General Accuses MSM Of Killing Soldiers, Enemy Propaganda - MSM Censors Him
The Washington Post, the AP and others were brutally attacked yesterday by retired General Ricardo Sanchez. He accused them and their political masters of de facto treason, functioning not as journalists, but as lying propagandists bent on advancing Democrat Party power.
Desperate to cover up this news before the truth of their conspiracy should be revealed to the American People, they refused to report these charges, and instead rushed to publish and promote his use of the word “nightmare” with regards to Iraq. ( A place the General has not been to in a long time, and a place where he failed to achieve the type of success that General Petraeus is now achieving. )
However, Sanchez did spend a long time watching the press lie about the war in order to support the Dems campaign for Iraq to be perceived by Americans as a defeat. In other words, he watched them do all they could to help the enemy.
The lede of his speech, the main part, was his attack on the MSM’s and Dems’ treason. The MSM hoped to kick up an anti-Bush soundbite sandstorm that would obscure the following words from notice, from ever being covered in the media. The New York Times report makes no mention, no mention whatsoever, of his attacks on them and their ilk. Read for yourself:
Sample:
“WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS THAT YOU ( the MSM ) ARE PERPETUATING THE CORROSIVE PARTISAN POLITICS THAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY AND KILLING OUR SERVICEMEMBERS WHO ARE AT WAR.” And: “AS I ASSESS VARIOUS MEDIA ENTITIES, SOME ARE UNQUESTIONABLY ENGAGED IN POLITICAL PROPAGANDA THAT IS UNCONTROLLED.”
Opening of speech:
GOOD AFTERNOON LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
SOME OF YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE THIS BUT I AM GLAD TO BE HERE. WHEN SIG ASKED ME IF I WOULD CONSIDER ADDRESSING YOU THERE WAS NO DOUBT THAT I SHOULD COME INTO THE LION’S DEN. THIS WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I HAVE FIRMLY BELIEVED SINCE DESERT SHIELD THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE STRENGTH OF OUR DEMOCRACY THAT THE MILITARY AND THE PRESS CORPS MAINTAIN A STRONG, MUTUALLY RESPECTFUL AND ENABLING RELATIONSHIP. THIS CONTINUES TO BE PROBLEMATIC FOR OUR COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY DURING TIMES OF WAR. ONE OF THE GREATEST MILITARY CORRESPONDENTS OF OUR TIME, JOE GALLOWAY, MADE ME A BELIEVER WHEN HE JOINED THE 24TH INFANTRY DIVISION DURING DESERT STORM.
TODAY, I WILL ATTEMPT TO DO TWO THINGS - FIRST I WILL GIVE YOU MY ASSESSMENT OF THE MILITARY AND PRESS RELATIONSHIP AND THEN I WILL PROVIDE YOU SOME THOUGHTS ON THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WAR EFFORT. AS ALL OF YOU KNOW I HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPERIENCES WITH OUR NATIONS MILITARY WRITERS AND EDITORS. THERE ARE SOME IN YOUR RANKS WHO I CONSIDER TO BE THE EPITOME OF JOURNALISTIC PROFESSIONALISM - JOE GALLOWAY, THOM SHANKER, SIG CHRISTENSEN, AND JOHN BURNS IMMEDIATELY COME TO MIND. THEY EXEMPLIFY WHAT AMERICA SHOULD DEMAND OF OUR JOURNALISTS - TOUGH REPORTING THAT RELIES UPON INTEGRITY, OBJECTIVITY AND FAIRNESS TO GIVE ACCURATE AND THOROUGH ACCOUNTS THAT STRENGTHEN OUR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND IN TURN OUR DEMOCRACY. ON THE OTHER HAND, UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE ISSUED ULTIMATUMS TO SOME OF YOU FOR UNSCRUPULOUS REPORTING THAT WAS SOLELY FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING YOUR AGENDA AND PRECONCIEVED NOTIONS OF WHAT OUR MILITARY HAD DONE. I ALSO REFUSED TO TALK TO THE EUROPEAN STARS AND STRIPES FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS OF MY COMMAND IN GERMANY FOR THEIR EXTREME BIAS AND SINGLE MINDED FOCUS ON ABU GHARAIB.
LET ME REVIEW SOME OF THE DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES THAT HAVE BEEN USED BY SOME OF YOU THAT HAVE MADE MY PERSONAL INTERFACES WITH THE PRESS CORPS DIFFICULT:
“DICTATORIAL AND SOMEWHAT DENSE”,
“NOT A STRATEGIC THOUGHT”,
LIAR,
“DOES NOT GET IT” AND
THE MOST INEXPERIENCED LTG.
