Barry Sussman: On Hiding the News and Sydney Schanberg
Posted at 1:34 pm, October 14th, 2008
I’ve written several times recently about how the press, including the leading news organizations, has been running away from damaging stories about John McCain, hiding them. The response is mixed: In emails today and yesterday, a former colleague thanked me but a Naval Reserve lieutenant commander said I was writing drivel.
Interestingly, several people took the opportunity to change the subject slightly—pointing me to an article by Sydney Schanberg, the celebrated Vietnam/Cambodia war reporter, on McCain as a U.S. Senator who has helped shut off inquiries into missing in action American soldiers.
One person wrote, simply, “Has anyone read the Sydney Schanberg article posted on the Nation Web site? Another eye opener.”
A second person wrote, “I assume you have read the Schanberg article…about McCain’s role in sealing the records of the POW/MIAs and denying their families the ability to pursue their search for their loved ones. I was fortunate enough to have a telephone conversation with Mr. Schanberg about his article, but he expressed his frustration that not a single media outlet had written a story about it.”
A third person who brought up Schanberg was Schanberg himself, who said in a note that his article on “McCain’s record on POWs left behind in Vietnam met a similar fate in the mainstream press – deliberate avoidance.” He said he had been in touch with some editors, reporters, ombudsmen, even publishers and “their responses would be ludicrous if they didn’t bespeak the condition of the profession today.”
For the record, I wrote about the Schanberg Nation article in September, when it first came out, quoting his charge that McCain as U.S. Senator has helped hide evidence and close the books on MIAs, and that the mainstream press has shied away from the story. It struck me as obvious that Schanberg’s reporting was relevant, well-documented and should be part of the election coverage.
Schanberg looks at it differently. It’s not election coverage he cares about so much, it’s the POW/ MIA story itself, which has been eating away at him for many years. At issue is the fate of POWs or MIAs unaccounted for at the end of the Vietnam war after McCain and 590 others were released. Schanberg says the American government has dishonored “the abandoned men and their families,” and “the press has dishonored itself by refusing to cover the story.”
Used to be, when I started out, that advice was to not check out leads too much because the story might disappear. That was a joke, of course. Nowadays, the opposite is the case but it’s not a joke. The L.A Times and Rolling Stone, whose articles were the ones I wrote about recently, checked out their leads abundantly and ran well-documented, important stories–which then proceeded, rapidly, to disappear. The story Schanberg cares about has long since disappeared from the press but a Google search lists 359,000 items. Someone out there must be looking.
I asked Sydney if he would write about his concerns on this Web site. He said he would. Stay tuned.
October 25th, 2008 at 11:50 am |
Thanks for talking about this story. I can’t think of a better example than this crime of how dishonorable and dishonest the people who run the U.S. government and the MSM have been and continue to be. McCain has done his best to bury these men, with the help of dozens of others. He and these others should be in prison for their actions.
October 25th, 2008 at 12:11 pm |
Hi – thanks for the thoughtful article. I am an Obama supporter, but I am mindful of excesses and nonsense from either side.
As far as this POW/MIA issue goes, I humbly suggest that both you’re off the mark. Let me explain why.
For years, there has been a “cult” of POW/MIA in the USA. Bikers would hold rallies for “POW/MIA” causes, and it is completely taboo to spaeak against the myth of the “unaccounted for” soldiers left in SEA. Heck, there’s even a bunch of fantasy films, Rambo being the most prominent, highlighting this myth.
The reasons for this myth are many – political as well as personal. But, at the end of the day, one fact remains: THERE ARE NO USA POW/MIAS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA. NONE. ZERO. IT IS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL MYTH. families have been led on by charlatans to have false hope that their loved ones are still alive, but, as far as thefacts on theground go, there is ZERO chance that there are unaccounted soldiers in the area.
But, don’t believe me. Instead, do the following:
1. visit http://www.miafacts.org/ and read what the guy there has to say. if you’re like most rational people, you will find his claims highly convincing.
