Reply #2: Keep this in mind when you read articles

[Igel]

written by Westerners purporting to have spoken to the "Iraqi on the street" in Baghdad and to be presenting a nice, clear, unbiased view of those who are unbiased (unless the goal of the article is to show bias in the views of Ahmed Sixpack).

Most of the time "John Smith" does the writing but silently uses material provided by stringers, Iraqis out collecting information in a thoroughly biased and sectarian world, always with the unspoken assumption that while they live in a sectarian city they are uniquely free from any taint of sectarian bias.

The rest of the time the reporter is accompanied by armed thugs, plausibly leading the interviewee to say whatever the translator or the reporter implicitly hints he wants to hear.

However, the nature of the game that Dehghanpisheh relates applies also to Dehghanpisheh, leading to a bit more indeterminacy that most people can swallow.