Local Paper Makes Good

Tweet Editor & Publisher, a good watchdog of the press, noted that the NYTimes does not oppose the "surge" and many other papers were silent on the issue. Here's a letter they got from the Spokane SPOKESMEN REVIEW editor and below that, part of the editorial the editor refers to in his note:

"To E&P: Of course I never expect The Spokesman-Review to be surveyed when you look at the nation's "major" papers. But I did want to point out that some of the smaller mid-size papers, including ours, have been much more outspoken about the war, perhaps because we're a bit closer to the ground. Spokane is a military town, but still comments on this Sunday's editorial, copied below, have been uniformly supportive.

"We stopped one hair's breadth away from calling for an immediate pullout. But it's a thin distinction. Thanks, Steve Smith.

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"Sometime this week, President Bush will answer those questions, or at least attempt to. Early indications are that the president will send a “surge” of troops to help control the uncontrollable. Military leaders don’t want them, nor do they think an escalation will help.

"On Nov. 15, Gen. John Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “I’ve met with every divisional commander. General (George) Casey, the corps commander, ([Lt.) General (Martin) Dempsey – we all talked together. And I said, ‘In your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now, does it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq?’ And they all said, ‘No.’.”

"The generals believe that our very presence on Iraqi soil is part of the problem and that expanding it will only exacerbate the chaotic violence. Bush’s mantra throughout the 2004 election was that he would give the generals whatever they needed to succeed. Soon, he’ll be sending them as many as up to 20,000 more troops over their objections. Then again, those generals are being replaced with more compliant leaders.

"But replacing the leadership won’t change the outlook of those doing the fighting. A recent Military Times poll found that active members of the military, who were once strong supporters of the war, have grown pessimistic. Only 35 percent approve of the way the Bush administration has handled the war. Two years ago, 83 percent believed the war would be successful. Now, it’s 50 percent, but even that group thinks it will take at least five years. Only 41 percent said we should’ve invaded.

From Editor & Publisher, via Cursor.org