ABC news special, "To Iraq and Back," on Bob Woodruff, co-anchor of World News Tonight, airs tonight...

Nytimes article today reads, "His injury was a huge story and a milestone in the public’s perception of the war; it was already all too obvious that soldiers, American and Iraqi, were wounded and killed by roadside bombs and ambushes every day. But the explosion that injured Mr. Woodruff and, to a lesser extent, Doug Vogt, a cameraman, dramatically brought home how vulnerable all Americans, even visiting anchors, are over there."

This reminded me of what Deborah talked about last week about the disconnect between the American public and the soldiers in Iraq. The article implies that the American public is desensitized to news of soldiers dying everyday, but when a reporter or cameraman gets injured is when the public feels "vulnerable." Reports on the war are often limited to explosions/attacks with a dead or injured number attached and a comment from an officer. Portraying the soldiers as an entity or a number in effect dehumanizes the indivual soldier and desensitizes us as an public.