Press_Editorial

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we in effect, declared war? Was I dreaming when I heard the President, the Press, and most of the free world say we were going to war against terrorism and the terrorists of the world? Well, assuming that I was not dreaming, what in the world is the press thinking?

In time of war, rules change, access changes, and frankly, not everything is going to be told of ahead of time. I’m sorry, but General Washisname isn’t going to hold a press conference and say that next Tuesday we are going to sneak up on Binny and the boys and take them out. There has to be a measure of secrecy and the press weenies just can’t seem to understand that. They think that because the First Amendment mentions Freedom of Speech, and thus Freedom of the Press, that they are free to find out whatever they wish and that they are somehow our appointed guardians of truth. Not to be the bearer of bad news (no pun intended!), but the press merely reports the days events. They are not and should not be empowered with the ability to disclose any and all issues, and especially not those where national security is at stake.

Some reporters are sympathetic to many of the restrictions, particularly the one on using soldiers' full names, said Doyle McManus, Washington bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times.

"I don't think identifying fighter pilots by their call signs is a major blow to the First Amendment," McManus said. "The more serious test will be whether down the road we get any information from bombing damage assessments. The question of the effectiveness of bombing measured against whether civilian damage occurs is a serious question that the public deserves a look at."

CIVILIAN DAMAGE??!!! Once again… we ARE in a war aren’t we? Isn’t Afghanistan harboring known and wanted criminals? Aren’t we at war against terrorism? Hasn’t Afghanistan (and every other nation on the planet) been advised that if they harbor terrorists, then they will be treated as terrorists themselves? If so, then effectively, we’re at war against the Afghan “government”, right? And if that’s the case, then the people who don’t want to be at war with us had better get out of the way! In 1945, the US bombed Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto and a host of other cities in Japan and you can be certain there were civilian casualties there as well. As I recall they numbered in the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS. I’m likewise certain that not every one of those civilians had a beef with the US, but do we hear of the complaints that civilians were assuming room temperature then? Not a peep…

It’s time for the press to accept the fact that they are not in the power position they portray themselves as being in. Too many laws, too much liberty and far too much disclosure occurs above the crease of our nations newspapers and one day, it’s gonna get one of the good guys killed!