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EMBEDDED: WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION
we were supposed to be in relation to where the
troops were going to be, how to get on and off helicopters,
what to do for a gas attack, how quick you
have to react,” said Fox News Channel’s Pentagon
correspondent Bret Baier.
Baier has also covered military missions in
Afghanistan and said in the next war he’d like
to embed with a unit. “I think this next war is
going to be a lot different media-wise. I trust
(the military) that they’re trying to get a lot
more people in more forward areas,” he said. “I
think that if that happens and you’re able to file
stories with the military, then that’s the most
compelling story out there and maybe the
safest place to be.”
That’s exactly what the military wants reporters
to think. Military officials would rather have media
members embed with units and remain under their
protection than running around the battlefield on
their own. It’s safer for the media and safer for the
military.
“We believe in this. There has been a lot of discussion
about how best to prepare journalists for
embedding in a more conventional conflict should
the president order us into whatever is next, perhaps
Iraq,” said Marine Brig. Gen. Andrew Davis,
director of Marine Corps Public Affairs.
“We want to have journalists with us who are
knowledgeable enough to write smartly about the
military, get the ranks right, understand the tactics
and the equipment and also have enough self-protection
and field skills so that they wouldn’t endanger
themselves or endanger the mission or endan-
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ger the Marines,” he said.
Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke traveled to
Quantico to participate in the march this morning.
She said she thinks the military and media members
who participated each recognized how hard
the others work.
“One of the things I’m hearing from both the
media and the military is they have a new and
greater appreciation for how hard each other’s jobs
are,” she said.
ABC’s Scuitto agreed. “I already had a lot of
respect for what these (military) guys do,” he said.
“But you gain more respect when you see the type
of training these guys go through.”
Embedding media members with military units
isn’t without controversy. On the evening before the
big march, some media members expressed their
discomfort with being seen wearing camouflage
military equipment. Many used white tape to write
“press” or “TV” boldly on their gear.
Media members want to clearly define their role
as noncombatants on the battlefield.
“Particularly in certain parts of this world it’s
already perceived that the American media is on
the military’s side,” Scuitto said. “I don’t believe it
true, but that’s the perception.”
Davis said the military recognizes the potential
problems and agrees wholeheartedly. “We have
been scrupulous about keeping the distinction
between noncombatants and combatants,” he
said. ●
Source: The Defense Department’s
American Forces Press Service