“The 1968 TET Offensive broke the back of the Viet Cong insurgency in South Viet Nam. We lost more guerilla fighters than could be replaced. Any North Viet Namese unit that openly dueled with American units were decimated (it was far worse) by the combination of ground, artillery and air support. Had it not been for the American media and the way they reported the battle, the war would have been over by December of that year.” This quote is from General Giap, commander of the North Viet Namese army and Viet cong.
Walter Cronkite was the first national anchorman/”journalist” to state his opinion on national TV. It was the tipping point for the American people for sticking with the war in Viet Nam. After all, Mr. Cronkite was a trusted man and he had an emotional connection the American people……..his coverage of the JFK assassination. He reported his opinion as fact and the country followed his lead. The counter culture were already protesting against the war. Now a “main stream American” was asking how we can defeat such a strong enemy. Had he know the numerical facts of the battle, he might not have been so fast to report we lost the battle. If he did know and reported that anyway, it is even worse.
If Gen. Giap is right, our media, led by people like Mr. Cronkite, extended the war in Viet Nam. In extending the war they extended the list of our men who were wounded, captured and killed in action which led to America abandoning south Viet Nam. I know that the first Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. This is not Yellow Journalism, it is RED journalism. I am not speaking of just the socialst/communist ideals. I am speaking of the blood of our fallen soldiers. There is no First Amendment protection for the press if it is getting our soldiers killed all because they have a political agenda.
Let us fast forward to both Desert Storm and the present war on terrorism. Sen. Kennedy, in both cases proclaimed from his “safe” seat in the Senate, “25,000 ocupied body bags coming home”. The media dutifully covered it from coast to coast. How many others in the Senate and House of Representatives spoke out against our troopers saying “your President lied, you(the soldiers) cannot win this war, and you( the soldiers, again) are fighting this war for BIG OIL and BIG BUSINESS”*. And once again there is the media broadcasting every dissenting word, like it is fact. Where were the stories and the other side of the argument. It was almost non-existent, except for the ALTERNATIVE MEDIA.
It is funny, at least to me, that Dan Rather eulogized Walter Crionkite. You remember Mr. Rather. He was the CBS Anchor man that tried to take down President G.W. Bush with a fictitious document with a FORGED signature! Had it not been for a savvy computer programmer, Dan Rather just might have pulled off his “framing” of President Bush. I wonder if Mr. Rather would like to be arrested for murder on the evidence of a FICTICIOUS DOCUMENT WITH A FORGED SIGNATURE? The sad part is that the media is still trying to impliment a socialist utopia using the tactics of both Mr.’s Cronkite and Rather.
John Savarese (A Honorary Lee Brother and Guest Blogger)
PS * Tokyo Rose was senetenced to life imprisonment, as a war criminal, for telling our soldiers in the south Pacific YOU CANNOT WIN THIS WAR, YOUR PRESIDENT LIED TO YOU and YOU ARE FIGHTING THIS WAR FOR BIG OIL AND BIG BUSINESS. Just a question, if it is a war crime for MS. Rose to say these words why is it not sedition or TREASON for any American let alone Senatores, congressmen and our current President to say these things?
