Category Archives: War/Military

On Second Thought: The White House's Shifting Story on bin Laden Raid

Posted on 05/09/2011 by Peter Hart

Certain features of the White House story about the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound were irresistible to the media: A fierce firefight. The feared terrorist leader crouching behind his wife as the Navy SEALs approached, before resisting or possibly … Continue reading →

Posted in War/Military | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

Navy SEALs: Subtle, Brainy Superhumans

Posted on 05/05/2011 by Peter Hart

Salon.com's Justin Elliot has a good piece about media adoration for the Navy SEALs, focusing on an NBC report. Lest anyone think that report is a weird outlier, here are some quotes from the May 3 broadcast of ABC World … Continue reading →

Posted in ABC, War/Military | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

The Wrong Time to Talk About the Afghan War?

Posted on 05/02/2011 by Peter Hart

During an interview on CNN last night (5/1/11) with New York firefighter and 9/11 first responder Kenny Specht: BLITZER: Did you ever give up hope, Kenny, that the U.S. would kill bin Laden? SPECHT: No, but I'd be lying to … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, CNN, War/Military | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Drone 'Debate' Breaks Out at Washington Post

Posted on 04/25/2011 by Peter Hart

Readers of the Washington Post can see this headline in today's edition (4/25/11) about the U.S. drone airstrikes: Debates Underway on Combat Drones But there is no actual debate in the article. Reporter Walter Pincus cites a British military study … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, War/Military, Washington Post | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Gadhafi's Cluster Bombs–and Uncle Sam's

Posted on 04/16/2011 by Jim Naureckas

"Gadhafi Troops Fire Cluster Bombs Into Civilian Areas," declares a New York Times headline (4/15/11). The lead of the story makes clear that these weapons are considered in many countries to be illegal: Military forces loyal to Col. Moammar el-Gadhafi … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, New York Times, War/Military | Tagged , | 17 Comments

WashPost and the Wider War

Posted on 03/29/2011 by Peter Hart

One of the questions about U.S.-led war in Libya is the scope of the conflict. Some rebel forces seem to want more U.S. military action. The Washington Post reportstoday (3/29/11) that this is already happening. Under the headline"U.S. Deploys Low-Flying … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, War/Military, Washington Post | Tagged | 10 Comments

Two Signs Your Country Has Gone to War

Posted on 03/21/2011 by Peter Hart

How can you tell that your country has gone to war again? Here are at least two signs. –The same military official is on every Sunday morning chat show: Yesterday Joint Chiefs chair Mike Mullen was on CBS's Face the … Continue reading →

Posted in CNN, Libya, Network TV, War/Military | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Afghan War Less Popular Than Ever

Posted on 03/15/2011 by Peter Hart

The new Washington Post/ABC poll is on the front page of the paper today (3/15/11): Nearly two-thirds of Americans now say the war in Afghanistan is no longer worth fighting, the highest proportion yet opposed to the conflict, according to … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Media Criticism, Polling, War/Military, Washington Post | 8 Comments

Giving and Getting 'Coined'

Posted on 02/24/2011 by Peter Hart

The Washington Post had a report yesterday (2/22/11) about the military tradition of giving "challenge coins." For thoseunfamiliar, here's a quick explanation: "Challenge coins," as they are known, have become an important part of the ethos of the armed forces, … Continue reading →

Posted in CNN, War/Military | Tagged | 1 Comment

Action Alert: Newsweek Downplays Critics of Drone Assassinations

Posted on 02/16/2011 by Jim Naureckas

A Newsweek report (2/21/11) looks at the CIA's aerial drone assassination program through the agency's eyes–leaving questions about civilian deaths and the effort's dubious legality for a couple of brief paragraphs at the end. To encourage Newsweek to take critics … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Activism, Newsweek, War/Military | Tagged , | 30 Comments

General Hails His Own Success, USA Today Investigation Finds

Posted on 02/15/2011 by Jim Naureckas

For a good example of how not to report the Afghan War, check out the lead story in today's USA Today (2/15/11): General: Taliban 'Beaten' by Surge Momentum Shifts in Afghanistan The piece–by Jim Michaels, who has an unfortunate history … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, USA Today, War/Military | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

NYT Nails Donald Rumsfeld!

Posted on 02/15/2011 by Peter Hart

The New York Times stuck it to the former Defense secretary in a Sunday magazine interview: People sometimes call you a war criminal. Does that bother you? For the record, Rumsfeld did seem slightly bothered, because it's "totally untrue. And … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, War/Military | Tagged | 2 Comments

USA Today Edits the Count of the Dead in Iraq

Posted on 01/13/2011 by Jim Naureckas

USA Today (1/12/11) continues the tradition of dishonest reporting on the number of civilian casualties in Iraq. In a front-page article, reporter Tom Vanden Brook writes: Estimates vary among organizations that have tried to count civilian dead, according to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, USA Today, War/Military | Tagged | 6 Comments

Newsweek: Obama=Bush on War, and That's a Good Thing

Posted on 01/03/2011 by Peter Hart

Stephen L. Carter has a piece over atNewsweek that points out that Barack Obama hardly differs from George W. Bush when it comes to war; as the subhead explains: "How does Barack Obama differ as a commander in chief from … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Newsweek, War/Military | Tagged , | 13 Comments

The Media Cult of David Petraeus

Posted on 12/29/2010 by Peter Hart

David Ignatius of the Washington Post (12/29/10): I've seen Petraeus give many briefings over the years, and it's a bit like watching a magician at work. Even though you've seen the trick before, and you know the patter, you still … Continue reading →

Posted in ABC, Media Criticism, War/Military, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 9 Comments