Good, bad, and ugly

Image courtesy: Senior Airman Julianne Showalter

Perhaps due to Afghan president Hamid Karzai's visit, cable news channels and websites have given more coverage to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq than usual over the past 24 hours. Some good, bad, and ugly moments have filled that time period.

I have been critical of Fox News in the past for giving celebrities more attention than our troops, but the network shined with its war coverage on Thursday, giving viewers important information and real perspective. Correspondent Mike Emanuel went beyond simply reporting on Karzai's visit to Arlington National Cemetery by interviewing the father of Lance Cpl. Timothy Poole, a brave Marine who was killed in Afghanistan. The Unknown Soldiers wrote about Lance Cpl. Poole shortly after his tragic death in January, and Emanuel's story did justice to the Marine's sacrifice for the United States and Afghanistan.

CNN is falling into the same trap that has plagued American news coverage of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. In an article headlined "Afghan official: Troops killed civilians," the network quotes a provincial council official in Nangahar province as saying coalition forces gunned down nine Afghans last night. NATO's account is finally given in the third paragraph, and officials said evidence proves that no civilians died. So why is an Afghan council leader the article's primary source, and why is the article headlined with only his provocative allegation? Once again, a news outlet is giving obscure sources with little accountability the benefit of the doubt instead of men and women in uniform.

But the lowpoint of the past 24 hours appeared on MSNBC. In a segment first highlighted by Kyle Drennen on the conservative NewsBusters site, anchor Dylan Ratigan made several outrageous statements that go far beyond responsible opposition to the war effort. An unofficial transcript, as well as audio and video footage, document this disgraceful comment:

"America's knickers are into a bunch to the point it's ready to throw everybody out because we're taking people to the Caribbean without giving them proper rights and putting them in prison but having kids with joysticks in New Jersey and Las Vegas dropping predator bombs on civilians willy-nilly is a valid foreign policy, strikes me as if I've gone crazy. We'll save it for another day."

Ratigan should be ashamed by this remark, especially since it was made during a time of war, and immediately apologize to U.S. troops and their families. During previous American wars, Ratigan's comments may have met with a much more severe backlash, because when pundits accuse America of intentionally murdering civilians, they are specifically labeling men and women who volunteered for military service as killers. Ratigan, sitting in a comfortable studio, would almost certainly not have dared make that same comment in front of an active duty servicemember or veteran. That's because he's too smart not to know the remark is irresponsible, offensive, and flat-out wrong.

One year ago, 60 Minutes took an in-depth look at the predator drone program, and the experienced military professionals behind it. Do these heartfelt comments from Lt. Col. Chris Gough, who flew combat missions before joining the drone program, sound like they came from a kid treating life and death combat as a video game?

"Physiologically, the stimulus and response, exactly the same. I'm not going 400 miles an hour, which means when I pull the stick, I don't get 5 G's on my body. I have much more ability to process and to comprehend what's going on on the battlefield and the information just conveyed to me, and better relay that information to who needs it," Gough explained.

Asked if it is stressful, he told [CBS News correspondent Lara] Logan, "Terribly."

And terribly in demand - soldiers on the ground have come to depend on it.

"I've heard the guys say - you know, they don't want to step out the door without eyes in the sky," Logan remarked.

"Sure, I have a brother who's an Army Special Forces. And honestly I wouldn't want him stepping out the door without this thing over the top of him either," Gough replied.

The simple fact is that Dylan Ratigan called Lt. Col. Gough and his fellow servicemembers murderers, during wartime, in order to make a political point. Hopefully, the host will quickly come to his senses and apologize, or MSNBC should be pressured to take action. There is absolutely no excuse for denigrating our military as thousands of men and women volunteer to put their lives on the line in wars they are ordered to fight.