David Ignatius wrote in the Washington Post, May 2, 2010, “Why The Inside Story Isn’t Enough,” where he claims that the American news consumer is not getting the full picture of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
“The American news media has made great use in recent years of a practice called embedding, in which journalists travel with the U.S. military to cover wars.
“We are observing these wars from just one perspective, not seeing them whole. When you see my byline from Kandahar or Kabul or Basra, you should not think that I am out among ordinary people, asking questions of all sides. I am usually inside an American military bubble. That vantage point has value, but it is hardly a full picture.”
I used to think that David Ignatius was one of the few main stream media journalists who wrote the facts and not off-beat articles. There seems to be no end to today’s perversion of journalism.
Now, I have serious doubts about David’s journalism style of journalism. Yet, he does write for the Washington Post and they have had a political agenda for longer than I can remember, so one has to that that into account.
The most blatant anti-American TV journalist I ever saw I believe was Mike Wallace of CBS and “60 Minutes” – not know for unbiased TV journalism.
I remember watching a TV news show facilitate decision making on the Vietnam War where the station had members of the government play roles of the men who made decisions during the Vietnam era and some news members played themselves. The question was raised of the journalist if they were with a VC or NVA unit and they were about to ambush a U.S. army patrol would they cover the ambush, feel the obligation to alert the soldiers or do nothing?
Lesley Stahl, not one of the brightest candles in journalism, first said she would not cover it. However, Mike Wallace berated her so much for not being a “professional journalist” that she changed her mind. Wallace said he would go with the VC or NVA and cover the ambush killing U.S. soldiers.
Of course I never saw Mike Wallace in combat or I would have helped him join the other side.
So, now we have David Ignatius, who joins the ranks of the likes Wallace and others, who should be parachuted into a Taliban camp, with all the help he needs to cover the full story.
Let this “independent” journalist get into trouble and the first thing they holler is that the U.S. military is not providing enough security.