IN SOME CASES I HAVE NEVER EVEN MET YOU, YET YOU FEEL QUALIFIED TO MAKE CHARACTER JUDGMENTS THAT ARE COMMUNICATED TO THE WORLD. MY EXPERIENCE IS NOT UNIQUE AND WE CAN FIND OTHER EXAMPLES SUCH AS THE TREATMENT OF SECRETARY BROWN DURING KATRINA. THIS IS THE WORST DISPLAY OF JOURNALISM IMAGINABLE BY THOSE OF US THAT ARE BOUND BY A STRICT VALUE SYSTEM OF SELFLESS SERVICE, HONOR AND INTEGRITY. ALMOST INVARIABLY, MY PERCEPTION IS THAT THE SENSATIONALISTIC VALUE OF THESE ASSESSMENTS IS WHAT PROVIDED THE EDGE THAT YOU SEEK FOR SELF AGRANDIZEMENT OR TO ADVANCE YOUR INDIVIDUAL QUEST FOR GETTING ON THE FRONT PAGE WITH YOUR STORIES! AS I UNDERSTAND IT, YOUR MEASURE OF WORTH IS HOW MANY FRONT PAGE STORIES YOU HAVE WRITTEN AND UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF YOU WILL COMPROMISE YOUR INTEGRITY AND DISPLAY QUESTIONABLE ETHICS AS YOU SEEK TO KEEP AMERICA INFORMED. THIS IS MUCH LIKE THE INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS WHOSE EFFECTIVENESS WAS MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF INTELLIGENCE REPORTS HE PRODUCED. FOR SOME, IT SEEMS THAT AS LONG AS YOU GET A FRONT PAGE STORY THERE IS LITTLE OR NO REGARD FOR THE “COLLATERAL DAMAGE” YOU WILL CAUSE. PERSONAL REPUTATIONS HAVE NO VALUE AND YOU REPORT WITH TOTAL IMPUNITY AND ARE RARELY HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR UNETHICAL CONDUCT.
GIVEN THE NEAR INSTANTANEOUS ABILITY TO REPORT ACTIONS ON THE GROUND, THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ACCURATELY AND TRUTHFULLY REPORT TAKES ON AN UNPRECEDENTED IMPORTANCE. THE SPECULATIVE AND OFTEN UNINFORMED INITIAL REPORTING THAT CHARACTERIZES OUR MEDIA APPEARS TO BE RAPIDLY BECOMING THE STANDARD OF THE INDUSTRY. AN ARAB PROVERB STATES - “Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past, the neglected opportunity.” ONCE REPORTED, YOUR ASSESSMENTS BECOME CONVENTIONAL WISDOM AND NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE. OTHER MAJOR CHALLENGES ARE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO BE MANIPULATED BY “HIGH LEVEL OFFICIALS” WHO LEAK STORIES AND BY LAWYERS WHO USE HYPERBOLE TO STRENGHTEN THEIR ARGUMENTS. YOUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCURATELY AND PROMINENTLY CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES AND YOUR AGENDA DRIVEN BIASES CONTRIBUTE TO THIS CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENT. ALL OF THESE CHALLENGES COMBINED CREATE A MEDIA ENVIRONMENT THAT DOES A TREMENDOUS DISSERVICE TO AMERICA. OVER THE COURSE OF THIS WAR TACTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS HAVE BECOME STRATEGIC DEFEATS FOR AMERICA BECAUSE OF THE TREMENDOUS POWER AND IMPACT OF THE MEDIA AND BY EXTENSION YOU THE JOURNALIST. IN MANY CASES THE MEDIA HAS UNJUSTLY DESTROYED THE INDIVIDUAL REPUTATIONS AND CAREERS OF THOSE INVOLVED. WE REALIZE THAT BECAUSE OF THE NEAR REAL TIME REPORTING ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU FACE IT IS DIFFICULT TO REPORT ACCURATELY. IN MY BUSINESS ONE OF OUR FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS IS THAT “THE FIRST REPORT IS ALWAYS WRONG.” UNFORTUNATELY, IN YOUR BUSINESS “THE FIRST REPORT” GIVES AMERICANS WHO RELY ON THE SNIPPETS OF CNN, IF YOU WILL, THEIR “TRUTHS” AND PERSPECTIVES ON AN ISSUE. AS A COROLLARY TO THIS DEADLINE DRIVEN NEED TO PUBLISH “INITIAL IMPRESSIONS OR OBSERVATIONS” VERSUS OBJECTIVE FACTS THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE FOR US WHO ARE THE SUBJECT OF YOUR REPORTING. WHEN YOU ASSUME THAT YOU ARE CORRECT AND ON THE MORAL HIGH GROUND ON A STORY BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT RESPOND TO QUESTIONS YOU PROVIDED IS THE ULTIMATE ARROGANCE AND DISTORTION OF ETHICS. ONE OF YOUR HIGHLY REPECTED FELLOW JOURNALISTS ONCE TOLD ME THAT THERE ARE SOME AMONGST YOU WHO “FEED FROM A PIG’S TROUGH.” IF THAT IS WHO I AM DEALING WITH THEN I WILL NEVER RESPOND OTHERWISE WE WILL BOTH GET DIRTY AND THE PIG WILL LOVE IT. