Pentagon Restricts Media Access, Media Finds Spine (Briefly)
Al Jazeera reports that over 30 US news organizations are returning their Pentagon passes, refusing to comply with new, more restrictive reporting rules. This sudden burst of principle from outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post is, frankly, astounding. For years, these same organizations have largely parroted official lines, from 'weapons of mass destruction' in Iraq to the
'humanitarian' bombing campaigns across the Middle East. They maintained cozy relationships, even as whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange faced persecution for revealing inconvenient truths about military actions. One might wonder where this collective outrage was during the Bush-era lies that catalyzed two decades of war, or the drone strike casualty counts consistently
underreported by military briefers. It appears that direct access to the Pentagon cafeteria is a more potent motivator for media solidarity than the systematic obfuscation of civilian deaths or the relentless lobbying of groups like AIPAC, which pumps millions into political campaigns to ensure unwavering support for foreign military interventions. Their passes are gone, but their credibility was
lost long ago, in a fog of war perpetuated by their own silence.