Thursday, March 08, 2007
Is Martha Raddatz a War Profiteer?
While watching Charlie Rose last night on PBS, it occurred to me that his guest, ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz, might, in another political climate, qualify as a war profiteer.
Ms. Raddatz, who glowingly proclaimed that she has covered the war in Iraq from "the Pentagon, the White House and on the ground" has penned a new book, The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family, detailing the travails of a group of soldiers who were essentially ambushed in Baghdad's Sadr City in 2004. The book purports to offer perspective from both the soldiers and the family of the soldiers.
In an ironic twist (and maybe Raddatz's motivation for writing the book) the death of Casey Sheehan, son of activist Cindy Sheehan, is detailed. Could the tie-in with Sheehan been a convenient excuse for Raddatz to capitalize on death and destruction in a foreign land?
That could be the case. Raddatz has been pretty busy on the book-promotion front. Her appearance on Rose's broadcast wasn't the first - and apparently not the last - time she'll be appearing on national or syndicated TV this week.
The media likes to make heroes out of journalists who write war stories, regardless of the background. In an amazing revelation of her boundless ego, Raddatz even went so far as to say she faced the same dangers as the soldiers. Sorry, Martha, I don't think so. It's that kind of talk and thinking that makes me want to tell people like Raddatz to strap on some kevlar, grab a weapon and go cap some terrorists. The attitude of journalists is insanity couched in some perverted sense of honor and duty. In reality, it's rubbish.
War is glorified in books such as these without examining the deeper issues. While Raddatz was surely paid a princely sum for this work, I won't read something which essentially was bought and paid for with blood money. The war is on all our hands, but Ms. Raddatz's have a particularly crimson hue.
Ms. Raddatz, who glowingly proclaimed that she has covered the war in Iraq from "the Pentagon, the White House and on the ground" has penned a new book, The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family, detailing the travails of a group of soldiers who were essentially ambushed in Baghdad's Sadr City in 2004. The book purports to offer perspective from both the soldiers and the family of the soldiers.
In an ironic twist (and maybe Raddatz's motivation for writing the book) the death of Casey Sheehan, son of activist Cindy Sheehan, is detailed. Could the tie-in with Sheehan been a convenient excuse for Raddatz to capitalize on death and destruction in a foreign land?
That could be the case. Raddatz has been pretty busy on the book-promotion front. Her appearance on Rose's broadcast wasn't the first - and apparently not the last - time she'll be appearing on national or syndicated TV this week.
The media likes to make heroes out of journalists who write war stories, regardless of the background. In an amazing revelation of her boundless ego, Raddatz even went so far as to say she faced the same dangers as the soldiers. Sorry, Martha, I don't think so. It's that kind of talk and thinking that makes me want to tell people like Raddatz to strap on some kevlar, grab a weapon and go cap some terrorists. The attitude of journalists is insanity couched in some perverted sense of honor and duty. In reality, it's rubbish.
War is glorified in books such as these without examining the deeper issues. While Raddatz was surely paid a princely sum for this work, I won't read something which essentially was bought and paid for with blood money. The war is on all our hands, but Ms. Raddatz's have a particularly crimson hue.
Labels: corporate media, Iraq, Martha Raddatz