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR STORY IS ACCURATE.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THIS IS WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS INTENDED. THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR THE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS STATES:
…PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT IS THE FORERUNNER OF JUSTICE AND THE FOUNDATION OF DEMOCRACY. THE DUTY OF THE JOURNALIST IS TO FURTHER THOSE ENDS BY SEEKING TRUTH AND PROVIDING A FAIR AND COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF EVENTS AND ISSUES. CONSCIENTIOUS JOURNALISTS FROM ALL MEDIA AND SPECIALTIES STRIVE TO SERVE THE PUBLIC WITH THOROUGHNESS AND HONESTY. PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY IS THE CORNERSTONE OF A JOURNALIST’S CREDIBILITY
THE BASIC ETHICS OF A JOURNALIST THAT CALLS FOR:
1. SEEKING TRUTH,
2. PROVIDING FAIR AND COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF EVENTS AND ISSUES
3. THOROUGHNESS AND HONESTY
ALL ARE VICTIMS OF THE MASSIVE AGENDA DRIVEN COMPETITION FOR ECONOMIC OR POLITICAL SUPREMACY. THE DEATH KNELL OF YOUR ETHICS HAS BEEN ENABLED BY YOUR PARENT ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO ALIGN THEMSELVES WITH POLITICAL AGENDAS. WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS THAT YOU ARE PERPETUATING THE CORROSIVE PARTISAN POLITICS THAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY AND KILLING OUR SERVICEMEMBERS WHO ARE AT WAR.
MY ASSESSMENT IS THAT YOUR PROFESSION, TO SOME EXTENT, HAS STRAYED FROM THESE ETHICAL STANDARDS AND ALLOWED EXTERNAL AGENDAS TO MANIPULATE WHAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SEES ON TV, WHAT THEY READ IN OUR NEWSPAPERS AND WHAT THEY SEE ON THE WEB. FOR SOME OF YOU, JUST LIKE SOME OF OUR POLITICIANS, THE TRUTH IS OF LITTLE TO NO VALUE IF IT DOES NOT FIT YOUR OWN PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS, BIASES AND AGENDAS.
IT IS ASTOUNDING TO ME WHEN I HEAR THE VEHEMENT DISAGREEMENT WITH THE MILITARY’S FORAYS INTO INFORMATION OPERATIONS THAT SEEK TO DISSEMINATE THE TRUTH AND INFORM THE IRAQI PEOPLE IN ORDER TO COUNTER OUR ENEMY’S BLATANT PROPAGANDA. AS I ASSESS VARIOUS MEDIA ENTITIES, SOME ARE UNQUESTIONABLY ENGAGED IN POLITICAL PROPAGANDA THAT IS UNCONTROLLED. THERE IS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND THAT THE STRENGTH OUR DEMOCRACY AND OUR FREEDOMS REMAIN LINKED TO YOUR ABILITY TO EXERCISE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS - I ADAMANTLY SUPPORT THIS BASIC FOUNDATION OF OUR DEMOCRACY AND COMPLETELY SUPPORTED THE EMBEDDING OF MEDIA INTO OUR FORMATIONS UP UNTIL MY LAST DAY IN UNIFORM. THE ISSUE IS ONE OF MAINTAINING PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND STANDARDS FROM WITHIN YOUR INSTITUTION. MILITARY LEADERS MUST ACCEPT THAT THESE INJUSTICES WILL HAPPEN AND WHETHER THEY LIKE WHAT YOU PRINT OR NOT THEY MUST DEAL WITH YOU AND ENABLE YOU, IF YOU ARE AN ETHICAL JOURNALIST.
