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Soldiers as news agents

26 comments on Soldiers as news agents

Soldiers as news agents

: Drudge says an embedded reporter coached the soldiers who met with Rumsfeld yesterday and planted the question about GIs having to dig through dumps to find metal to armor their vehicles. What do we think of that? On the one hand, it’s a reporter using a soldier behind the scenes. On the other hand, judging by the reaction to the question (which sounded enthusiastic), it seems the point is legit. On the other other hand, if the reporter hadn’t coached the soldier would the question have been asked and would the story today be that soldiers gave Rumsfeld hell…..

26 responses to “Soldiers as news agents”

  1. Richard Bennett Avatar
    Richard Bennett

    This is bad because the media is supposed to report the news, not make it. I went to the Watergate hearings with a press pass and saw Daniel Schoor tell Sen. Lowell Weicker what questions to ask. Schoor had motivation since he was on the Enemies List and was therefore already part of the news. But this is more egregious, so the offending reporter should be shipped to Gitmo on a one-way ticket; or maybe assigned to help Rather write his memoirs.

  2. Angelos Avatar
    Angelos

    This is great. The ends justify the means. That seems to be the Bush doctrine, and turnabout is always good to see.
    The reporter got the ball rolling with two questions, and other soldiers joined in with their own.
    Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney have insulated themselves from any type of questioning for 4 years, failure after failure. I’m just surprised there were no loyalty oaths required of the attendees.
    Hell, on Wednesday, we had to FRISK OUR OWN SOLDIERS entering a US military cafeteria in Afghanistan. Because Dick Cheney was there to have lunch with them

  3. Drew Avatar
    Drew

    This is vintage Drudge, and you’re going right along for the ride, Jeff. The email from the reporter, which as far as I can tell is Drudge’s only proof, says nothing about “coaching” and “planting” questions – that’s Drudge’s biased interpretation and terminology, and you run with it unquestioningly.
    And Angelos, I wouldn’t interpret that “frisking our own soldiers” as proof of anything. A little history or context would help here – I bet soldiers have always been searched when they’re to be in the company of the big guys. No matter how honorable or heroic most of them might be, a room full of guys with machine guns around the President or VP would be foolhardy.

  4. Glyn Avatar
    Glyn

    Surely the question is more important than the questioner. But in any case, why is it right for Donald Rumsfeld to have government press officers helping him, but not for a soldier to have the same assistance?

  5. Michael Tippett Avatar
    Michael Tippett

    This could all have been avoided if the reporters were able to ask the questions themselves. Seems this used to be the way it worked, no?

  6. richard Avatar
    richard

    As the Q&A was reported, it looked awful. It looked as if the soldier was being told to “suck it up, and take it like a man” but on reading the whole transcript, it would appear that the answer to the question was much better handled.
    Sure, he points at supply chain inadequecies in production of the vehicles, which sounds a bit sketchy, but it was a fair answer to a fair question.
    Reporters often have people planted in the crowd – secret movie screenings with no press invited, closed door stockholder meetings, board rooms, etc. It’s not uncommon, and the question was one that anyone in the mechanics’ shop on base MAY have asked. There are journalism students and journalists serving in the forces, I’m sure, and there are intelligent people in the forces. The fact that THIS one question came with the help of a reporter is merely coincidental.

  7. ha Avatar
    ha

    Given how controlled press conferences are, and how limited the press access to the administration is, reporters have to do their job somehow. They should be admired for making the effort rather than rolling over.

  8. John Avatar
    John

    The same popular press which appears to believe that terrorists always deserve the benefit of the doubt, as well as the protections of the Geneva Convention, are now gloating over the vulnerabilities they, by virtue of their enforcement of a toxic sympathetic agenda which requires us to “play fair” but not the other guy, help perpetuate.
    Many of the vehicles which out of necessity are being up-armored were never designed as armored vehicles in the first place. If we were not forced by press, political opposition, and diplomatic handwringers to walk on eggshells with regard to this terrorist insurgency in the first place, we would have by now achieved greater security for the Iraqi people as well as our own personel.
    Preventing measures to be taken which would have effectively extinguished the insurgency has put our people in far greater jeopardy than not pre-armoring every non-armored vehicle in the inventory.

