thedrifter
05-11-04, 05:17 AM
05-10-2004
Reckless Reporting a Threat to Marines’ Families
By Matthew Dodd
A few weeks ago, I began an occasional series of articles to examine the news media’s reporting and understanding of leadership, and especially military leadership principles and fundamentals. Today, I want to spin off that track to expand my focus by commenting on the news media’s reporting and understanding of the military’s role in the global war on terrorism.
To help me frame my comments, here is a very good description of the importance of the global war on terrorism from radio and television talk show host and commentator Sean Hannity from his book, Let Freedom Ring:
“From the moment those two planes hit those two towers, it was crystal clear to me: America is at war. Not an old, cold, Communist war, but a new, hot, holy war. Not against an evil nation – a regime with a capital, an army, a navy, and an air force – but against an evil network that is wealthy, stealthy, and extremely deadly. To win, we must fight with bullets, bombs, spy satellites, special ops, and the latest weapons in our high-tech, high-intelligence arsenal. But we must understand that this is also now a war of ideas: between good and evil; between right and wrong; between the Judeo-Christian values upon which this country was founded and the violent nihilism of radical Islam. And make no mistake: it’s winner take all. The shadowy, clandestine forces arrayed against us will not slow their progress until they have decapitated our leaders, destroyed our freedoms, and ushered in a new age of slavery and darkness – unless we stop them with deadly force. Even now, as they have been for years, they are feverishly pursuing weapons of mass destruction. And when they have them, they will use them. …They are focused. They are fearless. They are disciplined. And they will pay any price to advance their jihad – until they win, or die. Period.”
A DefenseWatch supporter recently alerted me to a seemingly harmless Knight-Ridder News Service article about Marine combat operations in Iraq that, for the average reader, probably came across as informative and entertaining. However, from my perspective as a career Marine officer, this was careless, ignorant, and totally irresponsible reporting that has endangered the lives of the Marines it reported on and their families back home.
The article included several informative and entertaining elements:
* “U.S. Marines awaiting orders to attack here are using a not-so-secret weapon to winnow down enemy fighters that commanders consider more effective than a 500-pound bomb: Sniper teams that target anyone suspected of being an insurgent. In the past three weeks, two sniper teams attached to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment have shot down 90 people who have strayed into their sights.”
* “The two teams are part of the 100 Marine sharpshooters deployed by three battalions around the city. One sniper secreted away in another corner of Fallujah has ‘26 confirmed kills,’ military officers here report. “Every time we get to kill somebody, he is no longer shooting at the Marines,’ said [one sniper].”
* “From rooftops, in fields and around alleyways, the sharpshooters are an offensive force - at a time when most Marines are under orders to fire only when attacked.”
* “A sniper team consists of four men, each of whom carries a sniper rifle, an M-16 and a pistol, as well as extra ammo and a host of other equipment. They set up sniper nests from which they track suspected enemy fighters with special long-range scopes, thermal imaging devices and computerized equipment. If the team agrees a person has ‘hostile intent’ - such as carrying a weapon or rocket-propelled grenade - a designated sharpshooter cuts him down with a special bolt-action rifle, killing him with a single shot up to 1,000 yards away.”
* “They've become the enemy’s worst nightmare. We have something they can’t counter” … “It’s better to send a well-aimed bullet down than a 500-pound bomb, … commanders boast that in on-again, off-again negotiations with Fallujah’s civic leaders, the Arabs asked first that the Marines withdraw their snipers.”
* “The snipers say they target only people with ‘hostile intent’ and are given wide latitude to determine that. While an infantryman is under orders to fire only if a person is leveling a weapon, sharpshooters may fire at people whose behavior suggests they are part of the insurgency … Already, [one sniper] has been in Fallujah 21 days and counts eight confirmed kills and another five probable kills in that time. … Besides sharpshooting, the snipers have also called in airstrikes on mortar positions and used their long-range rifles to detonate a dead rebel with an explosive vest at a safe distance.”
* “He had never hunted before becoming a Marine. Now, he said, ‘I’m a hunter of gunmen.’ ”
I have deep respect for Marine Corps snipers. They are a special breed of warrior, and a tremendous force-multiplier on any battlefield.