FINALLY, I WILL LEAVE THIS SUBJECT WITH A QUESTION THAT WE MUST ASK OURSELVES–WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE ETHICAL STANDARDS OF THE PROFESSION IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT OUR DEMOCRACY DOES NOT CONTINUE TO BE THREATENED BY THIS DANGEROUS SHIFT AWAY FROM YOUR SACRED DUTY OF PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT?
And: WHILE THE POLITICIANS ESPOUSE THEIR RHETORIC DESIGNED TO PRESERVE THEIR REPUTATIONS AND THEIR POLITICAL POWER -OUR SOLDIERS DIE!
And: AMERICA HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS IN IRAQ. A PRECIPITOUS WITHDRAWAL WILL UNQUESTIONABLY LEAD TO CHAOS THAT WOULD ENDANGER THE STABILITY OF THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST.
Full speech here
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Wow.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:34 amI have read some other articles about this and the MSM have made it sound how they want it to sound..which of course is all bad.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:44 amI just re-read this and I saw his speech and the subsequent Q&A on C-SPAN. It was clear pretty quickly that the focus would be an “out of context” emphasis on the word ‘nightmare’ rather than the amazingly accurate rips at both the press and the government.
I might take issue with his reference to the ‘Powell Doctrine’ as THE bellweather on whether or not we do ANYTHING miltarily. Even Thomas Jefferson sent what was the U.S. Navy and Marines at the time to the Barbary Coast without telling Congress until after the ships had sailed.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:57 amI saw the interview yesterday. I don’t recall whether it was C-Span or not. Sanchez castigated both partisanship for political gain over the lives of military people and the press. He slammed them both.
Funny how the LLLMSM only prints the parts of the speech that they liked and ignored the parts that criticised them.
It made big news on CNN, but I didn’t hear the rest of the General’s negative comments on the fucktards in the Congress or the whores in the media.
Gee…who’d thunk that the press would cherry pick comments from a retired General’s speech?
Nice work exposing the sophistry of the press.
October 13th, 2007 at 12:08 pmIf journalists and editors do not police their ranks the day will soon come when they have no credibility with the majority of the people and will be out of a job.
The fact that the tone of their biased rhetoric has become more extreme and desperate is an indication that they are failing in their political objectives. For example consider the juxtaposition of when these morons compare President Bush to some of the worlds most evil despots while AQ sports about with human heads by the hair and committing other unspeakable acts of horror against men, women and children in the name of the often misunderstood religion of islam.
The propagandists of the MSM will know His name is the Lord when when He lays His vengeance upon them.
October 13th, 2007 at 12:15 pmThe Men in uniform fight back against the enemies within.
October 13th, 2007 at 12:48 pmThis man will be riped apart, but hopefully more men in uniform will fight to tell the truth. The enemy, Dems, will have to defend themselves if our men of Honor stand.
When I first read about this yesterday (?) I thought it was another retired, bitter General that hadn’t been there for a few years that had gone off the rails. Fuck, it’s the exact opposite. The US has been infiltrated.
October 13th, 2007 at 1:03 pmI read about this last night on Yahoo and MSNBC. The way they made this sound it sounded like he was totally against the war. They didn’t include ANY of what I see here.
October 13th, 2007 at 1:25 pmTalk about an ultimate case taking stuff out of context and selective journalism. I was thinking it was just another old general who was missing the spotlight. Hope this gets out and bites them in the butt. Course then they’ll probably character assassinate him.
October 13th, 2007 at 2:54 pmHere is the protocol that should be observed by retired generals. Think Wesley Clark when reading it:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/04/whatever_happened_to_duty_hono.html
October 13th, 2007 at 3:24 pmI sent this link to the Drudge Report. Let’s see if Matt Drudge has the guts to link it to his page. Wishful thinking? Maybe, we’ll see.
October 13th, 2007 at 4:06 pmI too thought Gen Sanchez had gone off track, the MSM pricks have honed their shiite well….Sanchez needs to get back out with the rest of the story and put the blame where it belongs!
October 13th, 2007 at 4:43 pmIf I didn’t read this version I would have only heard the MSM’s version of “a nightmare comment” all day long! I encourage all of you to forward this article to all your friends to show them the peril of relying on the MSM for the whole story! Also forward to CNN, NPR, PBS, ABC, NBC, & CBS and demand an explanation!
