diesel-electric boat. They had lost the contact, and as the XO, George had ordered the Annapolis to abandon the search and proceed on course. He had spoken to the commanding officer, and they had agreed that the faint contact was probably biologics , the term submariners used to refer to the noise generated by various forms of sea life. After all, they had questioned, why would a Kilo , normally used for shallow-water patrols around the countries that owned them, be all the way across the ocean off the coast of the U.S.?
Buffalo looked at George and, even in the dawn’s early light, saw his face getting bright red. Hoping to defuse the situation, Buffalo jumped in and gruffly said, “Okay, Lannis, that’s it! Let’s get out right here and let the ass-kicking begin!”
The way he said it was just enough to get George to chuckle. He took a deep breath and after a few moments responded to Lannis. “The warhead never would have made it to DC from wherever they brought it ashore, if the media had not weakened our defenses.”
“But George, the media has always played a crucial role in America of keeping politicians honest. I understand more than most the need for intelligence; and I imagine the people in the media do too. But it’s often the media who ensure the intelligence is gathered legally. They’re the watchdogs of our individual freedoms.”
“In principle, I agree with you, Lannis, but I disagree that the media has always played the role of watchdog. During World War Two, for example, the media did not knowingly print topsecret national security information like they do today. Nor did they keep politicians honest. In fact, they went out of their way to help President Roosevelt conceal the fact that he was disabled because it would have demoralized the country. In other words, they were patriots . They put the well-being of their country ahead of getting a scoop.”
“That’s bullshit, George. The members of the media still put the country’s well-being first, it’s just a matter of opinion as to what’s best for the country.”
“No, the evidence says otherwise,” George angrily responded. “The problem with the post-9/11 press was they were still in the Watergate mode instead of wartime mode. Reporters for the New York Times and the Washington Post still looked back at Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as their heroes, and they wanted to be just like them. They just didn’t adapt to changing circumstances. They didn’t understand the seriousness of the problem. They didn’t believe that when President Bush said we were in a war, we really were. They just didn’t get it. ”
“I disagree, but even if you’re right, you can’t allow the executive branch to run amok. If you do, they will turn the country into a police state, and then the terrorists have won. They’ve achieved their goal of taking away our freedoms.”
This kind of thinking really irritated George, and it was one of the main reasons he disliked Lannis so much. “Don’t be ridiculous, Lannis. I may agree that the executive branch needs some checks and balances, but what makes you think the goal of the terrorists is to take away our freedoms? They don’t want to take away our freedoms; they want to kill us ! Just look at the freedoms we had already lost before the DC attack. We couldn’t go to a football game without being frisked and searched with a metal detector. The same was true if we wanted to go to the courthouse or into a school. Look at what we had to go through just to get on an airplane back then, even before today’s restrictions were imposed. We had already lost a lot of freedoms, and it didn’t slow down the terrorists one bit. The goal of the terrorists is not to take away our freedoms.”
“You’re on a roll, boss, keep it up!” urged Buffalo.
George continued, “And their goal is not to get the U.S. out of the Middle East and away from their oil supplies either, so don’t even go there, Lannis. Ever
Buffalo looked at George and, even in the dawn’s early light, saw his face getting bright red. Hoping to defuse the situation, Buffalo jumped in and gruffly said, “Okay, Lannis, that’s it! Let’s get out right here and let the ass-kicking begin!”
The way he said it was just enough to get George to chuckle. He took a deep breath and after a few moments responded to Lannis. “The warhead never would have made it to DC from wherever they brought it ashore, if the media had not weakened our defenses.”
“But George, the media has always played a crucial role in America of keeping politicians honest. I understand more than most the need for intelligence; and I imagine the people in the media do too. But it’s often the media who ensure the intelligence is gathered legally. They’re the watchdogs of our individual freedoms.”
“In principle, I agree with you, Lannis, but I disagree that the media has always played the role of watchdog. During World War Two, for example, the media did not knowingly print topsecret national security information like they do today. Nor did they keep politicians honest. In fact, they went out of their way to help President Roosevelt conceal the fact that he was disabled because it would have demoralized the country. In other words, they were patriots . They put the well-being of their country ahead of getting a scoop.”
“That’s bullshit, George. The members of the media still put the country’s well-being first, it’s just a matter of opinion as to what’s best for the country.”
“No, the evidence says otherwise,” George angrily responded. “The problem with the post-9/11 press was they were still in the Watergate mode instead of wartime mode. Reporters for the New York Times and the Washington Post still looked back at Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as their heroes, and they wanted to be just like them. They just didn’t adapt to changing circumstances. They didn’t understand the seriousness of the problem. They didn’t believe that when President Bush said we were in a war, we really were. They just didn’t get it. ”
“I disagree, but even if you’re right, you can’t allow the executive branch to run amok. If you do, they will turn the country into a police state, and then the terrorists have won. They’ve achieved their goal of taking away our freedoms.”
This kind of thinking really irritated George, and it was one of the main reasons he disliked Lannis so much. “Don’t be ridiculous, Lannis. I may agree that the executive branch needs some checks and balances, but what makes you think the goal of the terrorists is to take away our freedoms? They don’t want to take away our freedoms; they want to kill us ! Just look at the freedoms we had already lost before the DC attack. We couldn’t go to a football game without being frisked and searched with a metal detector. The same was true if we wanted to go to the courthouse or into a school. Look at what we had to go through just to get on an airplane back then, even before today’s restrictions were imposed. We had already lost a lot of freedoms, and it didn’t slow down the terrorists one bit. The goal of the terrorists is not to take away our freedoms.”
“You’re on a roll, boss, keep it up!” urged Buffalo.
George continued, “And their goal is not to get the U.S. out of the Middle East and away from their oil supplies either, so don’t even go there, Lannis. Ever
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