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East Oregonian Page 4A Saturday, August 11, 2018 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OTHER VIEWS Press failed its duty; nation went to war I n the prelude to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, President George W. Bush and his administration unleashed a full-scale propaganda campaign, seeking to convince the American people that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and that war was necessary. The claims weren’t true. There were no WMDs. The U.S. had no evidence of them. The American press swallowed the lies, failed to ask tough questions and abrogated its duty to determine the truth, except for a few determined Jim Van at Knight Ridder Nostrand reporters Newspapers. Comment “Shock and Awe,” a movie that opened in July, tells the story of those journalists — Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel, Joe Galloway and John Walcott. It dramatizes an ugly chapter in the history of journalism. Voices lost in the tumult It’s impossible to fully describe the herd mentality that gripped the media in the year and a half between the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. I had a front-row seat to witness that history. I was a web editor for Knight Ridder Digital who was called to D.C. to manage the company’s online coverage of a war that seemed to be preordained. President Bush had proclaimed to the world after Sept. 11, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” The leading newspapers and cable networks took that mantra to heart. They breathlessly parroted every morsel and scrap of disinformation fed to them by the government spin masters. They jostled for seats in the administration’s coveted inner sanctum and served as dutiful stenographers for every dubious claim. Judith Miller of the New York Times was AP Photo/Jerome Delay A government building burns March 21, 2003, during heavy bombardment of Bagh- dad by U.S.-led forces. The phrase ‘shock and awe’ described the Pentagon’s strate- gy of hitting the Iraqis hard enough to stun them into quick surrender. a notorious culprit. Vice President Dick Cheney and the other neoconservatives in the administration would spoon-feed her “scoops,” then cite her stories at press conferences and on the cable talk shows. Those who questioned the administration’s WMD claims — as Landay, Strobel, Galloway and Walcott did — were branded as unpatriotic or worse, by both the public and their peers. Their voices were drowned out by a growing crescendo of war drums in newsprint and on the airwaves. Some of Knight Ridder’s own newspapers refused to run their stories. When questioned, editors expressed disbelief in their reporting, often with some lame variation of “The New York Times isn’t saying that.” In one telling scene from the movie, Walcott asks one of those editors, “The truth doesn’t sell papers anymore?” Fabricating the evidence We knew that President Bush ordered the Pentagon to begin drawing up plans for the Iraq invasion in early 2001, shortly after he took office. The attacks later that year on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon provided a convenient pretext for toppling Saddam, who had remained in power despite his 1991 defeat in Operation Desert Storm by Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush. We knew that professional government analysts saw no evidence of WMDs — our reporters, with decades of contacts in the intelligence community, were talking to them. And we knew that officials in power were blatantly lying to the American people. Somewhere between the analysts and the White House, evidence was fabricated or cherry-picked to support the administration’s campaign, led by Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, to oust Saddam and plant a democracy in the Middle East. To this day, Bush’s defenders insist he was the victim of bad intelligence. A more accurate description would be bad fiction. The result? An unnecessary war that has killed more than 4,400 Americans and wounded almost 32,000. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead and millions displaced. An entire region destabilized, with Iran and ISIS left free to run amok. And it’s not over — 11 U.S. soldiers have died there this year. A hard lesson In an historic mea culpa, the New York Times later apologized to readers for its prewar Iraq coverage and disavowed Miller’s reporting — much too late to avert the tragedy. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has said he was duped into making the case for the war in front of the United Nations. But many Americans still believe that Saddam had nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs, though none has ever been found. The movie underscores the importance of fearless journalists who are willing to tell truth to power. They are part of the checks and balances on which this country was built. “Today the press is under attack like never before, and democracy cannot survive without a free and independent press,” said Rob Reiner, the movie’s director, who portrays Walcott. “I hope Shock and Awe can serve as a cautionary tale of what’s at stake for the survival of self-governance.” ■ Jim Van Nostrand is editor of The Daily Astorian. OTHER VIEWS A Trump turn on trade? W ashington thinking on was widely criticized — James trade has reached a Clapper, former director of the consensus that China CIA, called it treasonous. Even the poses a serious economic challenge generally supportive Wall Street to the United States. From key Journal portrayed the President as business groups to trade lawyers “beseeching” Putin. The President to the full spectrum of Washington raised added hackles when he think tanks, there is no longer a referred to the European Union willingness to allow intellectual and Russia as “enemies.” Why the Kent property theft or other Chinese Hughes EU? The EU has a significant trade Comment trade practices. surplus with the United States. In a bold use of tariffs, President More recently, he met with Trump has succeeded in putting the Jean-Claude Juncker, president of world on notice that there is a new sheriff the European Commission. The President in town. At the same time, the President emerged from the meeting talking about and his trade team have discovered two the U.S-EU working together for the important trade lessons: complicated elimination of all tariffs, including those supply chains now connect the world and on agricultural exports. Days later, trading partners will respond by applying Larry Kudlow, Director of