Media Plant Armor Question
A reporter planted the question about vehicle armor that Spc. Thomas Wilson, a Tennessee National Guardsman, asked Sec. Rumsfeld in Kuwait Wednesday. The reporter got his desired effect: A media frenzy seeking to discredit the Bush administration.
Putting aside by cynism about the media for a moment, I can acknowledge the potential for noble intent by the media here. They could be trying to hasten the delivery of more Humvees with Level 1 and Level 2 armor -- but that supposes that the Defense Department isn't already fully engaged in doing just that. Since DOD has been stepping up orders for armored vehicles ever since the insurgency started attacking our vehicles, the noble intent defense fails.
The LA Times led with Bush and his top military leaders "scrambling" to "contain political damage." But the jump of the story was headlined, "Reporter May Have Helped to Craft Question Posed by Soldier to Rumsfeld." (here) Good for them ... although "may have" is a strange verb form given this portion of the report:
On Thursday, it was learned that a Tennessee reporter posted with Spc. Wilson's unit may have helped craft the question the soldier posed to Rumsfeld. Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Edward Lee Pitts wrote about his role in an e-mail to colleagues posted on a popular website that tracks news in the media industry.
"Beforehand, we worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld about the appalling lack of armor their vehicles going into combat have," Pitts wrote. "While waiting for the VIP [Rumsfeld], I went and found the [sergeant] in charge of the microphone … and made sure he knew to get my guys out of the crowd."
The revelation of the reporter's involvement provoked a sharp retort from the Pentagon.
"Town hall meetings are intended for soldiers to have dialogue with the secretary of Defense," Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said. "It would be unfortunate to discover that anyone might have interfered with that opportunity, whatever the intention."
Di Rita did not say whether action would be taken against the reporter, such as canceling his permission to be embedded with the Guard unit headed for Iraq.
I searched for the Web site the Times mentioned, but was unable to find it.
For the record on vehicle armor: According to the LATimes, there are 6,000 factory manufactured armored Humvees in Iraq. Another 2,000 are needed and production lines have switched to deliver them. Another 10,000 vehicles are equipped with "level 2" armor that bolts on but is less effective because it offers no protection for the top and bottom of the vehicle. There are 4,500 vehicles with "level 3" armor, a "stopgap" measure of welded steel plates attached to the sides of trucks and Humvees. Of the 30,000 wheeled vehicles U.S. troops are operating throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, approximately 8,000 lack armored protection.
There's more on Drudge, including this link to Pitts' story.
Putting aside by cynism about the media for a moment, I can acknowledge the potential for noble intent by the media here. They could be trying to hasten the delivery of more Humvees with Level 1 and Level 2 armor -- but that supposes that the Defense Department isn't already fully engaged in doing just that. Since DOD has been stepping up orders for armored vehicles ever since the insurgency started attacking our vehicles, the noble intent defense fails.
The LA Times led with Bush and his top military leaders "scrambling" to "contain political damage." But the jump of the story was headlined, "Reporter May Have Helped to Craft Question Posed by Soldier to Rumsfeld." (here) Good for them ... although "may have" is a strange verb form given this portion of the report:
On Thursday, it was learned that a Tennessee reporter posted with Spc. Wilson's unit may have helped craft the question the soldier posed to Rumsfeld. Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Edward Lee Pitts wrote about his role in an e-mail to colleagues posted on a popular website that tracks news in the media industry.
"Beforehand, we worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld about the appalling lack of armor their vehicles going into combat have," Pitts wrote. "While waiting for the VIP [Rumsfeld], I went and found the [sergeant] in charge of the microphone … and made sure he knew to get my guys out of the crowd."
The revelation of the reporter's involvement provoked a sharp retort from the Pentagon.
"Town hall meetings are intended for soldiers to have dialogue with the secretary of Defense," Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said. "It would be unfortunate to discover that anyone might have interfered with that opportunity, whatever the intention."
Di Rita did not say whether action would be taken against the reporter, such as canceling his permission to be embedded with the Guard unit headed for Iraq.
I searched for the Web site the Times mentioned, but was unable to find it.
For the record on vehicle armor: According to the LATimes, there are 6,000 factory manufactured armored Humvees in Iraq. Another 2,000 are needed and production lines have switched to deliver them. Another 10,000 vehicles are equipped with "level 2" armor that bolts on but is less effective because it offers no protection for the top and bottom of the vehicle. There are 4,500 vehicles with "level 3" armor, a "stopgap" measure of welded steel plates attached to the sides of trucks and Humvees. Of the 30,000 wheeled vehicles U.S. troops are operating throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, approximately 8,000 lack armored protection.
There's more on Drudge, including this link to Pitts' story.
posted by Laer at 6:58 AM
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