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Recently, entertainer Pat Boone
wrote NewsMax editor Christopher Ruddy a letter regarding
his feelings on Abu Ghraib and Iraq:
Mr. Christopher Ruddy Editor, NewsMax
Dear Chris,
Hasn't anybody got the guts to accuse
the worst perpetrator in this whole Abu Ghraib prison
debacle - CBS and 60 Minutes II?
What do you call it when, in time of
war, someone takes military intelligence and turns it
over to the enemy, who in turn uses it to kill Americans?
Isn't that the definition of treason?
Did Benedict Arnold do worse? Did Julias and Ethel Rosenberg
pay with their lives for something like this?
It has already been well established,
and CBS certainly knew, that the military announced to
the press back in January that allegations had been made
concerning treatment of prisoners and were being investigated.
In March there was another announcement
that the allegations were still being investigated and
certain service personnel at Abu Ghraib were relieved
of their duties and might be court marshaled.
In other words, while America was fighting
a war, the military had already taken the allegations
seriously, were investigating them and were taking steps
to correct the situation. In other words, it was being
handled, and handled well.
These things happen in war on all sides,
and though they are not excusable, they are kindergarten
exercises compared to car bombs, ambushes, rocket launchings
and dangling burning bodies over bridges - and this is
what the interrogators at Abu Ghraib were trying to find
ways to stop.
Freedom of the press is precious to us,
but you can abuse any liberty and stretch it out of shape
until it becomes license, and concerned citizens will
call for limitations.
In this case, if CBS had really cared
about the country, about our military, about doing the
right thing, they would have taken these pictures, (which
they had illegally) and asked the military and the Pentagon
what was being done about the abuses (Although they most
likely knew it, they would have been told that the matter
was in hand and being taken care of).
Indeed, a general implored them not to
publish the pictures because of what he knew would happen
as a result.
CBS could have cared less.
In their mad competition for rating points,
dollars, and seeing a great way to blast the President
and the war effort in Iraq which they have continually
denigrated and opposed, they broadcast they abhorrent
pictures - and not just to the United States, BUT TO THE
WORLD!
Knowing full well that we were walking
a tight rope, trying to fight a war, quell disturbances
and build a republic for Iraq in the midst of all the
terrorist resistance, CBS published these abhorrent pictures
knowing they would destroy completely our image and standing
in the Muslim world.
And what about Osama bin Laden? What
about the terrorists? What about America's image with
all our allies around the world? And what about America's
own self image and confidence in their leaders?
And what did the beheaders of Nick Berg
say, just before they callously sawed his head off while
he screamed, "This is in retaliation for what you
Americans did to our people at Abu Ghraib!" And how
did they know about these interrogation abuses?
Though poor Mr. Berg blames George Bush
and Donald Rumsefld, it is incontrovertible that his son
would be home with him right now had it not been for the
publication of those pictures. Mr. Berg is pointing his
finger in the wrong direction.
And as a direct result of CBS callous
and patently unpatriotic action, America is suffering
great loss of prestige around the world, and will for
decades.
America has lost credibility with Muslims
and the Arab world internationally, perhaps forever; and
every American life is in far greater danger from terrorist
reprisal, no matter who and where we are!
Freedom of the press is a cherished commodity,
guaranteed by our Constitution. But freedoms, if they
are to be maintained and to have the original meaning,
must be treated with grave responsibility and restraint.
For me, CBS has become "the enemy
within", and I hope never to watch the network again.
I think most Americans ought to reflect on the results
of their irresponsible and unpatriotic behavior and perhaps
narrow their viewing options by one network. The next
time America or Americans suffer at the hands of terrorists,
thank CBS.
Pat Boone
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