Sliming American troops

Boston Globe ^ | February 14, 2005 | Cathy Young

[Radix]

Jordan stated that a number of journalists had been killed by the US military in Iraq and that some of those killings were intentional, not ''collateral damage." Representative Frank and others sharply questioned him on whether he was saying that American forces had deliberately targeted members of the press. Jordan replied that what he meant was that some journalists were killed intentionally rather than accidentally --

[sitkaspruce]

Remarkable when you think about it. Jourdan was outed by none other than Barney Frank.

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

I haven't really noticed Frank being obnoxious about Iraq like alot of other DIMS, either.

[joedelta]

Mainstream journalists should resist the temptation to view Jordan as a victim of a right-wing lynch mob. His fatal wound was ultimately self-inflicted. And, if the ''old media" don't learn some lessons from this incident, there will be more such wounds.

I'll be danged, she actually gets it.

Question is, will the MSM learn from this or invest in chocolate covered shoes.

[Radix]

I was actually surprised to see this in today's Globe. Cathy Young is a contributer to Reason magazine which is a place that I do not frequent.

Last week her column slammed Eric Alterman and he was pissed, and actually wrote a letter to the editor over the matter.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2005/02/09/phony_accusation_of_anti_semitism/


http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/02/07/when_jews_wax_anti_semitic/

[7.62 x 51mm]

"...chocolate covered shoes."

LOL! What a turn of a phrase, j.

[cake_crumb]

Oh, the irony. A Clintonista outted the head of the Clinton News Network, and the Internet is credited publically as the new media. I'm in shock.

[joedelta]

Thanx

[Cicero]

It's the job of journalists to report the truth, and it's our right and obligation as American citizens to know what is being done in our name. If a network news chief has evidence that the US military has deliberately killed or tortured journalists, the network should be reporting it and the government should be investigating it.

This is not entirely true. In time of war the media should be extremely reluctant to report in great (and sometimes lying) detail about allied crimes or errors, as long as the military is already taking care of the problem. The truth can be told later, when the war is over and passions have calmed.

For example, CBS and others raised the Abu Ghraib story not in order to spread the truth or assure justice, but plain and simple to smear Bush and his administatration and to try to get Rumsfeld fired. The military was ALREADY investigating Abu Ghraib, and the court martials would have taken place without any media interference. All they succeeded in doing was to give our enemies propaganda ammunition and to ensure that more Americans and other foreigners in Iraq trying to help the people there would be kidnapped and have their heads cut off.

The media have an obligation to print the truth; but they also have an obligation to show reasonable discretion in time of war. They have repeatedly failed on both accounts.