The absence of news that used to be hot and heavy in news cycles heavily suggests propaganda

[quinnox]

3. they do post these scare stories on occasion

probably it helps to get ratings/sell newspapers.

The BS-ing really goes into overdrive during military conflicts, like the Jessica Lynch fake story is a notable example.

The military knows they can tell lies because the American public by and large are patriotic and will believe it.

Another one I find fishy is that Saddam was found hiding in a hole, for example. It was a perfect tv moment, almost like what you would want in a climactic movie scene, and I think it was very likely faked. There was a story from a marine that was supposedly there who said it was a set up, but it ran in dubious sources and so didn't get much attention.

A more recent one that I had questions about was the killing of bin Laden. I don't know what really happened there, but I doubt we will ever find out the truth. No body, quickly disposed of at sea, no camera shots of him dead, "Oh, we can't release the picture, it would be too traumatic! Think of the children!"

Give me a friggin' break, that makes zero sense. Something stinks about everything surrounding bin Laden, not just his death either.