Comments on: ‘Nightline’ To Read Off Iraq War Dead

By: Rich Arnone

Rich Arnone — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I despise Ted Koppel for this. Please allow me to state the obvious. He is attempting to use the dead to discredit the war and thus hurt President Bush's re-election chances. And like so many others in the traditional media, his hatred of America is only exceeded by his hatred of Bush. I am one citizen who is very tired of their self-righteous lies and partisan innuendoes.

By: paladin

paladin — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I trust Ted will be fair and balanced by not only showing the "cost of war" but also the reason for war. I'm sure he will soon have a program featuring those killed by terrorists. Yes, photos and names of them all. After all, it's the right thing to do, unless you are just using our fallen soldiers for propaganda purposes. I'm sure Ted would never do that.

By: Director Mitch

Director Mitch — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Well, this is just like when Koppel read off the dead from 9-11.

Oh, wait, they didn't do that, did they?

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

The News Hour with Jim Lehrer does the something similar. Since early in the conflict, they show an official photo of each fatal casualty at the end of the show as the photos become available. With no audio, each photo is displayed for about 30 seconds. It is pretty moving. But I don't think it is very effective. Our impartial friends at PBS were probably motivated by the same thing as Koppel; they are trying to underscore the costs of the war. While a casualty figure is an abstract, left-brain concept, when you see a photo you can't help but sympathize. These people are so clear-eyed, so obviously good, and oh so young. It becomes clear that:

We are the good guys.
Anyone who has dehumanized these people to the point where killing them casually is possible would be just as capable of killing any other American.
The racial mix in our armed forces is representative of the country as a whole. ANSWER (the R stands for Racism) and Chuck Hegel are just plain wrong.

Michael Moore probably has a different reaction to seeing the casualty photos, but I don't think the average American has much in common with that sniveling creep. Every casualty is tragic but the fact that displaying a photo of each fallen hero is feasible is a miracle. Before getting too upset one way or the other remember that like the News Hour, few people (and especially few undecided voters) watch Nightline.

By: Scott Harris

Scott Harris — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

It is unfortunate that the intent of such an episode is patently obvious to everyone - they want to stir up anti-war sentiment by emphasizing the "cost" of war. Of course, they will fail to mention the cost of not going to war.

But rather than stir up anti-war sentiment, it is more likely to inspire more Pat Tillmans - young men who are inspired to heroism by the sacrifice of others. To those for whom the idea of honorable service is a foreign concept, they just cannot understand why many of us believe that some things are worth sacrificing lives. But the rest of us understand that the only way to honor the sacrifice these patriots have made is to complete the task at hand. And so we will.

By: mindyjo

mindyjo — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

The comments above must surly have been before the arying of the show. What a wonderful program. When did honoring our fallen service men and women become the wrong thing to do? I thank nightline for the courage. I hope others will follow.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Now that the horrifying details of Nick Berg's brutal murder have been released, I hope that Nihgtline will not you ignore it, or place the blame on Bush? They have the right to promote anti-American propaganda, but not this time, please TED!

By: Sortapundit

Sortapundit — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Nightline
If Kristol wants to talk about stupid statements, how about starting with the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with terrorists (read 9/11)? As he is surely aware there has not been a scrap of evidence to link the two. There is as little reason to tal...

By: PoliBlog

PoliBlog — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

It's Back: The Mayday Edition of the Toast-O-Meter
-Toast: It's not Just for Breakfast Anymore!- The Toast-o-meter: A Weekly Assessment of the Race to Be Either the Next President of the United States or, well, Toast. After a two week hiatus, the Toast is back in town! I...

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