Is Tim Russert More Worthy Than John Aragon?
By Larry Johnson on June 14, 2008 at 2:43 PM in Current Affairs
There are many families weeping in America today. A beloved, cherished member of the family is dead. I am thinking of Sgt. John D. Aragon, 22, of Antioch, Calif., who died June 12 in Kadamiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. As the Washington media and political establishment mourn the passing of Tim Russert, behaving as if the Pope had died, we should also remember that Tim Russert did not serve the public interest when it really counted. He did a classy job of hosting Meet the Press, but at the end of the day he avoided substantive challenges to the Administration’s propaganda campaign to make the case for war in Iraq. And John Aragon has now paid the ultimate price.
Tim Russert is not responsible for the decision to invade Iraq–that rests on the shoulders of George Bush. But Russert was a ringmaster in the media circus that helped build public support for the invasion. The so-called “tough” questioning of Cheney might have meant something if Tim, as news director, could have put people on the air and given them comparable time to challenge the Administration’s policy. But he did not. He was playing the role of Jay Leno without the jokes–hosting a talk show–but declining to hold folks accountable for flat out lies. Russert had a bully pulpit but declined to use it. Russert was not the only one. But he was positioned uniquely to help shape public perceptions and his influence in Washington was such that he could have made a difference.. But he did not. He played it safe and he catered to the powerful.
MR. RUSSERT: He does not have a nuclear weapon now?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: I can’t say that. I can say that I know for sure that he’s trying to acquire the capability. But again, you know, if this-some people say, “Well, if you’re going to use this process, if you’re going to go through the enrichment process, it could take five, six years maybe.” But then the question is: “Well, when did he start?” Did he start back when the inspection regime was still under way, prior to ’98? Because he did have, for example, a robust biological weapons program then, even though there were inspectors present. Did he start in ’98 when the inspectors left? Has he had four years already to work on this process? Or is he only beginning now? We don’t know that. We can’t tell what the start date is. We do know that he is, in fact, embarked upon this venture. We don’t have any way to know, at this point, to specify the date by which he will actually have a weapon he can use.
MR. RUSSERT: There seems to be a real debate in the country as to his capability. This is how The New York Times reported comments by Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican, who said, “The Central Intelligence Agency had ‘absolutely no evidence’ that Iraq possess or will soon possess nuclear weapons.” Is that accurate?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: I disagree. I think the accurate thing to say is we don’t know when he might actually complete that process. All of the experience we have points in the direction that, in the past, we’ve underestimated the extent of his program. We’ve underestimated the speed at which it was developing. It’s important for people to understand, as well, too, the difficult nature of the target here, in an intelligence perspective. This is a guy who runs a totally controlled system. There is no-he doesn’t have to go to Congress to get funds appropriated to build a system. It’s a dictatorship. Secondly, it’s a police state. He runs a very brutal regime. Third, he has been very good at denial and deception. He’s good at hiding whatever he’s doing from public view. And therefore, as an intelligence target, it’s an especially difficult proposition for us.
We have a tendency-I don’t know if it’s part of the part of the American character-to say, “Well, we’ll sit down and we’ll evaluate the evidence. We’ll draw a conclusion.” But we always think in terms that we’ve got all the evidence. Here, we don’t have all the evidence. We have 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent. We don’t know how much. We know we have a part of the picture. And that part of the picture tells us that he is, in fact, actively and aggressively seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
Tim Russert, like many of the Washington elite, had the joy of celebrating his son’s graduation from college. Meanwhile, another young man who is about the age of Russert’s son–John Aragon–gave his life serving his country. While I empathize with the terrible loss suffered by the Russert family, I find the public wailing by the media about Tim Russert unseemly. The media now, with a few exceptions, ignore our soldiers dying in a war they helped sell. In the tragedy of Russert’s unexpected death I simply wish the media would find the decency to serve the public good.
Russert’s passing reminds us of an unfortunate truth–it is celebrity not actual accomplishment that counts. A 22 year old soldier dying in the line of duty in Iraq is inconsequential because the media has not employed its resources to introduce him to the American people. Let’s remember that like the family and friends of Tim Russert, the family and friends of John Aragon also weep. Sgt. Aragon, we salute your service.
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