http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/washington/20generals.htmlIn the "they must be experts... It takes one, to know one!" category, the NEW YORK TIMES (an even more essential component of the Bush-Cheney administration's Lies-to-War propaganda effort leading up to the March 2003 US invasion of Iraq, than even Fox 'news,' the Washington Times, and the Wall St. Journal put together) this weekend compiles an article about how retired military experts dominate the TV 'news' discussion on how TORTURE is being used at US prisons worldwide... even though those "independent" retired military hired-gun TV commentators often do lobbying for US companies with huge contracts with the Department of Defense.
CLEARLY, there is a potential for CONFLICT OF INTEREST if your main job is as a LOBBYIST for a large corporation seeking contracts or doing millions or billions of dollars worth of business with the Pentagon (the building that is the heaquarters for the Department of Defense), but you moonlight part-time as a TV "independent" anaylist on military and DOD issues... especially dealing with subjects or scandals within the top levels of the Department of Defense civilian and military leadership.
(i.e. "who knew what, and when, about TORTURE ORDERS being sent from the DoD to US military prisons worldwide?")
Yet in typical American "free market enterprise" fashion, those retired military experts can pretend that they are being fully objective and indendent observers in their part-time jobs as network commentators, while minimizing the possibility that their presentation (or agenda) is biased towards keeping their full-time bosses - in business or the DoD itself - happy.
The same, of course, could be said for "Liberal" experts who appear on network news - They, too, might be financially compensated for their appearance, while taking home a regular paycheck from their "liberal" organization.
BUT IN THE CASE of TORTURE being ORDERED and DIRECTED from the White House by the Bush-Cheney gang, via their subordinates in the Department of Defense, the retired military experts appearing in the network TV newscasts are less than outspoken (much less outraged) at the administration's cavalier, and premeditated, discarding of the Geneva conventions.
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NY Times, "The Message Machine" -
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand
[note the typical NYT confusing bureacrateeze headline for a story that could just as easily been titled "Retired Military Experts Shape TV news.. to Pentagon's Favor?"]
By DAVID BARSTOW
Published: April 20, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/washington/20generals.html
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