War tactics should "l
not be disclosed
pse
demolition
nd other debris
Monday.
-long bridge -
a the mainland
ngest bridge ini: Americans. America’s media has been at
id cost $5 milliot he forefront of every battle we have
the federal Sj ought since the Persian Gulf War. To pro-
Monday to acm ectthe safety of our soldiers, this cannot
m allowed to happen anymore.
In the Persian Gulf
Wi
'ith the reality of war getting clos
er every day, America has a battle
to fight other than the one against
he terrorists that killed more than 6,000
:r Loan prograi
inty affected bj
War. CNN crews traveled
with many soldiers,
broadcasting their battles
with the Iraqi soldiers
live on television. While
informing the American
public and gaining its top
ratings, CNN also served
as Iraq’s intelligence sys
tem. While Iraq did not
eem to gain much of an upper hand by
ing on a resoL^vatching CNN, we cannot allow anything
ay at
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S IN BRIEF
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THOMAS
CAMPBELL
ooccur which would have the possibility
)f threatening our soldiers' safety,
look at altem Sporting troop movements live via satel
lite could compromise our soldiers’ safety
s well.
In Kosovo, television crews broadcast
>ur planes leaving bases on live television.
Ihis proved to serve as advance warning
or Kosovo air defenses. There is no viable
fexas Transport: easontodo anything that would allow
in. BMiemies to know the location and move-
tient of our soldiers.
As war looms in the near future,
Secretary of State Colin Powell ordered
hat no civilian reporters or cameras w ill
)e allowed to travel with infantry units or
ravel on our ships. This may save many
ives because the Afghanistan soldiers will
j tot be able to know where we are by
watching the news.
Our soldiers are heroes on par with the
firefighters in New York City. They have
given an oath that they will use all means
to protect our country from all forces, for-
a false alarm of elgn or domestic. By giving this oath, U.S.
misdemeanor sad < soldiers have offered their lives so that all
pos, assisbvz- $ Americans can sleep another night under
McLennan W
•bation Depaftwt
:alled West
ice about l:30pjn
determine that ft
ed from her homt
‘he school was
the blanket of freedom. Americans are all
indebted to soldiers, past and present, for
the sacrifice they have made so that we can
d'Robert Hartfe *‘ ve ' n freedom. Now is our time to protect
t School Disltitl ourtro °P s b y 1101 reporting their locations
'fit.' Officials { S| dn( * Hi ovements -
While our technology has improved so
much that we can broadcast Jive anywhere
in the world, we must show restraint for
the benefit of the country.
Afghanistan held off Russian forces for a
'ear before Russia finally pulled out. They
lay prove to be a formidable foe. Whether
)r not Afghanistan has a tough military, the
media should not do anything that would
lelp the Afghan army in any way.
Reporters that travel with combat units
make for a security risk. All reporters are
coking for the best scoop, and in that
ski tearch, they may compromise the security
orders. Our soldiers should not feel
the girl
r the rest
West is about
of Waco
d County
tishes Sun
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ve;
ina
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ty of Texas all impelled in any way to have to protect
an agreed
he El Paso Coni! )n their orders and their enemy. By having
ers Court and ft rivilians there, our soldiers may be dis-
racted or divert from orders to protect the
eporters’ lives.
The military also has what is called
:ombat camera. Those soldiers that are in
:ombat camera are field trained and can
ivilians, but rather should keep their mind
)f Texas
ents.
is agreed Mond?
3 to receive the sS
lange for thei
ingthecountyC,., ^ D •
jrships everyV #1 if the situation arises. By utilizing
r $1,600 -ft combat camera soldiers, we would be
lue of the stadin' issured that no secure information would
antee thattheS^ >ereleased, and the Afghan army would
I game will lot be able to get intelligence updates from
it local schools#! elevision news stations.
:o the stadium. Our number one priority in this upcom-
n waiting for a ing conflict is to win the war of terrorism,
ong time andtlfc ^ sav j n g as man y American lives as
ng moment, ® possible. This will only be possible with
i Dolores Bi# ^ ^ cooperation of all Americans —
win situation, es|^ s T ,•
tmilies of El Rasof s P ec,a,| y the media
nent, which
rear of legal
receive appro*
Board of Ref
signed by a ji
alized.
, the county
velop scholarsti?
e first 10 set#
awarded
emester.
ersy over the Si' ., , 0 x
in August 20ft' M'P on Monday Sept. 24th
Thomas Campbell is a senior
agriculturaljournalism major.
