The war on Iraq has become the favorite television genre of our generation, much as westerns were to the baby boomers. The difference is that war is a real atrocity and should not be glorified on television.

I am wholeheartedly against the abundant press coverage of this war which unnecessarily allots every soldier 15 minutes of fame. War is a horrifying reality that should under no circumstances be likened to a war movie. Children growing up in this generation will not be able to tell the difference between press coverage on CNN and a war movie on HBO. I can hardly tell the difference. Our reporters are on the front lines with our troops, yet have no military training. They are riding on the back of tanks, crouching in ditches and sleeping outside. Journalists have already been killed or are missing in the first three weeks of battle.

Reporters are telling stories that sell newspapers, citing the U.S. defeats over Iraqi ones. There have been numerous reports about suicide bombers, irregular soldiers and prisoners of war. In reality, as of April 1, coalition casualties totaled only 72 and Iraqi television has reported thousands of Iraqi injuries and deaths.

This war's press coverage is like the Vietnam War, where the press reported on extreme war atrocities, resulting in domestic opposition to the war. The New York Times is citing numerous accounts of friendly fire and Iraqi civilian casualties. There is not enough opposition to the war already without the press lending a hand.