sit comfortably in our living rooms pontificating about what is right and wrong and what we would do or not do. The media has become this veracious information-eating machine in the quest to get the most and newest news to the consumer (the public) as quickly as possible and before the other media outlets can do it. They settle for nothing less than being the fastest, the first and at times the most undiscriminating. It is amazing that they haven’t asked the targeted to stand up and be shot already because there is a deadline around the corner. The evening news doesn’t wait for just anyone, you know. I guess sometimes people just don’t die fast enough for the modern day news media.

The amazing, and sometimes troubling thing about today’s media is the fact that they have become so adept at creating a story and passing it off as factual, like this "cake walk” notion. In this time of military action no one said that it would be swift and easy, not that anyone can recall but it is a featured story in the New York Times. "In Speech To Military Aides, Bush Shies From Quick End”, one story’s title read. Now we all know he never said it would be a "cake walk” but the New York Times has decided to infer it anyway. Of course this shouldn’t surprise anyone, the New York Times tends to lean to the left and has been critical of President Bush in the past but still, does that give them the right to infer that things are said that have not been? Truly, I believe that this is stretching some ethical limits regarding the right to free speech. Perhaps dropping that multiple source requirement for a story wasn’t the wisest thing or perhaps the modern day editors are a bit looser with their reporters getting the facts straight before putting a piece to bed. But then the public accepts it so what can be the harm, right?

Well, there can be a lot of harm done by creating news stories. When someone can publish a story using words that have been said by no one, but which coaxes the readers into falsely believing a statement is the truth, well now, that’s a propaganda machine that even Saddam Hussein would be envious of, but then we ARE talking about the modern day mainstream media and the New York Times.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.