"Mistakes And Derelictions"

General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. troops in Vietnam from 1964-1968, died on Monday.

Westmoreland's relationship with the press is well-chronicled. He was a vocal advocate of censorship during wartime, and blamed much of our problems in Vietnam on freedom of the press. One of his infamous statements was "Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind." His personal jihad against the press culminated in his rancorous, high-profile lawsuit against CBS in the early 1980's.

But in more reflective moments, he acknowledged the importance of a free and independent press. In his autobiography he wrote, "It is well to tolerate some mistakes and derelictions to make every effort to assure that total freedom and independence continue to exist."

I think the main threat today is the editorial pressure inherent in corporate ownership as opposed to the overt censorship advocated by many Vietnam hawks. But Westmoreland's more rational words have never been more relevant. And if they were good enough for him, they should be good enough for all the armchair generals on their own personal jihads against journalistic scapegoats.