Our
Views: Bush’s defense actually
right this time
War is hell, but as conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage might put
it, “the enemy within” makes
that hell no better.
It seems that, all too often, parts of the media are unfairly undermining current
military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, acting as a metaphorical enemy within
our own American stronghold.
Last week The Associated Press reported that a study for the Pentagon said the
U.S. Army is overextended due to two simultaneous fronts and will probably not
be able to retain and recruit enough new soldiers for the ongoing military efforts.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld disputed the AP report, stating, “The
force is not broken…The world saw the United States military go halfway
around the world in a matter of weeks, throw the Al Qaida and Taliban out of
Afghanistan ...They saw what the United States military did in Iraq…the
message from that is not that this armed force is broken, but that this armed
force is enormously capable.”
The Bush administration is right on this one — for once. Never-mind the
reasons for going to war, which in retrospect seem elusive and wrong.
The goal, now that our men and women are over in the desert, is to win. Both
the American public and American media should concentrate on that instead of
giving half-assed support with such statements like, “We support the troops
but not the war.”
Such statements are a boot to the face for the honorable men and women who have
become part of this Middle Eastern cause.
Too often are media figures like filmmaker Michael Moore victimizing a fighting
force that is completely voluntary. Instead, such people use scare tactics and
panicky buzzwords to unfairly evoke fear in the populace, which in reality is
no different than government propaganda, just
with an alternate message.
How do the soldiers feel when they hear negative reports from journalists who,
unlike them, probably do not have the courage to serve selflessly? How do the
soldiers react when good news from the front (yes, it does happen) is not reported
by stations like CBS, CNN or NBC?
The super arrogant administration rightfully can defend its stance just this
once. There is progress in the war, one step at a time. Things do go wrong in
war and even America’s most famous victories, like WWII’s Normandy
invasion, had their low points. Reporting constantly about bad news, even in
the fast technology age today, does more harm than good.
The people have a right to know what’s going on over there, especially
military families with loved ones abroad. American military forces deserve our
respect. Too many factions of media are not giving them such respect. They are
more concerned with discovering and publishing confidential information vital
for military secrecy or fighting global terrorism.
Most reasonable Americans truly want to this country to succeed in a conflict
that, now started, needs to be finished. Success in Iraq will be beneficial to
both America and the rest of the world.
The real question is do American journalists really have our fighting men and
women in mind when they run stories undermining the war, or are they just thinking
about ratings and circulation? Are they serving inner egos through knowing they
found out how to breach CIA security?
Are they unfairly reporting a war they
have personal issues about while compromising true objectivity?
All of these and more are fair questions to ask when watching television reports
or reading local and national papers.
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