Don't overdose on TV war coverage...
The constantly changing kaleidoscope of live warfare beamed out of Iraq by hundreds of broadcast journalists has captured the attention of most Americans, but some are starting to suffer collateral damage to their mental health, experts say.
"People feel that the more information they have, the more they're going to feel some sense of control. But there's no way to master all the information and competing opinions coming from the television news programming," said Dr. Jason Kornrich, director of outpatient mental health services at Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, N.Y.
"It just kind of leads to one big emotional mess in people who focus too heavily on it."
Going into the weekend, ratings for all news cable channels were up several hundred percent each, while the telecast for Sunday night's Oscars drew the fewest viewers ever recorded...more [Seattle P-I]
I have found this to be so true. I have to turn the TV off for a while and focus on other things. THe other reality is that the coverage gives so many false impressions. Helmut von Moltke said that "No plan survives meeting the enemy." The battlefield is so fluid, and a good commander will always be seeking ways to surprise the enemy.
We are less than a week into this campaign, and so far the casualty numbers are very low. If you subtract accidental deaths we are talking less then two dozen deaths so far. That's simply amazing when you think about the realities of what we are doing. It speaks well to the training, equipment, and planning for this war. The conclusion of this war is not in doubt, and never has been in doubt. The only mystery is just how long it will take, exactly how many casualtys we will suffer, and how many Iraqis will have to die before it ends...mj
10:23:32 AM 
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