Dan Rather Bemoans "Patriotism Run Amok"

[/ dave /]

[This little item was read over the BBC World Service as a "headline" 
story of sorts, but so far seems largely buried in the U.S., tucked in 
the Arts/Entertainment section or with other unplaced wire services 
stories. (Rather's complaints about the Bush administration come a day 
after he and his network, CBS, were taken to task by that same 
administration for showing 15 seconds of the Daniel Pearl video in a 
story about how that video was being used to recruit new converts...)]

Newsman Rather Tells Americans Ask More Questions
By REUTERS

Filed at 7:47 p.m. ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran U.S. news anchor Dan Rather warned Americans 
on Thursday not to let patriotism in the wake of the September 11 
attacks stop them from asking tough questions of President Bush and his 
"war on terror."

Speaking to the BBC's Newsnight current affairs program, Rather said the 
heightened sense of patriotism after September 11 risked getting out of 
control, and stopping the press from holding the government to account 
over its war in Afghanistan.

"I worry that patriotism run amok, will trample the very values that the 
country seeks to defend," said the CBS newsman, whose steely manner and 
professionalism became a symbol of America's resilience in the dark days 
after September 11.

"In a constitutional republic, based on the principles of democracy such 
as ours, you simply cannot sustain warfare without the people at large 
understanding why we fight, how we fight, and have a sense of 
accountability to the very top.''

Rather admitted that journalists, himself included, often felt under 
pressure to pull their punches for fear of being branded unpatriotic -- 
the equivalent of having a "flaming tire" hung around their neck.

"One finds oneself saying "I know the right question, but you know what? 
This is not exactly the right time to ask it,'' he said.

"What we are talking about here -- whether one wants to recognize it or 
not, or call it by its proper name or not -- is a form of 
self-censorship,'' said Rather.

He also accused the Bush administration of giving news organizations too 
little access and information, which he said went directly against the 
Pentagon's stated policy of giving ''maximum information and maximum 
openness'' about the war.

"There has never been an American war, small or large, in which access 
has been so limited as this one,'' he said.

The news black-out was allowing those in charge, who were putting the 
lives of American servicemen and women at risk, to hide, he said.

"Limiting access, limiting information to cover the backsides of those 
who are in charge of the war, is extremely dangerous and cannot and 
should not be accepted,'' he said.

The more the American public swallowed the official line under the 
banner of patriotism, the more government accountability would suffer, 
Rather said.

"I am sorry to say that...overwhelmingly it has been accepted by the 
American people. And the current administration revels in that, they 
relish that, and they take refuge in that.''

He also panned the increasing "Hollywoodization of war'' that is 
sweeping across the U.S. media, with hit shows such as VH1's 'Military 
Diaries', featuring real soldiers talking frankly about their 
experiences on Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.

"I want to say quietly, but as forcefully as I can, that I hope this 
doesn't go any further. It has gone too far already. I am appalled by 
it, I do think it's an outrage,'' he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-attack-usa-rather.html

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/  dave  /