I want to say from the beginning. I'm not responsible for the title of the speech, which is Bang Bang on other stories Eric Von stand up and take your responsibilities. How in the years I if I dread my line it was the better line was I'm not responsible the title as of this speech was here when I arrived and right by but don't stand up again Eric. Let's sing about bang bang. I know that the rest of the world thinks that war correspondence. I'm mad. We're all mad going to places like Afghanistan and El Salvador and so on and asking me for a comment on the news business recently on war report IG report acid War correspondents have a class-action death. Wish. They What do I know? I'm in he's a reporter, right? I don't argue with the prince. I've had variations of that question that he asked put to me by friend Strange's and children all my career. I talk to a lunch gathering at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in 1971 and the early seventies and I have to which one of the guests a middle-aged woman from Time Magazine came up to me and said the only reason I'm here is that I want to look at it. I want to see what someone who's been in Vietnam 10 years really looks like I tried to hide my horns. Look what happened when I tried to hide my horns my hair went anyway, she was not untypical. I happen to believe that his heroics aside and there really aren't many out. The other War reporting is an essential service undertaken in the great majority by serious-minded men and women police officers in fireman that generally not proceeded to have death wishes and they have at least equally hazardous occupations. I can only presume that the mystery in which war correspondents are held means that the general public does not view War reporting as being an essential surface a service which is true. I find pretty saddening just as the policeman accept the risk of sudden attack while on patrol in a lonely Street or a fine and Braves the possibility of the kayven in a burning roof. So does the reporter accept the risks of his work he two steps into the void and West Beirut Afghanistan El Salvador or along the Honduran border. Is dial Torgeson in Richard cross did blow into Oblivion by a road mine. Just the most recent to in a long list of News man who died and recently is getting the news. Back to my speech having disposed of the title of it now. I'll get to the reality of it. I have here a recent title from a new story in TV Guide. That's the matter mass circulation magazine that tells everyone all I want to know about television. It reads is TV news trying to keep us out of War query. And it says that some charts at the reporting in El Salvador is distorted by the Specter of America is debacle in Vietnam. I was under the impression after this headline that it was to the lasting discredits of William Randolph Hearst that he tricked America end of the Spanish-American war in 1898. And I how far away retrogressing the reason for this particular story and others like it and TV guide and other right-wing publication is the lingering suspicion that the Vietnam press Corps of the 1960s and the early 70s have moved on to other locations with the objective of painting American foreign policy. Then suggesting that America was so demoralized with a Vietnam debacle that it may loans no longer be capable of firing a shot and righteous anger unless we all become like a Stephen crane following the Rough Riders up, San Juan Hill. The cover their exploits in the meantime immortalizing Teddy Roosevelt a modern day equivalent might be to ride point the Henry Kissinger as he leads his presidential commission the commission into verbal combat at the Gucci golpa. He's not aware that is yet, but you will know capital of Honduras. You will become as well known as Saigon. I think in the next couple years here. Am I getting back to that Vietnam Syndrome again Messing? Personally, I don't think it's the prices Judy to get us into or out of Wars. I remember when I first came to McAlester summer 1966 with that is Pulitzer winners were all lined up on the on the platform lectern and one of them my colleague from Vietnam Ocoee cheese. So why does photographer Japanese wonderful guy? He laid it was killed that we are optimistic then LBJ was in the White House. Run Ross wasn't Hong Kong for the star and tribune. life's anyone Ron of course runs a journalism program here and was a was a great correspondent of the Vietnam War one of the best. I'll get to you later Terry. There was a conviction in 1966 at the 350,000 American troops died in Vietnam would soon win that war, but there were also some noring doubts. I discovered about the Vietnam Adventure. I got questions here and this place and elsewhere in the questions were you know, how we really winning the war? How long is this thing going to take? I tried to beg off answering at that time because to me they was subjective questions. You know, I was the reporter on the scene. I was reported when I saw these projections didn't mean anything to me. I preferred the cautiously evaluate the prospects, but when really precious I would tell him in those days, you know, maybe 10 more years of war maybe three times a number of troops that are already there, but that's not what anyone wanted to hear those days. But tickly with their kids possibly having to go off to fight in a place that few then could pronounce Vietnam. The decayed but followed my visit here was a terribly traumatic one for America the urban riding the fall of Vietnam the challenges to American power around the world or seeming challenges to American time and a continuing self o l evaluation was taking place of the press. What was it doing? Why was it doing it in particular kind of scrutiny