good for the commandant

[winterbadger]

from CBS News

The videotaped shooting of a Fallujah combatant by a U.S. Marine has evoked strong emotions in the Arab world and on Capitol Hill. Rep. Sylvestre Reyes, D-Texas, says it's time to rethink the presence of embedded reporters in combat zones. During a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Reyes compared it to a football game, saying "we don't want to know everything that's going on on the field." Reyes says this is not censorship. In his words, "We should not be providing the Al-Jazeera the kind of propaganda they've had the last couple of three days." Marine Corps commandant General Michael Hagee disagrees, saying embedded reporters have actually worked very well and inform the American public about "what these great young Americans are doing over there."

This is the kind of Democrat they're growing in Texas these days?

Comments

[beckon.livejournal.com]

No shit. I'm glad you mentioned this. I was kinda disgusted by that Senator.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Apparently in Texas even the Democrats are Republicans.

Oi.

[robbysmom.livejournal.com]

yes, I did fear that the idea that soemthign shouldn't be filmed woudl appear amongst cocnerns about the actions that seemd to be shown in *what* was filmed. I actually thought mainstream media was very cautious in its airing of the film; and, after all, isn't all that's filmed and discussed by embeds (at least while they're embedded) at least nomianlly pre-approved by the military?

It was, as I recall, a few days before the media discussion that the film was taken, after all.

And whether or not the film shows a crime, the military response to the incident was impressive, I thought, for its apparent swiftness and rectitude.

Showing less of what can happen in a war is not going to make us safer.

I would argue that understnading the events of a war-- to the extent media can actually help us do that-- woudl mean we are better prepared for what will occur in the peace, when soldiers return home.