Press editorial misses the point about war propaganda

Analysis:

This editorial by the Grand Rapids Press raises numerous issues about the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the role of government propaganda as an result of the government hearings on what happened with the death of Pat Tillman and the wounding of Jessica Lynch. The editorial first points out the flawed Jessica Lynch story and then says that “She blames the media and the military for the early reports about her battlefield bravery.” The editorial then goes on to provide a mild correction to the Pat Tillman case, but what the Press editorial fails to do is acknowledge its own role in promoting these fabricated stories about Lynch and Tillman. The Press ran Associated Press stories that made Lynch and Tillman heroes without questioning the Pentagon’s acknowledgement that they have been creating fake news stories in order to win the battle for public opinion. The Pentagon’s propaganda was a part of the Iraq war plan from the very beginning, since we now have a newly declassified document which states in part “civil-military transition of the new Iraq to a broad representative government” would take “1-2 years,” and the U.S. government would establish – in 12 months – an information system that would serve “as a model for free media in the Arab world.” To ensure that the message would be controlled, Iraq was to be provided with a “Temporary Media Commissioner” to regulate against “hate media”. He or she would operate in a receptive environment: the team would “identify the media infrastructure that we need left intact, and work with CENTCOM targeteers to find alternative ways of disabling key sites.”

The Press editorial ends by saying “This nation can handle the truth about what happens on the battlefield, no matter how disconcerting. The American public, along with the families of the fallen, injured and captured deserve nothing less.” Again, this is an interesting statement to make since the Grand Rapids Press and most of the major media has decided to not report about the truth of what happens on the battlefield. There has been limited coverage of US military wrongdoing, the trauma and suffering that wounded US soldiers have endured, and an almost complete omission of Iraqi casualties. The public should be able to handle the truth about battlefield realities, but the Press needs to make that reality a part of ongoing coverage not an occasional editorial when there are government investigations.

Story:

Fog of war shouldn’t obscure truth

Making up stories about battlefield heroics — and awarding medals to boot — dishonors the military and the nation. That should come through loud and clear following hearings into the circumstances surrounding the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Pvt. Jessica Lynch in Iraq.

In testimony late last month before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Ms. Lynch said she was befuddled by stories initially painting her as a female Rambo who was injured and captured only after emptying her weapon when her Army convoy was ambushed in Iraq in 2003.

The truth is quite different. Ms. Lynch was seriously injured and knocked unconscious when the jeep carrying her collided with another U.S. vehicle during the ambush. She woke up in an Iraqi hospital having never fired a shot. The young supply clerk became an instant celebrity when she was rescued by U.S. Special Forces and her supposed exploits were disseminated by the media. The Washington Post first reported the story, quoting unidentified U.S. officials. Lynch was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious combat service, the Purple Heart and the POW medal. She blames the media and the military for the early reports about her battlefield bravery.

In the Tillman case, the Army originally reported that the Special Forces Ranger was killed while under fire from Taliban forces. He was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart. His 2004 death received an extraordinary amount of publicity because he’d given up a lucrative professional football career to enlist in the military after the terrorist attacks of September 11.

It shouldn’t have taken five weeks for the Army to tell the Tillman family and the nation that he was killed by “friendly fire” from his own unit. It also should not have taken another three years before a military investigation found that nine high-ranking Army officers, including four generals, knew the truth soon after the shooting and kept quiet. They should be appropriately disciplined.

The truth of war is not always pretty. Friendly fire accidents are a part of war. Comrades and allies can and are killed in accidental shootings. Mr. Tillman’s actual heroism ought not be tarnished by the circumstances or deceptions surrounding his death. He died serving his country; just as Jessica Lynch was injured and captured while serving.

Fabricated and embellished stories about wartime heroics do a disservice to the courage, commitment and honor exhibited daily by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This nation can handle the truth about what happens on the battlefield, no matter how disconcerting. The American public, along with the families of the fallen, injured and captured deserve nothing less.