became television what's television really doing? Are they misleading? It's as far as news is concerned Vietnam seem to have brought all this about and to determine the degree to which Vietnam is still influencing reporting today in the world's trouble spots. Particularly Central America. I think you have to go back to the beginning to wear a seat change in reporting took place in the beginnings were from what I can see the beginnings of the Vietnam War the first American News man. I met in Asia when I started working there in the late 1950s will veterans of World War II and Korea old Asia hands. They proudly call themselves men like Kai's Beach of the Chicago Daily News a legendary person Robert Allegan Newsweek, very perceptive and others the attitudes of their job was recently summed up by Kai's Beach at a conference. I was I who said that American foreign correspondent should go out and seek truth. But only within the context of serving American foreign policy, that's what they did what they were doing or when I arrive in Bangkok in 1958 the New York Times correspondent in that City and other Asian cities had major status. He was usually second to the Ambassador socially and I had my own weekly newspaper in Laos. Eventually I country is pivotal to Southeast Asia than is honduras's to Central America today in the CIA what everywhere in Laos it had case officers with all the senior allow officials and eventually the CIA Finance the billion-dollar secret war that went on for years. Now then use one at that time. I saw got along splendidly with the CIA many took the copy daily copy to The Machinist CIA offices house see a lot of champagne and stock and heat checks for their stories at a little bit subtract a little bit mention an idea and it would go over to go to the Post Office open by his own Korea and out to the news organizations or well not Justa. Rockin the British to some Australian But interesting enough, it was never any mention the news about the CIA. It was on Infected my AP career for the first five years. I was with the AP. We just didn't mention the CIA if we inadvertently mentioned it was removed in New York because can those days was seen as a clandestine American operation. You don't talk about things like that. Why you no talk about clandestine things don't mention the CIA. So it was understood in those days of this clandestine operation that the organization would really be referred to by the press and I never their field operations. The CIA operative was uncovered last December in Honduras by Newsweek must yearn for those more trusting days when they press was much more trusting that the CIA did not journalistically exist in Laos a 1960, even though hundreds were all over the country was acceptable to the foreign correspondence has a nose times as was the need to Rally around American policy whenever the embassy called the tune and they did it and lots of countries. Lots of times you go to the Embassy you'll get you a briefing for the day and you would shape your dispatches around essentially what American policy sub Then came Vietnam Wars are fought by young man and they covered by young man. And I was one of the young when I went to Vietnam sure. I was green. I was in my early twenties and we would generate lots of critics for our innocence. Many of the critics in fact the top us we're on our own business and I see it and see it happening and Central America today the usefulness and inexperience of the reporters and Central America are being criticized ironically most often by middle-aged News man walking on their typewriters and the safety of Washington or New York who ever really really ever visit the danger zones, but seemed to know all about war reporting. Where are all the experience nieuwsma now that El Salvador is calling one. May I ask why are all these young people at? I'll tell you where they are their Executives in the news business who would have wouldn't dream of it getting shot on shot at willingly today there in advertising or PR or there in the academic world. You know Ron Ross Terry Walker store for my old report from Vietnam. Where are you guys today? When we need you, you know, why aren't you out there in El Salvador riding the roads? Obvious reasons, I mean ultimately you figured that the odds of being short and so who the hell wants to go continuing covering Wars. There's always another generation of young guys. So it was in Vietnam. We was sniped that from the earliest years by those who complain about Youth and inexperience, but where were these shots fired at 5 from Hong Kong where living was great Tokyo where it was better off from Washington. I mean there was room in Vietnam for all out critics to come and show us how to do it, but they usually didn't and the criticism eventually became ridiculous. I was still being cold and experience by 1970 and for example, and at that time to 19 stop is on the AP Bureau put accumulated 81 years of experience in that country and have a visit Mary Vietnamese women identities relative get today. You'll still hear them saying audit Vietnam Prescott and experience. They don't know anything about war. What we did in Vietnam from the beginning was to examine American foreign policy aims and match them with the reality of what we found on the scene. You know what that hadn't been done before maybe to being done in domestic politics. Maybe it'll be done and over there with the Merrell office mayoral oppositely be done in sports reporting all the time, but it'll actually look at American foreign policy and I want to play some see if it's effectively operating up. It hasn't been done in the past of Chiang Kai-shek was deemed to be the leader of China and back by the United States and it