Sanchez: Media's Reporting of Iraq War Endangered Soldiers' Lives

WASHINGTON — The former top commander of coalition forces in Iraq may have called U.S. efforts there catastrophically flawed and unrealistically optimistic, but much of the criticism of the media by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez has been left unreported.

In his speech to the Military Reporters and Editors Association in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Sanchez accused reporters of "unscrupulous reporting, solely focused on supporting an agenda and preconceived notions of the U.S. military."

Without naming a specific company, Sanchez said "parent media organizations" have political agendas that direct the news coverage of the war and in some cases put U.S. service members in deadly situations.

"What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our service members who are at war. My assessment is that your profession, to some, has strayed from these ethical standards and allowed external agendas to manipulate what the American public sees on TV, reads in newspapers and what they see on the Web," Sanchez said.

In his speech Friday, Sanchez took aim at nearly everyone in Washington — from Congress to the State Department, the National Security Council to the Pentagon — for the conduct of the war, which he said had become "a nightmare with no end in sight." He also saved no criticism for the current surge policy proposed by current Multinational Forces in Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus and seen largely as a success.

RelatedStories Ex- U.S. General: Iraq a 'Nightmare' Video The Other Sanchez Complaint "The latest 'revised strategy' is a desperate attempt by an administration that has not accepted the political and economic realities of this war and they have definitely not communicated that reality to the American people," he said.

For those who haven't seen them, here are the comments from LTG Sanchez about the press, from our friends over at Powerline. (I'm sorry the capitalizations aren't right. Also, I took the liberty of adding emphasis at one point with bold type.)

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen

Some of you may not believe this but i am glad to be here. When sig asked me if i would consider addressing you there was no doubt that i should come into the lion's den. This was important because i have firmly believed since desert shield that it is necessary for the strength of our democracy that the military and the press corps maintain a strong, mutually respectful and enabling relationship. This continues to be problematic for our country, especially during times of war. One of the greatest military correspondents of our time, joe galloway, made me a believer when he joined the 24th infantry division during desert storm.

Today, i will attempt to do two things - first i will give you my assessment of the military and press relationship and then i will provide you some thoughts on the current state of our war effort. As all of you know i have a wide range of relationships and experiences with our nations military writers and editors. There are some in your ranks who i consider to be the epitome of journalistic professionalism - joe galloway, thom shanker, sig christensen, and john burns immediately come to mind. They exemplify what america should demand of our journalists - tough reporting that relies upon integrity, objectivity and fairness to give accurate and thorough accounts that strengthen our freedom of the press and in turn our democracy. On the other hand, unfortunately, i have issued ultimatums to some of you for unscrupulous reporting that was solely focused on supporting your agenda and preconcieved notions of what our military had done. I also refused to talk to the european stars and stripes for the last two years of my command in germany for their extreme bias and single minded focus on abu gharaib.

Let me review some of the descriptive phrases that have been used by some of you that have made my personal interfaces with the press corps difficult:

"dictatorial and somewhat dense",

"not a strategic thought",

Liar,

"does not get it" and

The most inexperienced ltg.

In some cases i have never even met you, yet you feel qualified to make character judgments that are communicated to the world. My experience is not unique and we can find other examples such as the treatment of secretary brown during katrina. This is the worst display of journalism imaginable by those of us that are bound by a strict value system of selfless service, honor and integrity. Almost invariably, my perception is that the sensationalistic value of these assessments is what provided the edge that you seek for self agrandizement or to advance your individual quest for getting on the front page with your stories! As i understand it, your measure of worth is how many front page stories you have written and unfortunately some of you will compromise your integrity and display questionable ethics as you seek to keep america informed. This is much like the intelligence analysts whose effectiveness was measured by the number of intelligence reports he produced. For some, it seems that as long as you get a front page story there is little or no regard for the "collateral damage" you will cause. Personal reputations have no value and you report with total impunity and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct.

