Liberal Lips Put Troops at Risk

New York Post (print edition) ^ | November 7, 2001 | Jack Kelly

[Woodman]

Emphasis Mine. I think this article speaks quite well for itself and really can’t add more at this point.

[scooter2]

Loren Jenkens, senior foreign editor of National Public Radio, has told his reporters to report the location of U.S. troops as soon as they find out where they are.

Mr. Jenkins,
Does the word "treason" mean anything to you?

[prognostigaator]

Consider the genius who at a press briefing suggested to Rumsfeld that he drop leaflets in advance of an air strike to warn people that a strike was imminent.

A dumbfounded Rumsfeld was speechless for several seconds as he formulated a reply. Typical thought by a J-school college graduate...

In this 24/7 news cycle Paul Revere's midnight ride warning ' The British are coming , the British are coming! would instead be-on the leaflets proposed.-"The Americans are coming, the Americans are coming!

[mattdono]

I was getting ready to write a little article/paper on treason vs. freedom of speech/press and post on FR. I wouldn't be surprised if this has already been written by a much more knowledgable person.

Has anyone seen a definitive article on when "the line" of freedom of speech/press is crossed?

For instance, the Islamic professor at U of South Florida; when he called for "death to America". Isn't this a treasonous statement? Could he be considered a "threat to national security" and "taken out"?

[mattdono]

Loren Jenkens, senior foreign editor of National Public Radio, has told his reporters to report the location of U.S. troops as soon as they find out where they are.

Isn't this a clear example of a "threat to our national security" (in the form of American soldiers)?

Why is this person alive still? At minimum, why are they employed, most particularly by NPR?

This absolutely boggles my mind.

[babyface00]

"Loren Jenkens, senior foreign editor of National Public Radio, has told his reporters to report the location of U.S. troops as soon as they find out where they are.

Mr. Jenkins, Does the word "treason" mean anything to you?"

Mr. Jenkins seems to have missed the words "National" and "Public" in the name of his employer.

[jpthomas]

A similar issue was covered yesterday evening on Special Report with Brit Hume. Brit discussed with a guest how the press corps covered WWII and Korea. Here's a link and an excerpt from Fox New's website:

Special Report with Brit Hume

An article in the Los Angeles Times notes that American journalism did not have the free access to Allied missions during World War II that some have claimed. Indeed, according to Robert Lichter and Trevor Butterworth of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, World War II reporters had to join the armed forces and wear uniforms in order to be accredited, and many actually trained with the troops. Their reports were subject to censorship.

And during the Korean War, where there was no censorship at first, reporters inadvertently revealed so much sensitive information that they actually pleaded with General Douglas Macarthur to impose censorship, and supported the decision when he did.

My, how times have changed!

[Yankee]

It's time to defund and bury NPR.

It's a taxpayer financed enemy propaganda forum.

They wouldn't last five seconds if they had to be self-supporting.

[mvscal]

Actually, there is nothing in that article that would support the claim that "liberal lips put troops at risk".

So what's it going to be? Is the liberal media ignorant, stupid and incompetant or are they putting troops at risk? You can't have it both ways. If all they're doing is pumping out a confusing mish-mash of spin and BS, they can't very well be putting troops at risk. Nor does asking stupid questions at a press conference put troops at risk. The only people who can put troops at risk are the military people who are actually in a position to know what's going on. Sorry, but you can't pin this on the liberal media.

[PhiKapMom]

With a handful of exceptions, such as Tom Ricks of The Washington Post and Jamie McIntyre of CNN (a rose in a patch of weeds) most of the journalists covering this war aren’t quite sure from which end of the rifle the round comes.

This is so true! Just a sidenote -- Tom Ricks was one of the few journalists and I say that word "journalist" with respect to follow up on the military not getting their ballots counted in Florida last year and then wrote a story for the Washington Post that had interviews with people that did not have their ballots counted!

[Maceman]

Loren Jenkens, senior foreign editor of National Public Radio, has told his reporters to report the location of U.S. troops as soon as they find out where they are. “I don’t represent the government,” Jenkins said, when asked about the possible harm this policy might do to U.S. troops, “I represent history.”

"I don't represent the government. I just get paid by it."

Another good argument for defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

[mvscal]

I don't know about Vietnam, but it was done in the Gulf War before we dropped daisy cutters. We told them we were about to drop the world's largest conventional explosive on them and that now might be a good time to break out the white flags.

[Woodman]

"Actually, there is nothing in that article that would support the claim that "liberal lips put troops at risk."

Well I didn't title the editorial, but you happen to be right. What is well stated in it is that "Liberal Lips [WOULD] put troops at risk" if they had the information to do it.

Chalk one up for Rummy and company for protecting the Troops from the media as well as the other enemy.

[Woodman]

Different audience. Sadam’s troops couldn't move back because they would have been shot be the Republican Guard, and they couldn't move forward without being slaughtered. Dropping leaflets was a humanitarian gesture that gave them a chance to live versus dying. If we did this in Vietnam or Afghanistan the troops would simply move somewhere else and watch the fireworks show.

Unless were field a ground force capable of restricting movement of the Taliban, the only way to achieve our goals by bombing it to kill as many as possible. Hence pre-warning anyone (even innocent civilians) would prolong the conflict and risk more lives in the long run.

[mvscal]

Hence pre-warning anyone (even innocent civilians) would prolong the conflict and risk more lives in the long run.

Unless, of course, we lie and drop the bombs early. ;)

[alnick]

Exactly who do we write to to complain about NPR? I don't understand why a liberal propoganda machine is funded by taxpayers to begin with. Now they want to put the lives of our service men at risk for the "noble" cause of history?

Is there a particular committee that is in charge of decision making when it comes to NPR?

[alnick]

You must have missed the part about NPR's intentions to broadcoast troop positions as soon as they get the information.

[Woodman]

“Treason” seems to be an antiquated and obsolete concept when it comes to most journalists and unfortunately many Americans.