3. In Vietnam, anti-war activists and anchormen could more plausibly argue (though still incorrectly) that the complete consolidation of communism halfway around the world was not a threat to the domestic security of the United States. Since September 11, are these same anti-war activists and anchormen finding it reasonable to assume that America faces no threat, and the proper response to world terrorism and the states that sponsor it is once again withdrawal and negotiated humiliation?
The only Vietnam analogy that works is the comparison in press coverage. As in Vietnam, the press is eager to discredit American military action, to discourage American support at home for military action, to disintegrate the noble cause of the fight, and to bury any victory under a tidal wave of gloom.
Last week, when he wasn't hammering Rumsfeld, Dan Rather was highlighting an interview with American-killing terrorists inside Iraq. They told Rather from scarf-covered faces that they hated Saddam, but now they hated Americans more. It's good and useful to know the enemy. What's so discouraging about Rather's treatment is that our sworn enemies are respectfully taken at their word and granted less cynicism about their motives than our own leaders in America.
Tom Brokaw came out of the Bush speech Sunday night with one primary question: When will Rumsfeld or his deputies resign? He asked Democrat Joe Biden this question from the left: "Obviously there has been a profound failure of intelligence about what would happen once we got to Baghdad. Shouldn't someone in the administration be held accountable for that?" Minutes later, he pitched the same question to retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the man who so badly predicted 3,000 casualties in the battle for Baghdad and now, predictably, is again running Rumsfeld into the ground.
In short, anchors are acting like they are the ones who run this country and could execute this war better than the Bush administration. Instead of covering this new decade of terror threats, these anchormen are better suited to their hot stories of the last decade -- O.J. Simpson, Princess Diana and the McCaughey septuplets.