  9. Omar Masry Avatar
    Omar Masry

    Right now I’m watching the whole armored humvee saga play out. I have a special place in my gut for this one since when I served in Iraq my unit had to create our own impromptu armor out of heavy metal plates with drop down swing doors. Since the non armored humvee has a smaller engine it really slowed us down and made it harder to get out of danger areas as fast. And guess where a bunch of nice new armored humvees were sitting? On bases in Bosnia and Kosovo, where many never even left the base let alone encountered a riot…..
    Want to help troops out that dont have what they need. Buy them kevlar blankets and cell phone jammers to block the signal used to set of roadside bombs (i remember one guy who taped down remote control car remotes on the dash, lol

  10. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    A rhetorical question… from Dr. Cline

  11. j Avatar
    j

    Next Drudge will accuse the press of asking President Bush a real question.

  12. tony Avatar
    tony

    so it’s not ok for soldiers to be tools for the press
    but it’s perfectly ok for soldiers to be the tools for politicians?
    btw, i seriously doubt that any soldier would ask a tough question (albeit a serious and good one) to the Defense Secretary *simply* because the embedded reporter told him to.

  13. elmegil Avatar
    elmegil

    Coached? Or prompted to stand up and ask the question that was already there?
    As far as it goes, Drudge is hardly above making wild claims just because he can. Let’s see someone else corroborate the story before we rush to any judgement.

  14. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    Drudge is doing nothing but ferreting out what Pitts wrote at Poynter.
    Argue all you wish about his slant/side of the story, the fact remains that Mr. Pitts was stupid enough to send an email to his colleagues that ended up on Romenesko’s portion of Poynter.
    He’s going to get whatever comes, and deservedly so. Let the chips fall where they may.

  15. Andy Freeman Avatar
    Andy Freeman

    Remind me – which of the folks gloating about the armor question supported increased military funding back when the vehicles were being bought?

  16. Tom Jedrzejewicz Avatar
    Tom Jedrzejewicz

    >so it’s not ok for soldiers to be tools for the >press but it’s perfectly ok for soldiers to be
    >the tools for politicians?
    Correct. The soldier volunteered to be an arm of the US government. His being used by the reporter in an attempt to embarrass Rumsfeld was very poor judgment.
    Interesting how no one gave any credit at all to Rumsfeld actually taking non-screen questions from the troops. That was to be commended.

  17. Eileen Avatar
    Eileen

    I agree with your last statement, little t tony. OMG. It is an important question he probably didn’t have to be prodded too hard to ask. But was that the right time, place and way to address it?
    Omar, Thank You for your service, including that which you describe in your ‘Daily Blog’! It breaks my heart to hear about our troops lacking anything available which could be so instrumental to their safety.
    This is one of those bizarre moments when I appreciate the views of all sides simultaneously. For I also agree with John that the ‘popular’ (not mine) press’ manipulation to make us/U.S. out to be the bad guy, Bush ‘wrong’, is so rabid and myopic that they will stop at literally nothing to make it a reality. At the very least, they want their Viet Nam, by God.
    It also strikes me that this (Now) very ‘visible’ story only gives the enemy more information that can be used to harm us. Kind of like the heads up that ‘our food supply is a perfect way to kill us’ (yeah, let’s report that on the nightly news), this is how our air marshalls dress….
    What the hell is going on here? Do the press and their brethren wish our oblivion? Who will the talking heads have to talk to then? I guess each other, if any of them make it.
    If this is not true, prove it to me by not giving any more aid and comfort to the enemy on All fronts.

  18. Shawn Levasseur Avatar
    Shawn Levasseur

    An interesting side effect of embedding. Being embedded has broadened reporter’s knowledge on all things military. Similarly, I’m sure more soldiers are learning more about journalism. I wonder if we’ll see a mil-blogger who was inspired to blog by a journalist who was embedded with him/her?

  19. Chip Avatar
    Chip

    The letter Drudge ran makes it sound like the reporter helped the soldier figure out how best to word a question on the mind of most of the troops.
    Since reporters are not allowed to ask questions of Administration officials, someone needs to. If an embedded reporter, whose safety is also at-risk due to the Administration’s poor planning, helps that soldier craft the question, so be it.

  20. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    I dont’ see the deal here. The soldier could’ve (1) personally dug through junk yards, (2) had friends who did, (3) heard about people who did through the grapevine, (4) read about it on a soldiers blog, (5) read about it in Stars & Stripes, (6) saw a story on it on CNN, or (7) been told about it by a reporter. So what? He asked the question about why “we” – as soldiers – would have to do such a thing.
    Remember that first press conference the President gave a few years back about the Iraq war? You think none of those questions were planted???

