First Things First, Let's Kill All the Journalists

In a disturbing report by writer Jeremy Scahill, we learn that a former Army Colonel, Ralph Peters, has published an article endorsing the killing of journalists who do not subscribe to official American explanations of events. He claims in the Journal of International Security Affairs that the media have played a prime role in defeating America in Vietnam, and creating difficulties in Iraq. (Hmmm...guess the Viet Minh and the insurgents had nothing to do with it.)

Such a position is not only a threat to free speech; it threatens the ability of the world in general to learn what is going on in war zones, and to judge the justice of a particular war. Yes, journalists take risks when they visit a conflict zone, but that doesn't give the military, whether ours or someone else's, to target unarmed non-combatants. (And even Col. Peters admits they are unarmed.)