Turning My Stomach

13 August 2009

For the last eight years, one of my main gripes with the MSM was their handling of the information they presented to the American people regarding our efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq and the whole War on Terror. I can remember the Leftist knuckle draggers from CNN and NBC, the treasonous articles from the NY Times and the LA Times and Washington Post. I still remember the outrage demonstrated by certain press organizations that are more leaning toward conservative ideology. They would make the Left disregard for the American troops known to all, demonstrating how the Left was so deranged against Bush that one could actually see their salivation as they used the sacrifice our Military was doing as a mean to attack the President.

I can still remember the just indignation expressed by radio talk show hosts and countless other sources that demonstrated their justifiable disgust at the blatant use of the men and women in uniform to push forward their Bush derangement agenda, and I remember just as vividly the rage that pervaded me every time I witnessed such behavior, further solidifying my distrust and rejection of the MSM.

But today the same feeling of disgust, the same feeling of revolt is grabbing the pit of my stomach. There is a certain suspicion growing inside me that I find extremely disturbing. It is my opinion that since Obama has become President and his concentration has shifted toward the war in Afghanistan, I feel that some of those conservative news outlets that were so vehemently protesting the Left use of our Military and their sacrifices for their propaganda push are today basically switching roles.
Here is the fact. Last week the Wall Street Journal, which I used to consider a note worthy, trust worthy publication, published an article by Yochi Dreazen and Peter Spiegel covering an interview conducted with theater Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The title of the article was the shocker: Taliban Now Winning.
In the article, the authors profusely paraphrased the General in his opinions regarding the current events going on in Afghanistan. McChrystal’s words were doctored and spun by the writers to bring the attention of the readership to the negative side of what is happening in that far away conflict. Even the Pentagon came out strongly disputing the WSJ article assertion of the General’s statements, declaring that never the officer made a statement that implied his opinion being that our efforts in Afghanistan are unsuccessful and the conditions indicative of a victorious enemy.

Since the offensive of July in the Helmand Province started, some other media outlets, like FoxNews, has been including with every insignificant piece of news from Afghanistan, about the mounting casualty rate our forces are incurring.
So what I see is the more conservative news organizations engaging in the same unproductive rhetoric that the Left engaged in for seven years. As mentioned by some conservative pundits, Afghanistan “is now Obama’s war” and they will be using this approach as an attack tool against the President.
Few people are more critical of Obama than me, as I truly consider the man as a Socialist bent on destroying our country’s values and traditions, but the Military should be off limits when it comes to political agendas between political factions.

And now my thoughts.
In the first place, using the US Military for any political reason is an ugly and immoral action. Our Military is engaged in a war where our sons and daughters are paying in blood for their service to the country. Our men and women in uniform are not serving the Left or the Right, Democrats or Republicans, but they are serving their country, America!
It is really personally enraging that now the opposite side of the political spectrum appears to utilize the same outrageous tactics used by CNN, NBC, CBS and all the others.

It is really a sad day in this country when news organizations that were so vocal in rebutting the tactics of anti-American Leftist MSM are today engaging in the same immoral actions to further their own anti-Obama political agenda.
Did they ever stop and think what an article’s title like the WSJ one would do for those actually deployed in that forsaken country? What reaction would the Soldier or Marine sitting in God-awful conditions on some base in Afghanistan would have when he or she would see a headline like “is the Taliban winning”? What effect would have on the morale of that Soldier or Marine who maybe just saw a friend get hurt or maybe die?
Did anybody at WSJ ever stop for a minute and consider these men and women morale in battle?
And did anyone at the WSJ for a moment thought about the families? Here there are thousands of family members of these Military personnel, anxiously trying to live as normal a life as possible as their every second of their existence is overwhelmed by a continuous concern for their sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives?
Did anyone on the WSJ editorial board even considered the anguish that such “journalism” could cause on those families? As the WSJ is aimed at a more conservative readership, it appears to me that the editorial staff took the opportunity to “hook” the average reader with a disturbing article title, regardless of the content of the article itself. And most of all regardless of the impact that such title could have on the people who are really and personally touched by the war in Afghanistan.
I have written at length about my displeasure about the total disconnect between the Military, and their families, and the rest of the country. I have expressed my rejection of those who love to display their “war is not the answer” nonsense. And I have expressed my loathing for the MSM and politicians who for seven years have used the Military as a pawn in their war against George W. Bush. But today I have to add conservative outlets who are doing the same in their war against Obama.

One thing that is so clear is that there are very few people in America today that take the time to stop and think about the damage their actions may cause on others. Military families are most often victims of the trend of personal importance that our country has embraced. Whatever makes ME feel good, whatever advances MY agenda, whatever pushes MY point of view is regarded today as a right to be expressed, regardless of what impact such actions could cause others.

And these are my thoughts!
Frank “Semperpapa”