The careless, ignorant, and totally irresponsible reporting in the article was that it included the names, ranks, ages, and hometowns of the snipers quoted and highlighted in the article.
Here is my perspective.
We are in a nasty global war on terrorism. Our enemy is a network of terrorist organizations around the world that can be considered wealthy, lethal, and powerful international gangs or organized crime “families” with potential “sleeper cells” that have successfully attacked the U.S. homeland and killed thousands of innocent citizens. Their rhetoric justifies retaliation for any real or perceived transgression against them.
That is the situation in which this reckless article appeared: It provided enough personal information about the Marines responsible that it would not be too difficult for terrorists in today’s cyber-world to search for and find those Marines’ families.
How to retaliate against such a more powerful foe on the battlefield? It does not take a genius – or a gang leader or Mafia boss – to see that retaliation at home against your foe’s family would be a very effective tactic. The potential dangers faced by the snipers’ families now are just as real as those faced by witnesses and undercover police officers who take on gangs and organized crime.
The DefenseWatch supporter who brought this article to my attention sent an e-mail to the Knight-Ridder News Service two days after the article was posted on its website. His e-mail read, in part:
“I used to work in the intelligence field. I know from my limited experience the information released in [your] article could potentially put the families of those two Marines in danger. I ask that your organization try to limit reference to personnel by rank and initials, or maybe by age and what state they may be from. It wouldn’t make the story any less important or less valid. But it would keep the families of those serving in harm’s way a bit more safe.
I will be forwarding this message to officials in the Department of Defense also. I thank you for the opportunity to express my views.”
The DefenseWatch supporter received a response from the news organization right away that said that the e-mail comments would be forwarded to the reporter and [the reporter’s] editors. After seven days, the supporter still had not gotten any Defense Department response, except for a “thank you message” that guaranteed a response within 24 hours.
Such reckless regard for the health and welfare of our deployed warriors’ families during our global war on terrorism by any news media and the Defense Department is simply inexcusable and borderline treason.
Lt. Col. Matthew Dodd USMC is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at mattdodd1775@hotmail.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=475&rnd=892.8891774425206
Ellie
Reckless Reporting a Threat to Marines’ Families
By Matthew Dodd
A few weeks ago, I began an occasional series of articles to examine the news media’s reporting and understanding of leadership, and especially military leadership principles and fundamentals. Today, I want to spin off that track to expand my focus by commenting on the news media’s reporting and understanding of the military’s role in the global war on terrorism.
To help me frame my comments, here is a very good description of the importance of the global war on terrorism from radio and television talk show host and commentator Sean Hannity from his book, Let Freedom Ring:
“From the moment those two planes hit those two towers, it was crystal clear to me: America is at war. Not an old, cold, Communist war, but a new, hot, holy war. Not against an evil nation – a regime with a capital, an army, a navy, and an air force – but against an evil network that is wealthy, stealthy, and extremely deadly. To win, we must fight with bullets, bombs, spy satellites, special ops, and the latest weapons in our high-tech, high-intelligence arsenal. But we must understand that this is also now a war of ideas: between good and evil; between right and wrong; between the Judeo-Christian values upon which this country was founded and the violent nihilism of radical Islam. And make no mistake: it’s winner take all. The shadowy, clandestine forces arrayed against us will not slow their progress until they have decapitated our leaders, destroyed our freedoms, and ushered in a new age of slavery and darkness – unless we stop them with deadly force. Even now, as they have been for years, they are feverishly pursuing weapons of mass destruction. And when they have them, they will use them. …They are focused. They are fearless. They are disciplined. And they will pay any price to advance their jihad – until they win, or die. Period.”
A DefenseWatch supporter recently alerted me to a seemingly harmless Knight-Ridder News Service article about Marine combat operations in Iraq that, for the average reader, probably came across as informative and entertaining. However, from my perspective as a career Marine officer, this was careless, ignorant, and totally irresponsible reporting that has endangered the lives of the Marines it reported on and their families back home.
The article included several informative and entertaining elements:
* “U.S. Marines awaiting orders to attack here are using a not-so-secret weapon to winnow down enemy fighters that commanders consider more effective than a 500-pound bomb: Sniper teams that target anyone suspected of being an insurgent. In the past three weeks, two sniper teams attached to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment have shot down 90 people who have strayed into their sights.”