2. google “pow/mia” and read any and all “pro-POW/MIA” websites you can find. you will find a lot of smoke and noise. a lot of bravado. a lot of innuendo. a lot of animated american flags. but, you will not find anything resembling facts.
senator mccain is one of the few people who is in a unique position to finally bury this hurtful and opportunistic SEA POW/MIA myth forever. while he may be our political opponent, let’s not take thin pot-shots at him for, in this case, taking the principles and correct stand.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
Burying issues is what causes the myths to develop. Obviously there are many relatives of the MIA who would like more information. They deserve consideration.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
My bet is that the Rolling Stone would publish the article. The RS is very widely read, has global distribution and has sufficient influence to create embarrassment for mainstream media that refuses to deal with the issue. The Rolling Stone would also be a good forum in which to investigate the claims which keep cropping up about McCain’s alleged collaboration with his North Vietnamese captors, false claims of torture(it is alleged that he didn’t need to be tortured, that he sang like a bird and was called the “Songbird” by fellow prisoners), alleged collaboration in exchange for favors – like medical care – that was not made available to other prisoners, the alleged propaganda films he made for them (suppossedly 32 films) and his reported post-war bullying and threats to prevent normalization of relations with Vietnam should they ever allow those films to be made available to the American public. Such an article would be the place to either debunk the allegations if untrue or expose them if factual.
The MSM’s refusal to do its job and uphold its Constitutionally mandated trust to the People is the biggest reason is is becoming progressively more irrelevant.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:32 pm |
Joseph,
If you think that it’s “obvious” that there is the family of a POW/MIA that needs “more information”, i encourage you to bring this to teh attention of the miafacts.org website. chances are, that guy knows about the case specifically. at the end of the day, we’re only talking about a few hundred where there was even any question. speaking in generalities, as you did, has been part of the problem. i’d like to know exactly WHICH family members want “more information”. If they want it, there are government agencies and private individuals/companies that will help them. we’ve spent something like over one million dollars PER POW/MIA CASE since the early 1970s. again – and i do want to note that i am NOT in any way associate with the miafacts.org website, but if you read there you will quickly see how such families have been preyed upon by opportunistic idiots who have political agendas or books to sell, but are horriby, horribly deficient when it comes to actual facts. POW/MIA “advocates” are the political equivalent of creationists.
Don’t get me wrong. Our veterans and their families of course deserve our utmost respect. And, we need to go to all reasonable lengths – and then some – to try to bring closure to these families. However, if you look at it closely and look at the ACTUAL facts, rather than some handwavy nonsense, you will see that we (by which i mean the USA) have done this – and have gone a step beyond this, still.
incidentally, that website appars to be more or less non-political – while it is defending McCain these days against the nonsense “collaboration” smears that some people are banding about these days, it was just as quick to call out the swift-boat-truthers the liars and charlatans that they were.
people, we can beat mccain without nonsense.
thanks for a nice website.
October 25th, 2008 at 4:07 pm |
If there are no POW’s left in indochina then where exactly are the remains of those who are still missing? Are we saying that these people were never POW’s and got blown to bits by bombs? Are we saying that they were POW’s and Vietnam just lost all the records about what happened to them? Are we saying that the Vietnamese killed them as POW’s and cremated them?
The stuff I have seen regarding the POW/MIA families included things like satellite picture evidence, transponders sending codes from missing men that weren’t explained, etc. I suppose it could all be a 9/11 conspiracy type thing but when our government has basicaly admitted that the whole Vietnam war was run up over Johnson’s false flag operation at the gulf of Tonkin then I don’t have much faith that they wouldn’t cover up other unpleasant things.
October 25th, 2008 at 4:26 pm |
Hey plisko: have you even bothered to look at the miafacts.org website? all of your questions are answered there. seriously – read there, and then write back here if you have a concrete question to make rather than more handwavy speculation. our veterans and their families deserve better than handwavy speculation.
