Are armchair critics running the Iraq War based on media reports?

Do you think the War in Iraq and other conflicts are being lost in American living rooms

Yes we have.

Have we stopped allowing military leaders and elected officials from doing their job based on 30 to 60 seconds of news

Yes

And, do you think the fundamental "patriotic" feelings towards "making the world safe for Democracy" are forever changed because we now see the brutality of the battlefields in our homes while we are having our first cup of coffee and Cheerios

Most deffinitely.

I am not sure that most people within the military who are in policy making positions watch the news. Occasionally to follow a story they might but most of the policy makers read the news from the wall street journal or Washington times from my experience. There is a publication created from news stories called the “Early Bird” which is circulated around to allow people to get the news without all the other crap thrown in.

Having said that – I think the problem most of the leadership is having in Iraq specifically is the “Wishful thinking syndrome” they believe something to be the case and make decisions to further that outcome.

The American people for the most part have stopped watching the news on tv. Look at the statistics in viewership drop since the conflict began in 2003 – most national news networks have lost up to 20% of “regular viewers”. This is due to the shift to reporting the hour by hour stuff rather than a news overview and having specific news stories get more depth. Currently the average American is getting his/her news from the internet and unfortunately quite a few of them are using blogs to get it.

I also submit for consideration that the “average middle class” American still wants everyone in the world to live at his standard of living and would support intervention to help spread this process.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein

America lost in Vietnam as it will in Iraq due to inept government policies, not the soldiers who fought these wars. Bush is just like Johnson, refusing to listen to the military advisers etc. out of stubbornness because they didn't want to admit their mistakes. Americans can only vote these Presidents in or out. Watching bloodbaths on the news isn't the reason these wars persist.

Armchair Critics: That's a twist, We were not that when it came to asking for our support ( agreeable opinion ) in signatures, votes and other royalties. Is this a Selective participation rule?