Through the first 10 months of 2007, the news media's picture of Iraq was painted mostly in bleak colors. But reports about daily attacks declined in late summer and fall, as did the amount of coverage from Iraq overall.
Journalists covering Iraq -- mostly veteran war correspondents -- give their reporting a generally positive assessment but describe conditions there as the most perilous they have ever encountered.
Extensive reliance in the Iraq conflict on military forces hired by private firms is a significant new element in 21St Century warfare. But what does the American public know about this phenomenon?