  21. Angelos Tzelepis Avatar
    Angelos Tzelepis

    “…no one gave any credit at all to Rumsfeld actually taking non-screen questions from the troops. That was to be commended.”
    Credit? Commended? That is to be EXPECTED! Stop drinking the kool-aid Tom, and wake up to what this government is doing to you. Don’t let them set the standards that low.
    These kids are expected to die for George and Donny, and they can’t ask questions? Our media, whose primary function is to keep government honest, has to do it somehow! Those 2 soldiers weren’t FORCED to ask the questions – when they read what the reporter suggested, I’m sure they were DELIGHTED to ask them. Surely you saw the footage of the thunderous aplause that followed?
    And surely you were disappointed with the best answer Donny could give? He told them, you’re going to die no matter what you have, it’s just physics. Merry Christmas!!!
    Then there was “you go to war with the army you have.” Well, Donny boy, since no one was attacking us, and no threat was imminent from Iraq, why didn’t you build up a better army? Was it because this is more about testing your personal doctrine that “small and efficient” works just as well as conventional? Well, you were wrong. It’s one thing to defeat an army of poor conscripted Iraqis serving at gunpoint. Occupying a country with half the troops you need is another. But you don’t have a son, a cousin, a nephew at stake there, do you? Someone else has can serve as your guinea pig. How convenient you had an army at your disposal. How many more can you kill before you admit defeat?

  22. Angelos Avatar
    Angelos

    Eileen, the anti-press paranoia is a little silly and played out. Any other original nuggets to toss out here?
    So, the press SHOULDN’T point out Bush’s mistakes and inconsistencies and lies? Pray tell, who should? Or should they be just ignored, you know, because we’re patriotic and he’s a retard and can’t help himself?
    Of the stories you bring up, the food supply one, that was Tommy Thompson at a PRESS CONFERENCE! You’re blaming the media, then, for having their TV cameras and tape recorders, um, ON? Hell, do a Google search and you’ll find the same stories posted as far back as 2002, EVEN ON THE FDA WEB SITE! Is that the media’s fault too?
    As to the air marshal attire, it’s the media’s JOB to expose such stupidity. If Quinn is going to start an agency purge because the marshals aren’t wearing ties, we have larger problems than a WaTimes reporter getting a hold of some memos.
    The media has many faults, and Jeff’s coverage of said faults is why I come to this site (FCC-bashing if fun too), but when they actually report the truth as pertains to government and corporate stupidity, well, let’s not slap their wrists, let’s encourage them.

  23. Angelos Avatar
    Angelos

    See Eileen and Tom, this is what the media is for:
    {snip}
    Despite Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld’s assertion that the military is outfitting Humvees with armor as quickly as possible, the company providing the vehicles said it has been waiting since September for approval from the Pentagon to increase monthly production by as many as 100 of the all-terrain vehicles, intended to protect against roadside bombs in Iraq.
    Army officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged yesterday that they have not approved new purchase orders for armored trucks, despite the company’s readiness to produce more.
    It is “a matter of physics, not a matter of money,” Rumsfeld said, adding that the Army was “breaking its neck.” President Bush yesterday reiterated that “the concerns expressed are being addressed.”
    Michael Fox, a spokesman for Armor Holdings, said the company is simply waiting for the Pentagon to say how many it needs: “We have always said, ‘Tell us how much you want, and we’ll build them.’ ”
    {/snip}

  24. Eileen Avatar
    Eileen

    Angelos,
    You’re entitled to your views – as am I. It would be great if you could express them without rudeness and personal insults. Did you persuade me in any fashion? No.
    My opinions, exactly as stated, stand.

  25. j Avatar
    j

    “Due to arrogance and incompetence, no Pulitzer Prizes in ‘journalism’ will be awarded until further notice.”
    Those prizes are deserved by the BEST of journalism — not the ONLY journalism of the year.
    Ahem.

  26. Angelos Avatar
    Angelos

    Ruseness and insults. No, reread my post, and we’ll kill that idea right there.
    You wrote, “If this is not true, prove it to me by not giving any more aid and comfort to the enemy on All fronts.”
    If the media printing the truth, and asking the tough questions, and printing what government officials ACTUALLY SAID, is giving aid to the enemy, you have your priorities mixed up. It’s too rare thay they DO do their job, we should applaud when it happens.
    Sorry if the facts don’t work for you.