Given the near instantaneous ability to report actions on the ground, the responsibility to accurately and truthfully report takes on an unprecedented importance. The speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media appears to be rapidly becoming the standard of the industry. An arab proverb states - "four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past, the neglected opportunity." once reported, your assessments become conventional wisdom and nearly impossible to change. Other major challenges are your willingness to be manipulated by "high level officials" who leak stories and by lawyers who use hyperbole to strenghten their arguments. Your unwillingness to accurately and prominently correct your mistakes and your agenda driven biases contribute to this corrosive environment. All of these challenges combined create a media environment that does a tremendous disservice to america. Over the course of this war tactically insignificant events have become strategic defeats for america because of the tremendous power and impact of the media and by extension you the journalist. In many cases the media has unjustly destroyed the individual reputations and careers of those involved. We realize that because of the near real time reporting environment that you face it is difficult to report accurately. In my business one of our fundamental truths is that "the first report is always wrong." unfortunately, in your business "the first report" gives americans who rely on the snippets of cnn, if you will, their "truths" and perspectives on an issue. As a corollary to this deadline driven need to publish "initial impressions or observations" versus objective facts there is an additional challenge for us who are the subject of your reporting. When you assume that you are correct and on the moral high ground on a story because we have not respond to questions you provided is the ultimate arrogance and distortion of ethics. One of your highly repected fellow journalists once told me that there are some amongst you who "feed from a pig's trough." if that is who i am dealing with then i will never respond otherwise we will both get dirty and the pig will love it. This does not mean that your story is accurate.

I do not believe that this is what our forefathers intended. The code of ethics for the society of professional journalists states:
...public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility

The basic ethics of a journalist that calls for:

1. Seeking truth,

2. Providing fair and comprehensive account of events and issues

3. Thoroughness and honesty

All are victims of the massive agenda driven competition for economic or political supremacy. The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parent organizations who have chosen to align themselves with political agendas. What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our servicemembers who are at war.

My assessment is that your profession, to some extent, has strayed from these ethical standards and allowed external agendas to manipulate what the american public sees on tv, what they read in our newspapers and what they see on the web. For some of you, just like some of our politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your own preconceived notions, biases and agendas.

It is astounding to me when i hear the vehement disagreement with the military's forays into information operations that seek to disseminate the truth and inform the iraqi people in order to counter our enemy's blatant propaganda. As i assess various media entities, some are unquestionably engaged in political propaganda that is uncontrolled. There is no question in my mind that the strength our democracy and our freedoms remain linked to your ability to exercise freedom of the press - i adamantly support this basic foundation of our democracy and completely supported the embedding of media into our formations up until my last day in uniform. The issue is one of maintaining professional ethics and standards from within your institution. Military leaders must accept that these injustices will happen and whether they like what you print or not they must deal with you and enable you, if you are an ethical journalist.

Finally, i will leave this subject with a question that we must ask ourselves--who is responsible for maintaining the ethical standards of the profession in order to ensure that our democracy does not continue to be threatened by this dangerous shift away from your sacred duty of public enlightenment?

Here is an oldie but goody...

May 26, 2004

Media Calling: “We Will Bury You!”
Marcus Goldman, MD

In referring to the projected triumph of his despotic dynasty over our American democracy, Nikita Khrushchev once boldly proclaimed: “We will bury you!” Like now, the world was a scary place. Khrushchev’s statement was really meant to serve as a psychological weapon, designed to lessen the will and resolve of the American people. It did not work then...but his ideas are working now. The Soviets were masters of deception-often burying News stories, doctoring photographs to delete those who had fallen out of favor with the party and deciding for the people what they could know. Likewise, those currently in control of our media are masters of deception, doing their best to bury, erase and dissolve critical pieces of information. The danger to democracy is incalculable.

