Post Scripts: Keeping informed

If and when the United States begins its war against Iraq, there will actually be two wars in progress. One will involve our military, both in the air and on the ground, and then there will be another war involving the public relations people within the services and the Bush administration. The battle of the latter is to win the public opinion battle .

The press, both print and electronic, will play a powerful role in this effort to unseat Saddam Hussein. Hundreds of news outlets are already on or near the scene of action, not only for the U.S. public, but also to inform the citizens of nations world-wide. While a few newsmen hand-picked by Hussein are already in Bagdad, hundreds more from around the world are impatiently waiting outside Iraq for the battle to begin.

The Pentagon’s main concern will be to see that U.S. newsmen, who will be the major force in forming public opinion if and when the battle begins, are properly advised, oriented and if possible, brain-washed, in putting out information that reflects the philosophy and goals of its military and the president.

The press will want to get as close to the battlefield as they can so they can report both the good and the bad. In this process, based on my experience in two wars handling war correspondents, they will appear to quite often focus on the mistakes of the military, not because they particularly want to embarrass combat leadership, but because their reports will inevitably portray a picture of war as devastating and ugly as it so often is.

Knowing this, the military for honest concerns about security, will often try to cast a cloak of secrecy over on-going operations and try to shape press coverage in as favorable light as possible. Today’s reporters are far too clever to permit this to happen and so there will be conflicts between the two sides simply because the two have entirely different agendas.

There is no question, however, the handling of war correspondents since World War 2 and Korea has changed. General Schwarzkopf even permitted Katie Couric to bounce around frontline units in the Gulf War. Why not? Some of our frontline troops today are females. In the Vietnam war reporters enjoyed a wide range of freedom and as a result they could hitch a helicopter ride to almost any unit engaged in frontline contact with the enemy.

Stories from "Nam," as a result of telling it as it is, the so-called "rice-paddy" reporting, greatly damaged our effort and image as a world power. "Rice-roots" news coverage, often negative, was not well tolerated by the military brass. If there is a war in 2003 there will still be conflicts over where, when and how reporters get their news. There may even be a form of censorship on how casualties are reported and restrictions on events that the military feels must be controlled.

Having been a press officer in two wars, and a press freedom advocate most of my life, I am happy I am not involved in the battle between the military and the media to keep Americans fully informed on what they need to know about war.