Here’s a good piece by Douglas MacKinnon, former press secretary for Bob Dole, who says that US media is dancing dangerously close to outright betrayal of our military: Press pile-on.

While there is no doubt our soldiers need more armor and protection, the question remains: Is it right or ethical for a member of the media to spoon-feed a question to a soldier and manufacture a news story that he and others would then cover?

Which begs a larger question: At what point does irresponsible and sensationalist reporting become dangerous, or even acts of betrayal? All involved in prosecuting and covering this war need to ask themselves that.

Political correctness dictates that we do not speak about this, but I have yet to talk with a member of our military who does not strongly believe that the Abu Ghraib prison scandal wasn’t blown out of all proportion. Worse, they feel that the ensuing media feeding frenzy had a direct result in fueling the insurgents attacking our troops and innocent civilians in Iraq.

Do they feel the mistreatment of the Iraqi and insurgent prisoners was wrong and disgusting? To a person. Do they think some in the media have used the inappropriate behavior of seven ignorant soldiers to tar and feather the other 140,000 on the ground? To a person. Just as they feel that many in the press are purposely twisting the definition of “torture” to play “gotcha” journalism with a military they not so secretly look down upon. …

The anti-military piling-on by some in the media took a dangerous turn last week when the Associated Press released photos of Navy SEALs possibly “abusing” Iraqi prisoners. Those I have spoken with in the military are outraged that the press would not only try to make this into something it is not, but in the process, expose the identities of elite Navy SEAL operatives who many times need to work under cover.

Is such conduct by the media an act of betrayal? Again, a question the press, the Pentagon, the administration and even the American people must ask themselves. Some in the media seem to have no problem calling for an investigation of the Bush White House for allegedly exposing a CIA operative, but seem not the least bit bothered in acting as the vessel that delivers the faces and identifying patches of Navy SEALs right to the doorstep of al Qaeda.

Since the beginning of this war, some have used “freedom of the press” as an instrument to systematically denigrate the military while purposely ignoring hundreds of success stories that would shed a positive light on our troops, their mission and our nation. Now, they are planting questions. Enough is enough.