When a democrat acts like a republican, his story sinks. But a republican who acts like a democrat garners unprecedented media love and admiration. Senator Joseph Lieberman abhorred Abu Ghraib incidents yet staunchly maintained his support for the war and troops. He warned that failure in Iraq would have serious national security consequences . He supports strong national defense and unyielding support for terrorist-crushing Israel-even demanding that the U.S. embassy be moved to Jerusalem. Lieberman rallies against “freedom from religion.” Lieberman’s stories, like his presidential bid, have been erased. Senator John McCain, the darling of the liberal media, like Lieberman, takes stances contrary to the party line. His recent call for increased taxes, colluding with the VP rumor mill and preoccupation with Abu Ghraib smack of the stuff Democrats are made of. Yet he floats to the top of the media pool. I am sending Lieberman $100.

Some-a few, have asked why former Clinton administration deputy attorney general Jamie Gorelick still seated at the 9/11 commission table, instead of sitting in the witness chair. The author of the now famous “wall” document effectively forbade law enforcement from interfacing with intelligence agencies. Incomprehensively, her story was dead on arrival. At the same time, persistently testifying Donald Rumsfeld has been skewered by an angry press bent on seeing him collect unemployment.

Why are atrocities committed against Israelis rarely reported? Israelis of all ages are mutilated weekly. Astute Israeli forces using incredible ingenuity thwart dozens of attacks. These stories never hit the media radar screen. But when the IDF inadvertently kills a Palestinian civilian used as a human shield by a terrorist in a dense city or knocks down “homes” used to smuggle Jew killing weaponry, the media does an appalling Palestinian human interest story. Likewise, why is the welfare of U.S. troops placed in jeopardy by constant imagery of Iraqis with panties over their faces? Where are the photographs of U.S. troops caring for sick Iraqis? Where is the documentary piece on our rebuilding successes? The several remaining moderate Arabs left are being turned against us by who?

How about language skills? Fading away into the media abyss is waffling Presidential candidate John Kerry’s astoundingly incomprehensible comments on abortion-in well spoken English. He could be for Pro-choice judges but then also be against them. Amazing! Coming into always sharpening media focus, however, is President Bush’s supposedly poor performances at press conferences and his scrambling of the English language. Waffles versus scrambled eggs-you decide.

In offering classic Jew bashing propaganda, Senator Hollings, a member of the diverse, inclusive, compassionate Democrat party, obtained a free media pass. His reprehensible essay citing George Bush’s supposed obsession with the Jewish vote as reason to go to war is good old fashioned anti-Semitism. Senator Hollings’ story never even existed. Trent Lott‘s comments to a declining Strom Thurmond, on the other hand, resulted in media rage and ultimately, his resignation.

There is more. A robust economy buried in the service of high gas price stories. U.N. oil for food scandal replaced by Halliburton conspiracy stories. Our continued successes in hunting down Al-Qaida replaced by Michael Moore‘s “Bush Loves Osama” piece of fiction. President Bush’s commitment of billions of dollars to fight Aids in Africa replaced by images of placard carrying Bush hating leftists. Where are the stories detailing the lack of anti-Semitism from “The Passion of the Christ?” Why are we peppered with gun control stories while 80,000 gallons of bomb making chemicals found in Jordan find no headline? Iraq’s sarin gas shells? What about Liberal Air America’s call for the President’s killing replaced by detractors of the patriot act who insist that their freedom of speech has been squelched?

With important stores blotted out of existence, the quest for truth is made far more challenging. Buried by the media is, amongst other things, most everything good about our country. The media’s agenda to devalue to our resolve, make us feel badly about who we are, disrupt the democratic process and limit our ability to freely form opinions based on un-doctored fact, is obvious. Khrushchev’s philosophy is living within the very media outlets given the privilege of keeping us informed. The messenger may be different, but the message is sure the same.

###

Marcus J.Goldman, M.D. is a Harvard trained psychiatrist, author of three books including “The Joy of Fatherhood” (Crown) and Kleptomania (New Horizon). He has appeared on Larry King Live, Bill O’Reilly and in dozens of popular magazines including Time and People. His political works have appeared in The Washington Times, Tech Central Station, Men’s News Daily and The Boston Herald. Dr. Goldman is married and has 5 children.

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