successful war without TV?

[Doug Millison]

When military action begins in Afghanistan, it may be hard for
President
George W. Bush to persuade the world that American and British forces
are succeeding.

Mr Bush has talked of ''covert operations secret even in success''. But
a war in the shadows heightens the challenge for him in winning the
media war - vital if the president is to hold on to public support at
home and among the coalition he has mustered against terrorism.

Live television coverage became an intrinsic part of warfare during the
1990-91 Gulf conflict.''It's a symbiotic relationship,'' said Jonathan
Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute, a London thinktank. ''More
than in any previous war, the media are needed for the success of an
operation.''

But in the coming conflict the theatre of war is likely to be
inaccessible and at least some of the fighting will be missions by
special forces troops, some units of which are so secret that their
activities are never publicly acknowledged.

It will be difficult to involve journalists in such a way as to give
viewers and readers confidence in the version of events being provided.

Government spokesmen, from the White House press secretary down, insist
they would not lie. But, as one official said, ''covert operations do
imply telling lies . . . The public must not get the impression, as in
Vietnam, that lies have taken over from the truth.''

Source:
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3ZAVW4CSC&live=tr
ue&tagid=ZZZU2IUKJ0C
Doug Millison - Writer/Editor/Web Editorial Consultant
millison at online-journalist.com
www.Online-Journalist.com