Seymour Hersh

"Now people around the world talk of an "American gulag," and Seymour Hersh is exposing My Lai all over again."

Now because of my age and upbringing, Hersh is a man that I learned about latter in my life.

I can't imagine being ignorant of his work anymore. He's brilliant.

he brings to his work is utterly lacking in what passes for journalism these days.His scepticism of our rulers' pronouncements and his disdain for currying favor to seek access should be a model for all young journalists. I can only name two more, Paul Krugman and Jimmy Breslin, who measure up to these standards.Every one else
spouts drivel, in my opinion.

Greg Palast has done as much damage as Hersh over the past few years. They just won't reprint his work in the US.

Something to be said for that.

For anyone who hasn't read Hersh's New Yorker article

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040510fa_fact

Ever ask yourself why Hersh broke both the My Lai story and this one?

Ever wonder why Hersh got the inside scoop on the screw ups at Konduz and Bora Bora?

There's a simple answer: Hersh is the military's go-to guy when they want to "let the air out of the tires"; in other words when they've got bad news that has to be let out in as positive a way as possible so as to control the manner in which it is divulged -- before it is jumped on by other more hostile news media.

The torture abuse scandal exposure follows the same pattern as the My Lai scandal exposure. In both cases, other media were on the edge of going to press, and had already contacted the military to get "their side of the story". The DOD played them along while in the meantime unleashing Hersh to scoop them.

In My Lai, the story had been shopped to a number of reporters by the furious whistle-blowing medivac pilot who flew in and saw what was going on that day and was outraged, and single handedly saved dozens of civilians, ordering an end to the terror. I don't recall his name (a sad testament to our society's regard for such courageous citizens), but after he got out of the service a short time later, he spent, I believe, three years trying to get somebody to go public with his story. When a reporter at some local paper agreed to, he found himself scooped by Hersh.

When Hersh gets into the picture, you can be sure some very, very powerful forces in the military want a story out.

This is not all bad. I'm glad this story came out. And if it hadn't been for some really pissed off DOD personell (furious at Tommy Franks and Geo Bush) we would never have learned the truth about Konduz and Tora Bora (as if anybody paid any attention anyhow!).

So I do not necessarily denigrate Hersh. I just suggest that you keep his motives and modus operandi in context.

That cannot be tolerated.

Some more journalists who might have an agenda (or are simply used) are mentioned in this important piece:
www.globalresearch.ca/articles/KUP310A.html

:-)