European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday March 202007 stars and stripes Page 15 Cheney Speaks truth to Pelosi on Al Aida by Kevin Ferris the Philadelphia inquirer speak truth to Power the phrase conjures visions of old testament patriarchs or civil rights prophets stepping Forward in difficult times to utter unpopular disco fit ing truths of course the phrase loses its Power when commonplace theres nothing biblical or righteous about an Man by promo for an announcer who Speaks truth to Power or a senator asking at a Confirma Tion hearing will you speak truth to Power that s just politics so it was encouraging to see a recent example of the real thing during a trip to Asia last month vice president Dick Cheney in an Abc news interview said the troop withdrawal ideas promoted by some leading democrats were similar to a Laidas plans for Iraq if we were to do what speaker Pelosi and congressman Murtha Are suggesting All Well do is validate the Al Aida strategy the Al Aida strategy is to break the will of the american people in fact knowing they cant win in a standup fight try to per Suade us to throw in the Towel and come Home and then they win because we quit you cant look at Iraq in isolation youve got to look at it in terms of its Impact what were doing in Afghanistan what were doing in Pakistan what were doing in saudi Arabia All those areas Are part of the global Battlefield and you cant quit in one place and then persuade All your allies who Are helping you in All those other Heaters to continue the fight How does he know the enemy intent they Tell us heres Osama bin Laden in a 2004 audio message the most important and serious Issue today for the whole world is this third world War which the crusader Ion is coalition began against the islamic nation it is raging in the land of the two Riv ers the worlds Millstone and pillar is in Baghdad bin Laden righthand Man Ayman Al Zawaheri Laid out a plan in a july 2005 letter the jihad in Iraq requires several incremental goals the first stage expel the americans from Iraq the second stage establish an islamic authority or emirate then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of a caliphate Over As much territory As you can to spread its Power in Iraq the third stage extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neigh Boring Iraq the fourth the clash with Israel because Israel was established Only to Challenge any new islamic entity so Cheney was speaking a simple truth Al Aida wants the United states out of Iraq and congressional Calls to give up regardless of conditions on the ground or what happens next in the wider War Vali Date that strategy that Doest mean there can be no Dis a photos when House speaker Nancy Pelosi left said she viewed recent remarks by vice president Dick Cheney As questioning the patriotism of those in Congress who Chal Lenge the Bush administrations misguided policies in Iraq Cheney replied to the California Democrat i didst question her patriotism i questioned her judgment sent to current policy a free society de Bates issues and there Are plenty of Rea sons offered to quit War itself is a mistake the initial invasion was a mistake the occupation has been a series of mistakes refereeing a sectarian struggle that goes beyond fighting Al Aida is a mistake people will advocate As conscience Dic tates All Cheney did was Point out that advocacy Doest occur in a vacuum House speaker Nancy Pelosi Calif called the vice presidents remarks be Neath the dignity of the debate were engaged in wrong this is precisely the debate we should be engaged in everyone wants the War to end to see the troops safely Home the question is How under what terms As us leaders try to answer these questions they cant pretend the discussion is an Exchange of theories in a College seminar with no real world implications words have mean ing they reassure allies and troops or worry them they dishearten enemies or Comfort them if a Laidas Hopes for a pre a imitative us withdrawal Are echoed in congressional resolutions that got to be comforting it May not be the intent but its the reality Pelosi said Cheney was questioning the patriotism of those in Congress who Chal Lenge the Bush administrations misguided policies in Iraq wrong again and Cheney reply was characteristically Blunt and on target i didst question her patriotism i questioned her judgment theres reason to question Many judg ments when it comes to Iraq but in this Case Cheney is right and he Speaks from experience he worked in the White House 32 years ago for president Ford when Southeast asian allies were abandoned to their enemies millions were killed and Dis placed if that Nightmare is replayed in Iraq Pelosi and the Antiwar Powers will have to answer for the truths Treyve left unspoken Kevin Ferris is the inquirers commentary Page editor regarding Iraq just what is the medias message ombudsman David Mazzarella How fair have the Media been in covering the Iraq War Are the nations Premier newspapers and television networks hellbent on declaring this War lost or have they acted like lapdogs of the administration they have been accused of both whats More recent is discussion of stars and stripes role in All this a discussion with the added dimension that stripes is a news paper of the depart ment of defense Al though one that is editorially Independent Independent or not one recent letter to the editor said of the government connection what disturbs me is that our tax dollars pay for this rag the writer a chief warrant officer in Baghdad called stripes just an other Arm of the leftist Media he urged readers to compare stripes Content with the supposedly leftist new York times and Washington Post the Only difference is the increased paychecks of the journalists at the times and Post boy did he get that pay Check bit right stripes readers love to debate on the let ters Page four writers took Issue with the chief warrant officer one said he sounded like a fascist another said the paper has done an admirable Job keeping Content non biased the Issue is much broader than stripes As the anti stripes letter and recent state ments by vice president Dick Cheney Indi Cate there Are those in the military and in political life who accuse the National press of unrelentingly negative coverage of the War and the National debate surrounding it is the Media feeling guilty for top easily buying into the administrations claims be fore the War started that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and As a reaction Are they dwelling on the things that have gone wrong with the War if so their ral lying cry could come from former lbs an Chor Dan rather who recently told an Audi ence that american journalism has in some ways lost its guts he said a journalist should be like a Good watchdog that barks at everything that suspicious some say that in knocking the War Effort the Media Are Barking up the wrong tree Robert Kagan a conservative think tank scholar believes there has been a turning Point in the War for the better he wrote in a recent oped in the Washington Post no one is asking american journalists to Start emphasizing the Good news All they have to do is report what is occurring though it May conflict with their previous judgments some Are still Selling books on the premise that the War is lost end of Story but what if there is a new chapter in the Story i do not believe there is a journalistic Cabal of leftists out to destroy americas War Effort in Iraq whether or not a lot of re porters Are personally Liberal i do believe there Are two forces at play that May feed into that View one is the natural inclination of new people to attack authority regard less of the political leanings of the news per son or the authority the other is the inclination of new people at times to Herd pack journalism these forces can Lead to a lot of coverage of one Side of an Issue whether its belittling president Bush for his supposedly failed War or in years past chastising Bill Clinton for his sexual indiscretions or pre presiden tial real estate dealings then there Are the devout followers of those in authority who Back them at whatever Cost fortunately there Are serious journalists who do not March to those distorted drum beats they Deal in facts and personal Obser vation the Job of newspaper editors is to Wade through the noise on both sides and find the factual reporting As the former Edi Tor of stars and stripes i will risk sounding self serving and say that the goal was continually pursued at times with More Success than from what i can Tell it still is pursued up to now Ive been writing about the mass of news Agency copy that flows into the newspaper every Day some comes with the writers or his or her Parent company Agenda even when its factual and non biased it can contain a lot of information that backers or opponents of the Iraq War Effort dont want to hear of special interest however is the cover age provided by the papers own correspondents there in my View the picture is clearer stars and stripes has kept As Many As four embedded reporters in the War zone at a time since the hostilities began i cannot recall one complaint coming to the top Edi tors that their coverage was slanted pro or con the War Effort yet these correspondents have not hesitated to record both favourable and unfavourable developments they have seen local populations hostility to us troops for instance or on the other hand successes in training iraqi troops that a record to be proud of and if continued should Tell More about the legacy of stripes War coverage than All the articles it runs from outside sources got a question or suggestion for the ombudsman on what appears or should appear in stars and stripes Send an email to or phone 2027610945 in the states prickly City by Scott Stantis