thedrifter
04-25-08, 08:58 AM
A military analyst who puts ethics before the Pentagon's interests
Published Friday, April 25, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
The American public's opinions about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, global terrorism, torture and other national security issues are shaped by the dozens of "military analysts" who appear on TV and radio networks.
Most of those talking heads attained the rank of general or colonel in the Army or Marines before retiring to high-paying jobs in the defense industry and part-time gigs as military analysts on television.
David Barstow wrote a fine story in last Sunday's New York Times that analyzed the analysts and the relationship many have with the Pentagon.
The long story -- much of which was carried that day in the Herald-Tribune -- made several key points:
The Pentagon manipulates what some analysts tell the public. Regular briefings are held for selected analysts, and the Pentagon takes some on trips paid for by taxpayers.
"Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on the air," Barstow wrote. Those ties create conflicts on interest that could color analysts' views.
Networks tell the public little about the relationships analysts have with the Pentagon and private business.
Barstow's story is important. In a democracy, the public must be able to trust that information and opinions it receives from the media are not tainted by government propaganda or by undisclosed personal interests.
William V. Cowan is one of the media analysts mentioned in Barstow's story.
Since 2003, Cowan has been a source regularly consulted by the Herald-Tribune Editorial Board. His name has appeared in seven editorials, in five columns signed by me and on a guest column he wrote for the newspaper. His military background and his company have been noted.
Cowan is a retired Marine lieutenant colonel.
He is a Fox News analyst who has taken several Pentagon-sponsored trips to Iraq and to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He founded and heads the wvc3 group, a company with government and private contracts in the fields of national security and counterterrorism.
And he's a friend of mine.
Cowan's company is noted in The New York Times story (and on the Fox News Web site). Barstow also used Cowan to show what can happen if an analyst doesn't toe the Pentagon line. Cowan told Barstow that the Pentagon quit calling him in 2005 after he said things were not going well in Iraq.
This week, I looked back at all of Cowan's comments presented to readers of the Herald-Tribune. That record confirms what Cowan told Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz on Monday: "I drink nobody's Kool-Aid."
An Oct. 12, 2003, Herald-Tribune editorial quoted Cowan. He called U.S. civilian headquarters in Baghdad "a giant fortress, occupied by hundreds of people running around accomplishing nothing." More must be done, he said, to win the grass-roots support of Iraqis.
"We haven't lost, but there's no compelling evidence that we're winning" was a Cowan quote from an Oct. 24, 2004, column I wrote.
Cowan opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but he believes leaving would create chaos in the Middle East. He voiced that opinion in 2005.
A March 12, 2006, editorial quoted Cowan as saying the outcome in Iraq will depend on forging relationships with the Iraqi people: "With clear exceptions, we've failed to get it right."
I talked to Cowan on Tuesday. He said he always pays his own way on Pentagon trips and doesn't mix business and military analysis. (He said he did not seek to sell armored vests after visiting Anbar Province, as the Times reported.)
The Times story raised good issues, he said.
Cowan said he tells the truth as he sees it because a military analyst "raises expectations."
He recalled getting angry on a day an analyst said things were going well in Iraq. And yet, Cowan said, on that day 18 Marines had died in Iraq.
The Marines' families would hear a knock on the door that day, Cowan said. It was not a good day for those families.
Larry Evans is a Herald-Tribune editorial writer and columnist. He can be reached at larry.evans@heraldtribune.com.
Ellie
Published Friday, April 25, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
The American public's opinions about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, global terrorism, torture and other national security issues are shaped by the dozens of "military analysts" who appear on TV and radio networks.
Most of those talking heads attained the rank of general or colonel in the Army or Marines before retiring to high-paying jobs in the defense industry and part-time gigs as military analysts on television.
David Barstow wrote a fine story in last Sunday's New York Times that analyzed the analysts and the relationship many have with the Pentagon.
The long story -- much of which was carried that day in the Herald-Tribune -- made several key points:
The Pentagon manipulates what some analysts tell the public. Regular briefings are held for selected analysts, and the Pentagon takes some on trips paid for by taxpayers.
"Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on the air," Barstow wrote. Those ties create conflicts on interest that could color analysts' views.
Networks tell the public little about the relationships analysts have with the Pentagon and private business.
Barstow's story is important. In a democracy, the public must be able to trust that information and opinions it receives from the media are not tainted by government propaganda or by undisclosed personal interests.
William V. Cowan is one of the media analysts mentioned in Barstow's story.
Since 2003, Cowan has been a source regularly consulted by the Herald-Tribune Editorial Board. His name has appeared in seven editorials, in five columns signed by me and on a guest column he wrote for the newspaper. His military background and his company have been noted.
Cowan is a retired Marine lieutenant colonel.
He is a Fox News analyst who has taken several Pentagon-sponsored trips to Iraq and to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He founded and heads the wvc3 group, a company with government and private contracts in the fields of national security and counterterrorism.
And he's a friend of mine.
Cowan's company is noted in The New York Times story (and on the Fox News Web site). Barstow also used Cowan to show what can happen if an analyst doesn't toe the Pentagon line. Cowan told Barstow that the Pentagon quit calling him in 2005 after he said things were not going well in Iraq.
This week, I looked back at all of Cowan's comments presented to readers of the Herald-Tribune. That record confirms what Cowan told Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz on Monday: "I drink nobody's Kool-Aid."
An Oct. 12, 2003, Herald-Tribune editorial quoted Cowan. He called U.S. civilian headquarters in Baghdad "a giant fortress, occupied by hundreds of people running around accomplishing nothing." More must be done, he said, to win the grass-roots support of Iraqis.
"We haven't lost, but there's no compelling evidence that we're winning" was a Cowan quote from an Oct. 24, 2004, column I wrote.
Cowan opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but he believes leaving would create chaos in the Middle East. He voiced that opinion in 2005.
A March 12, 2006, editorial quoted Cowan as saying the outcome in Iraq will depend on forging relationships with the Iraqi people: "With clear exceptions, we've failed to get it right."
I talked to Cowan on Tuesday. He said he always pays his own way on Pentagon trips and doesn't mix business and military analysis. (He said he did not seek to sell armored vests after visiting Anbar Province, as the Times reported.)
The Times story raised good issues, he said.
Cowan said he tells the truth as he sees it because a military analyst "raises expectations."
He recalled getting angry on a day an analyst said things were going well in Iraq. And yet, Cowan said, on that day 18 Marines had died in Iraq.
The Marines' families would hear a knock on the door that day, Cowan said. It was not a good day for those families.
Larry Evans is a Herald-Tribune editorial writer and columnist. He can be reached at larry.evans@heraldtribune.com.
Ellie