Can the Press Cover a ‘Different’ War?

Re “When the Press Is in the Dark, So Is Everyone,” by John Balzar, Commentary, Oct. 24: I, like any American, want accurate reporting and desire nothing less than the truth about the war on terrorism, no matter where the action occurs. Of course, it is disturbing when we kill innocent civilians, no matter how terrible the regime. I am vehemently for freedom of the press but, please, Mr. Balzar, get off your soapbox. The U.S. simply isn’t involved in a war in which the press can gain access without putting itself in grave danger or interfering with the actions of the forces they are accompanying.

Are you suggesting that the press tag along with airborne troops dropped behind enemy lines during night missions? Is the press ready for nighttime parachute jumps? Balzar’s commentary didn’t provide any suggestions on just how he’d accomplish his mission.

Barry Olsan

Ontario

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Balzar’s comparison of Vietnam or Desert Storm to our mission in Afghanistan is too broad. A better comparison would be SEAL team missions in Vietnam or Special Ops missions in Desert Storm. The press didn’t ride along when SEALs were launched from submarines into a jungle or when Special Ops guys sneaked into Baghdad to laser targets.

The troops that we suppose are currently working in Afghanistan have been trained for years not to tell what they do. They are in and out quickly, and success to them means no one knew they were there. A reporter who sneezes blows the mission. But most important, we understand the Pentagon’s need for secrecy, and agree. If Balzar wants so badly to be there, he should buy a ticket and sneak in on his own.

Roy Childs

Rancho Cucamonga

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I have to laugh at Balzar’s pop quiz (in trying to make his point why the press should be allowed to go with troops into combat in Afghanistan), asking which is true:

(A) The Vietnam War was lost because of the press, or (B) it was lost because the politicians and generals couldn’t tell the truth during this war. Balzar should have given a third choice, which should have been (C) both A and B.

Balzar shows his bias by picking B. At the end of his column, he says the lies came from the men with stars on their collars and their bosses in pressed suits, which is true, but he doesn’t mention the press. The lie here is that Balzar doesn’t believe the press had any part in the military loss of Vietnam. Wrong. The press had just as big a role in the loss of Vietnam, with its biased reporting, as the generals and politicians did with their lying.

Greg O’Neil

Long Beach