The U.S. military is becoming just another cog in the Republican noise machine, and that is not good.
As the Beauchamp/TNR “story” demonstrates, the U.S. military is using the standard GOP/right-wing model for trying to shape the news in politically beneficial ways — feeding supposedly secret and classified documents to Matt Drudge; using The Weekly Standard as its primary propaganda outlet, and working hand-in-hand with their apparent comrades in the most extremist precincts of the right-wing blogosphere. From the beginning, the U.S. military has refused to answer questions from the press, cut off The New Republic, cited classified and secrecy doctrines to suppress information, and all the while, worked secretly through selective leaks and back-channels with the most rabid right-wing partisans to shape the story in the most politicized way possible. Doesn’t that merit at least some commentary?
Hard to take this complaint seriously when you had Absolutely no qualms about State & Defense leaking like a sieve during 2004-05 (Abu Gharib, secret prisons, FISA, banking). Just admit that you only care about leaks when they help your side/hurt the other guys and I’d at least respect your honesty if not your logic.
And I LOVE that the author claims TNR was “cut off” during this process. At ANY TIME, TNR could have come out with what they know, or at least been honest about what they don’t know. (ex. “We have been in contact w/ Pvt. Beauchamp but he refuses to confirm or deny any stories on the record”)
Instead, they pulled a Kerry vs. the SwiftBoats maneuver and tried to ignore it hoping it would go away on it’s own. Well, the stonewall didn’t work. And now they want to complain about the tactics used to uncover their chicanery?!? Sorry, no sympathy here.
Looks like Henry Waxman is going to have to haul Secretary Gate’s ass in front of another Congressional hearing to me.
Gates is going to have to answer for this. This is a coordinated effort from plans hatched by the White House and Gates has to either be in on it, or at the least know about it.
Yes, because leaking material to one side of the political discourse is the same as leaking information about ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES COMMITTED BY THE US GOVERNMENT to the media.
Idiot.
Also, wasn’t the banking thing an executive order that had been public knowledge (or at least a matter of public record) as of 2001/2002?
(Abu Gharib, secret prisons, [illegal run around] FISA…)
Which were all blights on our nation and needed to be exposed in order to make the perpetrators stop doing it.
I don’t get this mentality of yours. Do you really think so little of America that you don’t hold it to any sort of moral standard at all, or do you think so little of Americans that you believe they shouldn’t care when these things happen in their name?
SaveFarris said: “Hard to take this complaint seriously when you had Absolutely no qualms about State & Defense leaking like a sieve during 2004-05 (Abu Gharib, secret prisons, FISA, banking). Just admit that you only care about leaks when they help your side/hurt the other guys and I’d at least respect your honesty if not your logic.”
Yep… as of this post you are too stupid to be considered human.
You are comparing leaking information about crimes, which is protected by whistle blower laws, and leaking classified information for political gain, which could even be described as treason.
Sorry leftards….what exactly is legal about lying about the comission of war crimes?
At least you don’t have the temerity to argue that the Army was, as expected, right.
Notably, you didn’t have a problem with a soldier publishing his lies in a left wing journal, not allowing it to be vetted by ALL the media.
How do you idiots look at yourselves in the mirror every morning?
fredfarkle said: “Sorry leftards….what exactly is legal about lying about the comission of war crimes?”
You are clearly blinded by your ideology.