Jim Carey: Is Freedom of Speech Killing our Sons and Daughters?
Jim Carey: Is Freedom of Speech Killing our Sons and Daughters?
About
the Author
Rear Admiral [Ret.] Jim Carey is Chairman of the NATIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE and NATIONAL DEFENSE PAC. His background includes duty in cruisers and amphibs, at Naval Beach Group, and in the Pentagon, and naval service from Seaman Recruit to Rear Admiral. He also served in the Reagan and George Bush Sr. Administrations. Further details at The National Defense Committee and The National Defense Political Action Committee.
I am of the view that no one on our planet has done more to ensure that everyone in our nation enjoys freedom of speech than the men and women who have served in uniform over the past 200 + years. Yet I also feel that with the right to freedom of speech comes an associated level of responsibility to at least use a reasonable amount of care and prudence so that statements made under the provisions of our freedom of speech rights don’t endanger our sons and daughters in the Armed Forces who are deployed in foreign nations and who serve in harms way under very dangerous circumstances.
In my view, while each of us has the rights our Constitution guarantees us, none of us has the exclusive use of those rights and particularly not when their use endangers the life or rights of a fellow citizen.
Yet it certainly appears to me that we have men and women dying in Iraq and Afghanistan right now that in some instances are facing this danger because these enemy actions are being inadvertently encouraged by public statements made by some of their fellow citizens.
The communications channel that carries these messages is television, which is now seen worldwide and is viewed by all our enemies. And the statements are all too often made by some of our own American officials, both current and former.
Here’s an example: A federal official appears on television and seems to forget that his/her statements will be viewed by people outside of the room he is in (including our enemies and the leadership of the various groups that are killing our men and women in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan). Statements are then made with the official saying we’re not doing "this" or "that" right in Iraq, and that we shouldn’t be in Iraq, and that now our servicemen in Iraq are getting killed, and that the time has come for us to look at pulling out. This continues ad nauseum. With these statements being televised, what do you think the enemy will conclude? “Hey, our killing these soldiers is working -- even some U.S. officials are saying it on worldwide TV. So, either they’re just stupid or we’ve really got them on the run. Let’s just step up the pace and kill even more of them."
Surely, our enemies coming to this conclusion is not unrealistic. In fact, I’d bet you that not only is it very realistic, it is actually what is happening today in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now, are the officials that make such statements within their rights to say these things under freedom of speech? I have no doubt that they are. But can’t they also give just a little bit of respect to these men and women in uniform and be more careful and prudent of what they say before TV cameras? Can’t they find other issues to use other than those that endanger our troops' lives as these officials chase political advantage over those who disagree with them? Can’t they adjust with just a minimum of care what they say so that it can’t be used as encouragement by those who are shooting our sons and daughters? Don’t these men and women in uniform -- who want to come home alive -- also have rights? How about their parents, who don’t want the enemy to hear that these murderous attacks are working, for fear that the enemy not only continue the attacks, but increase them? Where do their rights come in?
And while I’m on this subject, one has to wonder if the officials making some of these statements have a clue that our soldiers, Sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard members overseas also have access to TV and thus also hear these ill-conceived mutterings. What are our troops to think when they see their own federal officials making statements that may convince our enemy his actions in killing our troops are having an impact and that the enemy is seeing on TV that his killings and bombings and assassinations are effective?
Do the officials making these statements feel this will be interpreted by our sons and daughters in harms way “as good for morale”? I can’t imagine how. But what it will achieve is to seriously lower the morale of our troops when they see some of their own elected leadership questioning why they are on duty there. They may also begin to wonder if their mission is even necessary, or what are they doing there in the first place? For anyone who has ever been deployed overseas and worried about dying there, I’m sure they will confirm that such statements by their own federal officials are seriously harmful to morale and make you or your buddies wonder if you are about to get killed for no national interest at all.
Now, I can already hear it. There will be people coming out of the woodwork screaming for my scalp because “I’m challenging freedom of speech,” when nothing could be further from the truth. The facts are that I wore a uniform and took an oath to support and defend freedom of speech, among other things in our Constitution. But I am also for the rights of our men and women in uniform who may get killed if our enemy is encouraged by imprudent or ill thought-out comments that tell them these killings are working. And I’m also for the rights of the parents of these guys and gals who don’t want them endangered just so some politician can gain some level of political advantage by changing the dialogue from support of our troops to arguing about why we should pull out.
Making public statements that in any way put our men and women in uniform at risk is totally unacceptable. To say nothing about an absolutely outrageous dishonor to those who have already lost their lives there to accomplish the mission that their government sent them to do.
Disgusting!
Please, can’t we use just a little consideration for what gets said so our sons and daughters aren’t placed in greater danger?
