Save Your Breath, Lynne

Here's Lynne Cheney trying to explain the difference between "news" and "terrorist propaganda" to Wolf Blitzer of CNN.

This is, of course, regarding CNN's broadcast of terrorist-made videos showing American troops being shot by terrorist snipers.

As we all know, CNN was perfectly aware that the videos were terrorist propaganda because they said so themselves (follow the links in Greyhawk's post for complete background on this story).



I hadn't posted on the sniper video story for a couple of reasons.

First, because Greyhawk and others have done a much better job of it than I can.

And second, because the day after the video was first broadcast I happened to visit a Soldier at Landstuhl hospital who had been medevaced to Germany after being shot by a sniper in Iraq.

"I don't want to wind you guys up", I said to the Soldier and his two roommates, "but have you heard about.... "

"The video? Yupp. We've seen it", said all three in unison.

So these three troops - who had spent the previous couple of days getting shot/blown up, having sugeries, been medevaced to Germany, and then undergone more surgeries - had already seen the video on CNN.

Great.

Now ask yourself... and take a moment to really think about this... How would you have felt standing there in that hospital room?

Well, I'll tell you how I felt. Ashamed. More ashamed than I've ever felt in my life. Ashamed that we let this happen, ashamed that we have let them down. While they were out there putting it all on the line for us.

"Funny," said the Marine in the bed next to the Soldier who had taken a .762 round to the gut, "to think I'm lying here in this bed because I was defending their right to broadcast that stuff."

Well you know what, CNN?

I don't think it's funny at all.