The headline from Editor and Publisher reads: "Stars and Stripes Lands An Exclusive, And Revealing, Bush Interview". The problem is, that what is mostly revealed is how slanted and partisan E&P is.
E&P: NEW YORK When Stars and Stripes nabbed an exclusive interview with President Bush on July 4 — aboard Air Force One — it devoted most of the questions to ones submitted by service members.
One, put to the commander-in-chief by the newspaper's Jeff Schogol: Has he attended even one funeral for a fallen soldier from Iraq? No, he replied. “Because which funeral do you go to? In my judgment, I think if I go to one I should go to all. How do you honor one person but not another?” he said.
The problem here is the actual quote from Stars and Stripes reads:
S&S: “Because which funeral do you go to? In my judgment, I think if I go to one I should go to all. How do you honor one person but not another?” he said.
The appropriate way to express his appreciation to the family members of fallen troops is to meet with them in private, he said.
Then the next whopper.
E&P: Another soldier asked if Army rotations in Iraq could be shortened from one year to six months. Bush: Not likely. A question about special benefits for troops who had served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan brought pretty much the same response, with Bush explaining that he had already boosted normal benefits.
The whole quote:
S&S:
Another soldier asked if Army rotations in Iraq could be shortened from one year to six months.
“In asking that question through the chain of command, the response I get is that it’s important to manage the Army flows in such a way that we can sustain our efforts, and they believe — they being the planners in the Army itself — the best way to do it is for a year. And therefore … my answer to the troop is that really depends on what the leadership recommends.”
Last month, the Army secretary, Francis Harvey, said the Army is working toward shortening the combat tours to perhaps six or nine months, but nothing had been settled.
Bush was asked if he was planning any special benefits for U.S. troops who had served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he had already worked to increase military benefits but he had nothing specific in mind for troops who had deployed many times.
“I will work with Congress if people bring up good ideas,” he said.
This is called misstating the facts in extremely polite circles. Most average people call it lying. If you're forming your opinions on what is going on in the world based on this kind of reporting, how smart are you really?
