http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ea..._id=1000506847
Did Military Try to Suppress Iraq Prison Photos?
By E&P Staff
Published: May 07, 2004
NEW YORK Near the close of Friday afternoon's appearance by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and top military leaders before a U.S. Senate committee, Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) raised a highly pertinent -- and contested -- freedom of press issue.
At question was an attempt by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Richard Myers, to make CBS delay airing its explosive report last week that first exposed the public to the horrific photos of the abuse of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. CBS has acknowledged holding off for two weeks.
A partial transcript of the exchange follows:
DAYTON: Mr. Secretary, were you aware, did you authorize General Myers to call CBS to suppress their news report?
RUMSFELD: I don't have any idea if he discussed it with me. I don't think he did.
DAYTON: Over the last two weeks, calling CBS to suppress the news report?
RUMSFELD: "Suppress" is not the right word at all.
DAYTON: I'm sorry, sir, but I...
RUMSFELD: It's an inaccurate word.
DAYTON: General Myers, did you discuss it with the secretary?
MYERS: This had been worked at lower levels with the secretary's staff and my staff for some time.
DAYTON: That you would call CBS to suppress their news report?
MYERS: I called CBS to ask them to delay the pictures showing on CBS's "60 Minutes" because I thought it would result in direct harm ...
DAYTON: Mr. Secretary, is that standard procedure for the military command of this country to try to suppress a news report at the highest level?
MYERS: It didn't -- let me just -- Senator Dayton, this is a serious allegation ...
DAYTON: Sure is.
MYERS: ... and it's absolutely -- the context of your question, I believe, is wrong. ... This report -- the report was already out there, the news was out there about the abuse ...
DAYTON: General, if the news had been out there and we had all known about it ...
MYERS: This was not to suppress anything. What I asked CBS News to do was to delay the release of the pictures, given the current situation in Iraq, which was as bad as it had been since major combat ended, because I thought it bring direct harm to our troops; it would kill our troops.
We talked about it, and I said, "I know this report will eventually come out. But this -- if you can delay it for some period of time -- it would be helpful."
DAYTON: What period of time is that?
MYERS: I did it based on talking to General Abizaid and his worry was like mine, and he convinced me that this was the right thing to do. There was no -- this report has been around since January. What was new were the pictures. I asked for the pictures to be delayed. ...
DAYTON: I would just say, general -- and I agree with your assessment of the consequences of this on our troops, and that's the great tragedy of this -- but attempts to suppress news reports, to withhold the truth from Congress and from the American people is antithetical to democracy.
MYERS: You bet it is. And that's not what we were doing.
DAYTON: And whatever the intentions may be, sir, the result is always the same.
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