WAR The public must be
updated on tactics
GEORGE
DEUTSCH
T hough it may seem ugly, America
once again finds itself faced with an
impending war. Some, including
Secretary of State Colin Powell, would
deny the American public any overseas
civilian media coverage of this war, claim
ing that this coverage would only compro
mise national security. But in reality, a
decision to deny civilian reporters the right
to deliver the news only
compromises the United
States’ freedom of press,
thereby stripping all
Americans of their First
Amendment right.
Because of the poten
tial loss of American life
involved, no one is happy
with the possibility of a —
new war. But as this possibil
ity becomes a reality, the American public
is entitled to witness the day-to-day devel
opments of this war from the front lines.
A war waged against the American
people requires that the American people
themselves know what they are facing,
whether at home or abroad. Just as sol
diers must man their posts, reporters, too,
have obligations to the public during
these trying times. Their duty is to relay
the news, and this duty becomes increas
ingly more important in times of war.
Every citizen now has a responsibility to
his country; reporters must not be stopped
from fulfilling theirs.
Critics of civilian war coverage will
argue that it can potentially divulge sol
dier locations and military maneuvers to
opposing forces.
But for those who do not remember, the
war in the Persian Gulf was a decisive
American victory. No amount of media
coverage in the world could have saved
Iraq; the fact is, news coverage did not play
a significant role.
Ultimately, warfare is waged on both
physical and mental fronts. If terrorist
forces are allowed to dictate U.S. media
involvement, the global community will see
America as intimidated and the Unites
States will lose much of its psychological
edge. No matter the circumstances, out
siders cannot be allowed to control this
country’s actions in any way, whether they
are military or media related.
Admittedly, if the American news were
to somehow divulge sensitive military
maneuvers or battle strategies to the
Afghans, it could present a problem. But
civilian reporters should nonetheless be
allowed to accompany soldiers with the
understanding that they, for the safety of
their country, will not report militarily sen
sitive information of any kind. The govern
ment has no legitimate reason to remove
the media from the picture entirely.
The potential for overseas news cover
age of “Operation Infinite Justice” may
already be looking bad. The Taliban, the
ruling Afghan government, has told CNN
to leave Afghanistan, and it looks as if
much of the U.S. reporting there will be
done illegally. If civilian news crews are
allowed to accompany U.S. soldiers, they
have a much more realistic chance of not
only reporting the news, but also survival.
The Taliban has also taken steps to ban
the Internet in Afghanistan, as they consid
er it “wrong, obscene, immoral and against
Islam,” according to Foreign Minister
Mahlui Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil. A war-
torn nation such as Afghanistan does little
to embrace technology. They do not stand
to gain any significant wartime advantage
from the U.S. media.
Whether the coverage is extensive or
limited, the American media has an obliga
tion to history to capture this country’s new
war. Terrorism has done enough to infringe
on the rights of Americans, the government
cannot be allowed to do the same.
George Deutsch is a junior
journalism major.
MAIL CALL
,
CARTOON OF THE DAY
Corps overreacts
In response to the comic
isked the ...
to build a $91*' I seem to have misunder-
ilning centers*' >tood the point of a comic
$3 million ^ strip. For a while I thought it
and repairsvas intended to be taken
ight-heartedly and with a
i was built ^ augh, yet the Corps has once
ey in 1961 a* ig a j n 'taken it to far. I was
;d to UTERbyh imderthe impression that the
a year ever# ;omic wou |d have only taken
asked to use! ,^^^6 Trigon and/or the
days each year ^3^ personnel who called
JTEpTeW orBravos t0 be WOrn by the
Cadets on game day. This
was not a hit on their patriot
ism just a joke about how
their khaki uniforms looked
mixed in with a sea of blue.
If the Cadets had an issue
with people commenting on
how they looked they should
not have. Everyone on cam
pus knows that they have to
wear their uniforms everyday
and that they take pride in
that, so why even let some
comic strip offend you about
not matching the rest of the
students at the game.
And as for the many
Americans who have died for
our country and our flag, they
did it not only for themselves,
but also for those whose opin
ions differed from their own,
so think twice before throwing
their legacy into the
Battalion's face.
Camille Munoz
Class of 2003
Aggie show their
true colors
I watched the game with a
dozen other Aggies here in
California and was stricken
with goose bumps every time
the cameras panned the
crowd. The Red White and
Blue Out at Kyle Field was
truly remarkable. As always,
the 12th Man finds a unique
way to show its spirit. You
reminded me why I’m so
proud to be an Aggie, and
even prouder to be an
American.
Kathy Clarke
Class of 1995
AT TOE KEILOO'S BAPn
'TVL£