Some U.S. Media Rosy on Iraq Since Handover-Experts [View All]

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. news outlets are treating the "transfer of power" to Iraqis as a new beginning for the country, even though the situation on the ground seems little altered, experts said on Thursday.

Since the hurried June 28 ceremony at which the United States officially handed sovereignty to an unelected interim government, the bloody insurgency convulsing the country continues to rage and U.S. forces continue to take heavy casualties.

"I've noticed a change in the U.S. coverage, perhaps reflecting the media's feeling that the transfer of power marked the beginning of a new era for Iraq," said Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"In general, there's been a shift in tone in the reporting that conveys a feeling of greater stability and security in Iraq than actually exists," he said.

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