Love and Marriage on Guiding Light
September 11, 2009 4:16 PM
As the lights begin to dim on the 72-year-old soap opera "Guiding Light," Kim Zimmer and Robert Newman - Reva and Josh - talk about their multiple marriages.
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See all 24 CommentsI am writing to complain about David Martin?s interview with General Stanley McChrystal (September 27), the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Though McChrystal was transparently campaigning for more funding for war, Martin asked not one tough question, not one challenging follow-up. Despite the fact that McChrystal's arguments might have been lifted from Westmoreland's Vietnam playbook, Martin raised not a peep of doubt or skepticism about the feasibility of the General's plans. Viewers might have learned, for instance, that there are currently MORE U.S. military personnel in Afgahnistan (including private contractors) than the Soviet Union had at the peak of its occupation in the 1970s. Nor did Martin question any of the basic assumptions about why the U.S. is there, or what its mission is.
McChrystal has a public record of what can at best be characterized as poor judgement, and at worst as outright deceit and rank propaganda. Recall the 2003 Pentagon press briefings on the progress of the Iraq war, where he offered this zinger: "I could anticipate that the major combat engagements are over.? McChrystal also headed the unit that found and killed Abu Musab al-Zarquai, Task Force 6-26. That unit was notorious for its frequent use of torture. And McChrystal was involved in the cover up of the Pat Tillman friendly fire incident. Even a tepidly critical journalist would have broached these subjects, but Martin touched on none of this. He seemed more interested in gushing over a U.S. "war hero," admiring the General's personal qualities (even likening him to a monk).
I was shocked and kind of awed by the story's sheer propaganda. An old Soviet journalist couldn't have produced a better piece for the USSR's adventures in Afgahnistan. I don't expect radical muckraking journalism from 60 Minutes, but this kind of "news" has no place in a free press.
Sincerely,
Andrew Gebhardt
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See all 24 Comments