As the United States adds another armed conflict to its list of battles through the years, the American public and the media begin clamoring for all the information that can be found.
In an intense campaign where information is paramount to success, how much can we really expect to know?
President Bush has told us many times in various addresses that this will not be a war like what we’re used to. We need to prepare for things we haven’t seen before.
It won’t be like the Persian Gulf War where we saw bombs and anti-aircraft fire through a night-vision scope on CNN, looking like a video game on our home televisions.
This will be a war that we may know very little about. It’s possible we will learn next to nothing about the operations our military undertakes until the war is over.
What is important to remember is the secrets are there for a reason - and not to undermine the public’s belief in the government.
Our enemies can access the same cable and satellite news services we do, and during a time of war a lot of news can put national security - and our soldiers overseas - at risk.
There might be certain events we’ll hear about, things the government deems safe enough to tell us eventually. When it reaches the point where the details of certain exercises no longer matter, they will filter through the media to the public at the appropriate time.
Of course, whenever this all ends, our government has a duty to tell us about everything that has occurred. We need to know what happened to our loved ones while they were away, what or who they fought and how. We need to know why some of them won’t come back. The American people have a right to know.
But until that time comes, there will be information that must be kept from the public. We aren’t going to know about everything that’s going on right away, because the simple matter is that we can’t without putting ourselves in danger.
The government will clear the media to let us know everything when it’s safe. It may be awhile, but the best way we can protect our interests and our operations is through maintained secrecy.