October 13th, 2007 at 4:56 pmAnd the MSM wonders why they’re hemhorraging readers and viewers…
October 13th, 2007 at 5:22 pmYep…All I heard was the same
The MSM deserves no respect, including their hack reporters
October 13th, 2007 at 6:01 pmMSM did the same thing to rumsfel when he answered a “planted” question fm a stooge guard soldier out of tenn… “you go to war with the military you have not the one you want”.. and they left out a very good answer to the kids question about armoring up the hummers fm a “LAND FILL”.. it gave the country and entirely false impression of the good secretary..now why would they do that????
October 13th, 2007 at 7:29 pmPat:
Thank you again for the grand slam! You are a GREAT asset to the men & women who serve this nation. And now a great asset to the people who don’t understand the situation with the MSM in America. You are a true patriot!
October 13th, 2007 at 9:20 pmWhat a gathering of bad-asses.
October 14th, 2007 at 12:05 amWhen I first heard the “news” about General Sanchez’ speech, I couldn’t believe my ears. This man had been so professional in the past -so I thought he had been disillusioned. I should have known better. Everytime I do this, fall for a story in the mainstream media, I kick myself and know I should have ignored the story and remembered what I knew: that the media will lie about anything to anyone anywhere, truth be damned. I’d like to know who the heck (self-censored) these media goons think they are. Freedom of the press is one thing - using it to destroy good people is heinous, a hate crime so to speak. Thank God, General Sanchez forced them to prove his point! Go, General Sanchez!
October 14th, 2007 at 5:55 amWhen only selected parts are promoted, it is scary. Our children and grandchildren will be learning in the future only half truths about this war on terror. As often said, if we don’t learn from history, it will be repeated. Looking to the future, with all it’s new innovations, the repitition that might occur boggles the mind.
The FULL TRUTH is something that we REALLY owe our next generations.
October 14th, 2007 at 6:31 amI don’t know why the public should be surprised at what the drivebys do or say, isolated in their own self-serving cocoon. I congratulate the general on his perspicacity and zinging the very people who deserve this criticism in full measure. If the MSM thought they could get away with this, they are sadly mistaken. Unfortunately, even Fox News came up with the nightmare quote and I was rather incredulous that they did not make a full presentation in context of the General’s speech.
October 14th, 2007 at 7:13 amThink about it. Where would the Democrats be without the MSM creating and maintaining a misinformed public? Unfortunately, when one political party effectively controls a national propaganda machine, there’s not much hope the truth (the WHOLE truth) will ever be published.
When truth and facts are subjective you can be certain neither is reliable.
October 14th, 2007 at 7:59 amAnother eye-opener. I was so tired of hearing “military” dissing the military that I didn’t read much of Gen. Sancez redacted speech yesterday. I haven’t read the entire version yet, but my jaw dropped as I read this page, and all of my earlier disappointment was suddenly turned to hope to see that someone actually swung a counterpunch at the lying media. God bless this man, and help him keep on keeping on.
October 14th, 2007 at 1:17 pmThe MSM treatment of his speech is treason.
October 14th, 2007 at 3:22 pmThank you Sir.
Maureen
“IT SEEMS THAT CONGRESS RECOGNIZES THAT THE MILITARY CANNOT ACHIEVE VICTORY ALONE IN THIS WAR. YET THEY CONTINUE TO DEMAND VICTORY FROM OUR MILITARY. WHO WILL DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE FAILURE OF OUR NATIONAL POLITICAL LEADERS INVOLVED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS WAR? THEY HAVE UNQUESTIONABLY BEEN DERELICT IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR DUTY. IN MY PROFESSION, THESE TYPE OF LEADERS WOULD IMMEDIATELY BE RELIEVED OR COURTMARTIALED. ”
Sanchez is harsh all around but he emphasizes the need for a “grand strategy” only achievable by “bi-partisanship”, however, I am failing to see any substance as to what this exactly means. He sounds like a politician!
It seems he wants to lift up the spirits of the troops(a noble and necessary thing) yet, thinks the war to date has been a failure and will remain as long as this “grand stategy” is not formulated, however, his own negativity seems to reflect the very negativity of congress and the press that has lowered the morale of the troops in the first place.
I’m glad he is retired. We dont need anymore negative leaders with no real plan but a great ability to state the obvious.
October 14th, 2007 at 10:24 pm