From: James Rogers (jamesr@best.com)
Date: Wed Apr 10 2002 - 13:38:16 MDT
On Wed, 2002-04-10 at 01:16, Harvey Newstrom wrote:
>
> On Wednesday, April 10, 2002, at 12:20 am, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
> >
> > Damien, I can only speak for myself, but I've finally reached the point
> > where I trust the press less than the military - whether it's US or
> > Israeli.
>
> This surprises me.
>
> There are hundreds of examples where military claims were later shown to
> be false by the press. I can't think of any examples where a press
> story was fabricated and shown to be false by the military, although
> there may be some. Do you extend this trust of the military up to the
> President and to the Government in general?
The military itself, discounting the point where it interfaces with
bureaucrats and political appointees, is a more trustworthy organization
than the press by far. I think a lot of the lies of the military you are
referring to are eminating largely from bureaucrats and politicians
associated with the military, not the military itself.
A distinguishing factor between the two is the intent and motivation.
When the U.S. military lies, it is almost always for operational
purposes. On the other hand, the press has few valid operational
reasons to lie, yet frequently engages in the intentional re-shaping of
the facts to meet a myriad of political and social agendas. The military
has as its sole purpose the competent execution of military matters, and
operational lies are just one of the many tools it uses to get the job
done well. The press claims to deliver unbiased news and "truth", yet
routinely contradict their stated mission with their actions. The
military makes no claims that it will always tell the truth, and it is
not entirely relevant to its mission. The press does.
Beyond that, the officer corps of the US military has a long history of
having a strong commitment to honesty and personal responsibility within
its ranks. You cannot have a strong and cohesive military culture if
deception and incompetence are a integral part of that culture, as is
evidenced by the militaries in many other countries. Unless one has been
in the US military it may be difficult to really understand, but the US
military is a deeply apolitical organization that is dedicated to the
service of the people and Constitution of the country to its very core,
tolerating politicians, bureaucrats, and other flavors of the month only
to the extent that it has to.
Therefore, knowing nothing else, if I had to choose between trusting a
representative of the press and a US military officer on a given matter,
I would be far more inclined to accept the word of the military officer.
The motivations that would lead a US military officer to lie are simpler
and less sinister.
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com
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