America At A Crossroads Documentary Is Blatant Propaganda

Sir, that shapes the sort of support groups we form, how we are treated when, and if we return home, and I could go on and on. To the point, I was organizer for internet operations setting up forum and Blog support for Senator John Kerry during the 2004 election. After which I went on to bring insight into the Iraq War from a family members view to the International Labor Communications Association sponsored by the AFL-CIO, now I am one of the freelance bloggers for a Veterans Organization called Veterans for America (VFA). It was our Legislative Director who forcefully broke the story of Walter Reed with the media, especially PBS, Washington Post while the older mainstream Veteran Organizations who support President Bush remained SILENT. That gets to my point and our collective concern Sir. Having been a long term Republican and conservative. One does not survive to be a Field grade military officer at the Pentagon without being such. I am basically familiar with how the Pentagon does business during wartime and would adapt under this President. Somehow both CPB and PBS have either been intimidated or NEOCONNED into allowing a one-sided view of what it is like to be a Soldier in Iraq during your upcoming public service special called "America at the Crossroads." We are doing a Blog and gearing up grassroots action to expose the conflict of interest that the producer of "Warrior" has with the Bush administration. Sir. Mr. Karl Zinsmeister the producer of Warrior, along with his wife, was the Editor of American Enterprise magazine, the flagship voice for the NEOCON think tank in Washington, DC that now is the most influential in providing President Bush military, political, and evidently domestic strategy advice on both Iraq and the War on Terror. Sir, the American Enterprise Institute is also stacked high with Retired Senior Military Officers who believe in the PNAC which is one of the most Nationalistic organizations, concepts and ideals in American History since Manifest Destiny. Mr. Getler, I frankly see nothing wrong with showing any of our troops in a positive light to drum up public support, but Sir this IS NOT JOURNALISM, it is blatant propaganda, and your audience is going to see right through it. Why? Because the Producer of Warrior, Mr. Zinsmeister is still the Domestic Advisor to President Bush. Mr. Getler, I don't know how much you understand about military or senior civil service, even high level SES who work for the Chief Executive, but unless Mr. Zinsmeister resigns his position on the White House staff, his documentary cannot be shown on PBS or anywhere else advocating a partisan political position. It is a blatant violaton of the Hatch Act. Anyone can file a complaint against him and PBS with the U.S. Special Council for violation of the law, and the Special Council reports to Congress Sir not the President. Another concern is that Mr. Zinmeister who was embedded with our troops chose to only represent military offciers and one senior NCO in Warriors. Mr. Getler that IS NOT representative of our troops serving in Iraq, but it is representative of those troops most likely to politically support President Bush's policies in the Middle East regardless the outcome. It is way past time for this Commander-In-Chief to stop using our troops as props and for journalist to start asking the hard questions such as does not the Hatch Act require our troops to support their Commander-In-Chiefs position on the War in Iraq regardless how they feel about it? The professional opinion of our troops can be too easily scripted and controlled by the White House, the President needs no help from PBS. It leaves our military families and progressive Veterans organizations of Iraq and Afghanistan vets to ask why did PBS allow a protrayal of U.S. troops in Iraq that leaves out THE TROOPS fighting the war. Why does PBS allow a protrayal of U.S. troops in Iraq that leaves out what happens to them when they come home wounded? Why does PBS allow a protrayal of U.S. troops in Iraq that leaves out both the good and bad news? In closing Sir the vast majority of our wounded and fallen have been below the rank of SFC or E-7 that Mr. Zinmeister USES as the Bush administration's example to the American public of the average GI in Iraq. If you allow them to get away with such an illusion, PBS is just as guilty of pandering to White House and Pentagon propaganda as they are, and Warrior sure can be considered journalism at its worse. CPB and PBS needs to balance this one-sided view with counter-views from Iraq and Afghanistan vets who the Pentagon cannot touch for retribution for the stories they tell. PLEASE feel free to contact me for any additional information, LINKS or to access my Blog on America at the Crossroads on Veterans for America. Robert L. Hanafin Specialist-5, U.S. Army (69-76) Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired (77-94) Military Families Speak Out - Ohio http://tinyurl.com/ytjrww

Note: http://www.pbs.org/weta... http://tinyurl.com/ytjrww