October 25th, 2008 at 10:13 pm |
I just had a good look at miafacts.org. A few thoughts: The author seems to think that virtually all the people pushing MIA stories are frauds, incompetents, or emotionally deluded; apparently there are very few, if any, who are trying to find the MIAs for honest or sane reasons.
Also, don’t you think that the government, particularly the Pentagon, having abandoned these men, would create a sophisticated operation to cover up the abandonment? The author is former DIA, doesn’t seem to cultivate the detached manner of the best investigators (i.e., he belittles and mocks), he puts full faith in McCain’s congressional investigation and its investigators (despite the claims that McCain was creating a coverup), and his refutations of some claims are much less than slam-dunks, e.g. Barry Toll. Keep in mind that if these allegation were proved, the reputation of dozens of the U.S.’s most prestigious politicians and generals would be destroyed.
So, I’m not convinced. It’s the same as with the 9/11 investigation: the best solution is a independent investigation. Unlike 9/11, the evidence is held by two entities who have the most to lose by an honest investigation: the Vietnamese and U.S. governments.
BTW, did you know that a lot of oil has been found off the coast of Vietnam?
October 26th, 2008 at 8:11 am |
@james — if all the questions have been answered why do so many remain? No one seriously believes all the answers are on some website. That defies logic.
More important: why won’t the DOD release all relevant records to the families? These are families with amazing grit who have continued to press, for half a lifetime in some cases, to get more information.
As for McCain, what about releasing all his records? The Navy even suppressed — and continues to suppress — information about a car accident.
We’re not dumb people here. If the government wants to be believed they must act in a believable manner. Until they do, we will continue to question and demand. The fact that the press has failed, utterly, to review these aspects of McCain’s career — while he is asking us to trust him to be Commander in Chief — is a disgrace.
Meanwhile, all of us can research and communicate so if the press isn’t going to do it, people with information will. Then the press will have to deal with the fact that they are losing their franchise. This website understands that danger.
October 26th, 2008 at 9:07 am |
Umm. lads. again you speak in handwavy generalities. You’re SURE that there must be more to the MIA story since you’ve sopaked up years of propaganda from Rambo on down. The miafacts.org website goes to extraordinary lengths to bend over backwards to show you why such myths exist, what their exact origins are, and who the “pushers” have been.
I don’t know how to answer questions like “why are there still questions.” You tell me – why are there still idiots who believe in creatioism or “intelligent design?” It’s because such people either have some alterior motive for such belief (a supposed heavenly reward or an actual financial one) or they’re just, well, simply unaquainted with the facts.
No, nobodyyouknow. I dont think that the government has concocted a sophisticated operation to hide the existence of MIAs. While I dont think our government is perfect and honest, I’m sure they’re simply not smart enough to pull something like this off.
Barry Toll’s nonsenes has been rather thoroughly debunked. If you disagree, show where the debunkers have it wrong or their logic questionable. don’t just handwave.
http://www.miafacts.org/toll.htm to start with.
October 26th, 2008 at 9:10 am |
for more on Barry Toll:
http://www.macvsog.cc/barry_toll.htm
This took me about 15 seconds to google. You’d have to be insane to consider the man credible.. almost as insane as you’d have to be to suggest that some uber-government conspiracy is at work.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:38 pm |
James,I really wonder this website you speak of can comfort my Grandmother, my father, and the rest of the family. On March 15th 1966,Col. Peter Joseph Stewart was flying over Hanoi in a F-4 Phantom 2, shot down, and has been a prisoner every since. The last photo released to the family of my grandfather, by the US government, was in 1975!! He was in the jungle dressed in a prisoner uniform being escorted at gun point by a asian looking man. The US government has been doing everything in it’s power to cover up this issue. I have sat in government meetings since I was a young boy. I have spoken with congressmen and spent considerable time in Washington DC in my life. From my experience there are two main characters that deserve the electric chair for their criminal involvement in the POW/MIA cover up – John McCain and John Kerry!