the National tariffs of their own. Economic Council, said that he would In looking back over the past few start immediately on trade negotiations to months, it is clear that Europe and secure greater access to European markets China targeted their for American farmers. retaliatory tariffs at Is the President states and parts of adopting a new approach the country that had to the EU and, by supported President implication, the G7? Trump’s election. Might he forge a G7 China took advantage alliance in responding of being a major to the China challenge? market for U.S. Maybe. But, it may also agricultural exports. be his response to the Their tariffs already trade pressures on U.S. hurt. Europe added farmers, many of whom a special twist by supported his candidacy. imposing tariffs on He has already promised Kentucky bourbon, thus targeting Senate $12 billion in farm purchases by the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Commodity Credit Corporation. Success in senior senator from Kentucky. actually gaining greater access to the large, Rather than tariffs, many trade advisors protected European market certainly would have advocated working with the other be boon to American farmers. industrial countries. European and The President might want to re-think Japanese investors in China face the same his reluctance to work with the other pressures to share technology as American industrial powers. Maybe some his staff companies. They are subject to the same might want to remind him that when regulatory uncertainties and a legal system Yul Brynner headed across the Mexican that can follow Communist Party Rules border to save a small village from rather than predictable legal norms. Yet in bandits, he took experienced, like-minded meeting with the G7 countries (Canada, gunmen with him. Working with the other France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, industrial powers just might add up to a Japan, and the United States), President second “Magnificent Seven.” Trump mixed criticism with a focus on ■ trade deficits. Kent Hughes is a public policy fellow at Just after the G7 gathering, he met in the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir D.C. He is a 1958 graduate of Pendleton Putin. His following press conference High School. Success in actually gaining greater access to the large, protected European market certainly would be a boon to American farmers. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. Constitution is for all people, not just the powerful ones W hen you look at our United trying to hide? When President States Constitution, our Obama nominated Elena Kagan to Founders’ message is the Supreme Court, Republicans clear: “We the People.” Those words insisted that reviewing her full are deliberately written larger than record as a White House staffer was everything else — large enough that essential for the Senate to fulfill its you can read them from across the advice and consent responsibility. room. Democrats fully cooperated with Jeff And at the core of the “We their request. But now, Republican Merkley senators are abandoning the standard the People” vision is a strong, Comment independent judiciary. of transparency they insisted on As I look at the United States for Kagan, covering up the records Supreme Court now, I see a stolen seat filled from when Kavanaugh served in the White by a nominee who was approved by the House. This is unacceptable. If Republicans Senate after an unprecedented political power are so afraid of the secrets they’re working grab by the majority party. I see an upcoming to hide, the president should withdraw the nominee who would act as President Trump’s nomination. get-out-of-jail-free card, who says that Even without the White House records, presidents should not be subject to America’s we already know that Brett Kavanaugh has laws. I see a political yes-man for the extreme views. He has argued in favor of privileged and powerful, not a free and fair bosses overriding women’s access to birth stalwart ensuring we remain a nation “of the control. He has signaled that he wants to people, by the people, for the people.” roll back women’s constitutional rights, A woman at a recent town hall in Eastern including access to safe, legal abortion. He Oregon asked me if this nomination makes dissented from the D.C. Circuit Court me fear for our democracy. My answer is yes, opinion supporting the power of the yes it does. Affordable Care Act to provide coverage First, the president is being investigated for Americans with preexisting conditions. for possible collusion with a foreign power. His record to date is anti-worker, anti- As such, it is a massive conflict of interest consumer, and anti-equality. for him to nominate a justice who could In summary, Kavanaugh’s view is that end up being the deciding vote in rulings on the Constitution is all about “by and for the whether he can end the investigation into his powerful,” not “by and for the people.” The individual who fills Justice Kennedy’s campaign, or even whether he can pardon vacancy on the Supreme Court will shape himself. the laws of our country for a generation. Second, Brett Kavanaugh has extreme That means we are in a fight for the soul of views that are fit for a king in a kingdom, our democracy. Now is the time: We must not for a president in a republic. Kavanaugh be fierce in the fight, and to insist only on says that a president should not have to a nominee who believes in the “We the enforce laws he claims are unconstitutional, People” vision of our constitution. Calls to even if they’ve been upheld by the courts. my office are running against Kavanaugh’s He has argued that sitting presidents should nomination, and I urge all Oregonians be immune from prosecution; immune from to keep making their voices heard. And indictment; and immune from investigation. importantly, encourage friends and family He even argues that a president should have across the nation to make their voices heard, the sole power to appoint and fire special as well. I know that together, we can build a prosecutors at will. With this nomination, more prosperous, powerful, and successful President Trump is striving to print his own America. get-out-of-jail-free card. ■ Third, Senate Republicans are Jeff Merkley is Oregon’s U.S. senator. working overtime to block access to Brett Kavanaugh’s full record of service in George Reach his Pendleton office at 541-278-1129 or his D.C. office at 202-224-3753. W. Bush’s White House. What are they The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