wasn't up to the press to question his abilities ottoman cover his inadequacies in the case of Schenck. I shake those who did criticize them when they crucified after he was ousted from the mainland a long-running story of the of the press attacking its own people. So when the resident Saigon price car in the early 1760s disagreed with a thin vice President Lyndon Johnson's assessment of 1961. No, denzium of Vietnam was the Churchill of Asia. The battle lines were drawn. How could we question the Judgment of such a senior American official then the advanced came and Mulcher. There was a Buddhist crisis. When the small press go there. We were regularly mall by the Vietnamese playing cards, please simply covering any government rally is over the Buddhist immolation, which we have criticized for covering and we get a phone call from someone who says there's a demonstration going to be at the Central Market in 1 hour. We'd go there in a month would burn himself with take pictures and write about it. We were criticized but somehow I'm not putting the fire out or trying to intervene in the sort of thing. These are dangerous times and very dangerous times interesting Lee enough though. I don't think they are as dangerous as Central America today with some government seen in Tinton permanently silencing a little too critical members of The Farm Prescott. Why was the Saigon price go at 20 years ago? So intent on rocking the boat with a tradition was really to do otherwise to get on the team to mix a metaphor. Make it a young team. It'll get it right but I think the Vietnam was hosted the first American foreign correspondent Which social Consciousness reporters who would generally cut the teasers young reporters on the Civil Rights battles in the South to them. The glories of World War II with Tales told by their fathers and they took seriously President John F. Kennedy's cold to give to their country and not take them if they went overseas seriously incline in addition the young reporters and I was meeting in Vietnam me and young New Zealander the ones I was meeting in the early seventies were coming more and more from Ivy League colleges on the East Coast are aggressive competitive upwardly-mobile and I'm not for them the embassy briefing and dinner with the Ambassador, even though we may have been their uncle The mutant from these meetings with the embassy the Ambassador set up a mutual understanding that the less said about negatives was better for everyone know not with that. You know, when in fact with a year after you arrive David halberstam in Saigon was person on garage door at the American Embassy a big change from a few years earlier. When the New York Times correspondent was basically is high in the social order. Is he an ambassador? He wasn't even going to the Embassy. What happened to wish we were aware we didn't have much experience in covering was with all done a little bit of military service, but the answer was to go out and see for ourselves what the devil was happening out there and that took some doing in those days. There were only a few American advisers and no us ground troops in Vietnam then and helicopters were scarce than if they are in El Salvador today. We just drove everywhere. I had a white, gear sports car in those days and which set up from Saigon early morning and looking for the wall much like a local reporter here might search for tanedo damage in a rural community the helicopters with a giveaway for us with following that general direction as they went over head usually by mid-afternoon with gone backing up back roads and side roads to where the helicopters with landing and we'd be alerted by the end of the battle by the sounds of gunfire showing the be wounded soldiers along the roadside blind on so it take a pic. Do on interviews and head on back home as fast as we could before night fell. What we kept finding out there in the field and those days in Vietnam was the reality of a war that was really going nowhere with a local troops were poorly LED, even though American advisers were there they would demoralized the Viet Cong guerrillas seem to have the support of the population. This was a different world than the one being forwarded Embassy briefings in Saigon. Now in a foreign correspondence would unashamedly accentuate the positive. Maybe they went out in the Philippines to look at their so maybe they went around I'm not saying they didn't National interest head being at stake at the bedtime. National interest was predominant, but what became apparent to wash the is America plans further into this Quagmire and they've helped us and wrote a book about it and 64 it was Mississippi assessing the resilience and historical dynamism of the other side them from day one. There is a fatal four in American policy. That was a conviction that American cut technology could do the job. I'm like woah reporters in the past and unencumbered by censorship. We insisted on matching America names with reality again, you know, what's the aim here? What's American policy? Where is it going? But what the really the hell happening out in the field that was bad news for The Optimist and I remember so many times thrashing over the facts with newsmen like Ron Ross and Saigon and Terry will just offer another years albums of the embattled Saigon press car and we really wanted to believe that all was going well at this tremendous sacrifice particular by the mid-sixties in late 60s, the tremendous sacrifice of people soldiers money. We really wanted to believe that It had to be changing to the positive direction, but the accumulating evidence kept showing stalemate yet. This historians is history shows us the u.s. High command and the White House continue to exude