World Outlook Spring 2013

Page 83

JOURNALISM & THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

83

–news actually. <HDK QHZV 7KH 2IĂ€FH RI 1HZV 3UHYHQWLRQ" *HQHUDOO\ VSHDNLQJ WKRVH QHZV EULHĂ€QJV DUH QRW DERXW LQIRUPLQJ XV RU WKH SXEOLF 6RPHWLPHV -D\ &DUQH\ ZLOO be armed with some news, some tidbits, of the week, you know, or the schedule of the next week. But generally speaking, he comes armed with talking points, ones that even a cursory viewer of American politics is already well versed in: balanced DSSURDFK WR WKH EXGJHW HW FHWHUD 6R , EHJDQ WR VHH WKDW WKH EULHĂ€QJV KDG OLPLWHG value for news creation. Ultimately, I started to see them as an opportunity to ask not just challenging questions to the administration but challenging questions that maybe nobody had been asking in a public way. I think I asked about drones in February or March of 2009. I had heard a story on NPR about how the Obama administration was increasing the use of drones, and I just found it really interesting. I hadn’t heard anything about this. So I mean, it became a way to hold the administration’s feet by WKH Ă€UH , ZDV QRW QHFHVVDULO\ H[SHFWLQJ QHZV WR EH PDGH E\ WKH DQVZHUV ,W ZDV PRUH an opportunity for the question to bring an issue to light that had maybe not gotten enough attention. Whether it was al-Awlaki or drones or Benghazi, it didn’t matter if the issue was generating heat on the left or on the right. It’s one of the only opportuQLWLHV ZH KDYH WKHVH SUHVV EULHĂ€QJV DW WKH 3HQWDJRQ RU WKH 6WDWH 'HSDUWPHQW RU WKH White House, to consistently hold the executive branch’s feet by tKH Ă€UH Increasingly, military operations are conducted at a distance. Do you think drone warfare and its implications will pose challenges to war coverage? I think that on one level, drone warfare allows the military to not have future Combat Outpost Keatings. We don’t have to send hundreds of men and women to GDQJHURXV SODFHV EHFDXVH ZH KDYH WKHVH URERW SODQHV WKDW ZLOO Ă€JKW WKH HQHP\ IRU XV %XW RQ DQRWKHU OHYHO Ă€UVW RI DOO WKHUH DUH OHJDO TXHVWLRQV DERXW WKH ULJKWV WKDW the President asserts when he sends his planes in – especially when he sends them LQ WR NLOO $PHULFDQV >OLNH WKH FDVH RI DO $ZODNL@ ZKLFK KDV D JUHDWHU VLJQLĂ€FDQFH WKDQ killing enemies in other countries. But also, I think there is fear because it is less of a risk to the Americans. All you really risk is losing a drone or having a legal battle with some country, because it’s simple, you have a guy with a joystick in New Mexico – not VLPSOH , PHDQ LW¡V GLIĂ€FXOW ZRUN ² EXW EHFDXVH LW¡V PXFK HDVLHU WKDQ DFWXDOO\ KDYLQJ skin in the game and going there and risking your life. The question is, does that make LW WRR HDV\ WR WDNH OLIH" 'RHV LW FUHDWH D PRUDO KD]DUG" 7KHVH DUH LVVXHV WKDW ZH VKRXOG be discussing as a country, the issues that should be debated. Aren’t they already being debated? , WKLQN WKH\ DUH VWDUWLQJ WR EXW WKHUH¡V VWLOO D ORW RI VHFUHF\ )RU WKH Ă€UVW WLPH we’ve had discussion of how maybe there should be oversight by a judge. But for the most part, you know, this program is operated in the dark, and the debate has been really quiet. Also, the Pentagon has a drone program and the CIA has a drone program. There are different drone programs and they operate under different rules. I just think that in an open and free society there should be as much discussion as possible

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