AP failed to report criticism of media

On Oct. 14 the Daily Herald ran an Associated Press story under the headline, "General says Iraq mission a 'nightmare.' " The story cast a recent speech by retired Gen. Ricardo Sanchez as, essentially, "a broad indictment of White House policies and a lack of leadership to oppose them."

The article correctly noted that Sanchez criticized "the State Department, the National Security Council, Congress and the senior military leadership." He had plenty of criticism for President Bush. But astonishingly the AP did not point out that fully one-third of the speech was a blistering criticism of media coverage of the war, and the media's damage to our country. One thousand, one hundred, ninety-eight words out of a 3,372-word speech were devoted to chastising a media that to "some extent" has "allowed external agendas to manipulate what the American public sees."

Sanchez complained that the media "report with total impunity and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct." He blasted "speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media." And he said "Your unwillingness to accurately and prominently correct your mistakes and your agenda driven biases contribute to this corrosive environment."

He identified "a media environment that does a tremendous disservice to America." The general referred to an enemy that "is arguably more dangerous than any threat we faced in the twentieth century," but all the AP reports is, "HA! Everyone got yelled at for messing up Iraq, except us!"

It is very sad to watch our media continually distort truth to advance their own purposes, at great peril to our country. Further, it is not obvious to me that these continued deceptions are a First Amendment right. The good news is that with a little work, thanks to the internet, it's not too hard to get to the real story. Read Sanchez' speech for your self at www.militaryreporters.org/sanchez_101207.html.

John Greer

Arlington Heights