* “The two teams are part of the 100 Marine sharpshooters deployed by three battalions around the city. One sniper secreted away in another corner of Fallujah has ‘26 confirmed kills,’ military officers here report. “Every time we get to kill somebody, he is no longer shooting at the Marines,’ said [one sniper].”
* “From rooftops, in fields and around alleyways, the sharpshooters are an offensive force - at a time when most Marines are under orders to fire only when attacked.”
* “A sniper team consists of four men, each of whom carries a sniper rifle, an M-16 and a pistol, as well as extra ammo and a host of other equipment. They set up sniper nests from which they track suspected enemy fighters with special long-range scopes, thermal imaging devices and computerized equipment. If the team agrees a person has ‘hostile intent’ - such as carrying a weapon or rocket-propelled grenade - a designated sharpshooter cuts him down with a special bolt-action rifle, killing him with a single shot up to 1,000 yards away.”
* “They've become the enemy’s worst nightmare. We have something they can’t counter” … “It’s better to send a well-aimed bullet down than a 500-pound bomb, … commanders boast that in on-again, off-again negotiations with Fallujah’s civic leaders, the Arabs asked first that the Marines withdraw their snipers.”
* “The snipers say they target only people with ‘hostile intent’ and are given wide latitude to determine that. While an infantryman is under orders to fire only if a person is leveling a weapon, sharpshooters may fire at people whose behavior suggests they are part of the insurgency … Already, [one sniper] has been in Fallujah 21 days and counts eight confirmed kills and another five probable kills in that time. … Besides sharpshooting, the snipers have also called in airstrikes on mortar positions and used their long-range rifles to detonate a dead rebel with an explosive vest at a safe distance.”
* “He had never hunted before becoming a Marine. Now, he said, ‘I’m a hunter of gunmen.’ ”
I have deep respect for Marine Corps snipers. They are a special breed of warrior, and a tremendous force-multiplier on any battlefield.
The careless, ignorant, and totally irresponsible reporting in the article was that it included the names, ranks, ages, and hometowns of the snipers quoted and highlighted in the article.
Here is my perspective.
We are in a nasty global war on terrorism. Our enemy is a network of terrorist organizations around the world that can be considered wealthy, lethal, and powerful international gangs or organized crime “families” with potential “sleeper cells” that have successfully attacked the U.S. homeland and killed thousands of innocent citizens. Their rhetoric justifies retaliation for any real or perceived transgression against them.
That is the situation in which this reckless article appeared: It provided enough personal information about the Marines responsible that it would not be too difficult for terrorists in today’s cyber-world to search for and find those Marines’ families.
How to retaliate against such a more powerful foe on the battlefield? It does not take a genius – or a gang leader or Mafia boss – to see that retaliation at home against your foe’s family would be a very effective tactic. The potential dangers faced by the snipers’ families now are just as real as those faced by witnesses and undercover police officers who take on gangs and organized crime.
The DefenseWatch supporter who brought this article to my attention sent an e-mail to the Knight-Ridder News Service two days after the article was posted on its website. His e-mail read, in part:
“I used to work in the intelligence field. I know from my limited experience the information released in [your] article could potentially put the families of those two Marines in danger. I ask that your organization try to limit reference to personnel by rank and initials, or maybe by age and what state they may be from. It wouldn’t make the story any less important or less valid. But it would keep the families of those serving in harm’s way a bit more safe.
I will be forwarding this message to officials in the Department of Defense also. I thank you for the opportunity to express my views.”
The DefenseWatch supporter received a response from the news organization right away that said that the e-mail comments would be forwarded to the reporter and [the reporter’s] editors. After seven days, the supporter still had not gotten any Defense Department response, except for a “thank you message” that guaranteed a response within 24 hours.
Such reckless regard for the health and welfare of our deployed warriors’ families during our global war on terrorism by any news media and the Defense Department is simply inexcusable and borderline treason.
Lt. Col. Matthew Dodd USMC is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at mattdodd1775@hotmail.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=475&rnd=892.8891774425206
Ellie