optimism, and we knew we were being lied to about the bombing the body count so forth and so on. At a recent conference on Vietnam Floyd Abrams a lawyer for the New York Times in the Pentagon papers case commented that the Vietnam War a struggle that helped Liberate the American Press from what he called and narrow constraints of a journalistic straight jacket. It allowed itself to wear in World War II and Korea. He said the prep recipe was practicing a perversion and those days of what was the wind why Howard journalism, we with yielding to the higher authority unquestioningly. Interesting enough this aggressive professionalism in Vietnam coincidentally match the search of TV news to seek new ways of presentation really in the 1960s TV news in America was struggling and its adolescence some of you may remember the 15-minute Evening News Carson. These was shaped by the movie newsreels that preceded them. The style was Lowell Thomas reading a script written from a camera men's caption sheet, but in September 63 CBS started the first 30 minute newscast and this more than more than double the time and it provided a much larger canvas into a much bigger audience attracted to television news. Now reporter and often produce or accompanied a cameraman and every story in and things were developing in this way to the camera was taken over the sticks of a striped head tripod and it was mounted on the camera in shoulder this required physical abilities required courage and the medium required imagination and a prize and Vietnam was the perfect Proving Ground for this technique it became and thank the most important factor in the maturity of TV news on the eyes of news historians another development in those days Kodak develop to find grain color film with a magnetic Soundtrack This is an important technical Advance over black and white film and by 1965 television was well into its first war it's a Living Color and natural sound its new tool to Revelation revolutionising use and it's revolutionising in revolutionising is the decades go on. Like that print colleagues of Television reporters would generally young and inexperienced but they learned fast former CBS News Chief Richard salon has written the Vietnam was approached by a television as an extension of World War II in which right and wrong with easily distinguished and which the American cause was clearly and automatically The Virtuous one600 Broadcast News men spend a little or a lot of time in Vietnam as as in print and fuel emerge without altering. Their opinions are the limits of American power or with all the views of American officialdom. By using adversary journalism in Vietnam. We have made it a part of the reporters routine approach today to foreign correspondents adversary journalism. There's many definitions much as we discussed about it, but I prefer Tom Wicker's definition the great New York Times columnist. He said by adversary is not met a hostile position, but it's made in the lawyer sense cross-examining challenging in the course of a trial sort of such an adversary is opposed only in the sense that he demands that a case be made that fax be proven that assumption in conclusion Justified procedure skits a squid with common sense and good practice and adversary press he said would whole truth as unattainable infrequently Pearl is it is as its highest value and knowledge has its first responsibility. Such sensible standards don't seem to go down well with officialdom prone to lie or colleague. So committed to American power and success that they can't stomach any kind of policy reverse and they sevic those who they see is doing this at the Forefront of a continuing campaign A continuing vindictive campaign to discredit Vietnam reporting and Reporting generally abroad today is a small but determined group of New Richmond particularly. Antagonistic is author Robert Halligan too many of us note lunch with Newsweek in the LA Times, and now a best-selling novelist. He lives in Island. He wrote last year in the British magazine in Canada that never before Vietnam has the collective policy of the media sort by graphic and an unremitting Distortion to give Victory to enemies of The Correspondents on side as a result. He wrote The Correspondents tip the global balance of power and led to the Vietnam syndrome the lightning of other any other us Enterprise to Vietnam. He said that this has become such a powerful in Canton incantation is a great writer this guy but let me repeat that specific. I'm such a powerful incantation as to make it virtually impossible for the West to conduct an effective foreign policy and elegant went on to wonder whether angolan Afghanistan and Iran had a code of Saigon had not fallen and mid nearly Universal odium. Any continue the Vietnam, press Corps road for the approbation of each other or oppose their own side because it was fashionable and the seed that sells as to the true nature of the enemy. That's one hell of an indictment. But making fortunately and I'm glad making the Vietnam war press Corps the convenient scapegoat for the loss of the war has not become fashionable among American historians who are accumulating the documentation of what really went on in Vietnam and government and in the field but increasingly governments and Military raging throughout the world at tightening censorship proposing and in some cases implementing stringent new regulations and restrictions on press coverage of military Affairs. The foundation of that argument is the American model in Vietnam and Israel, for example, South Africa official site the US experience in Vietnam as the main reason for continued restrictions on press freedoms, and last year's Focalin crisis the British government height restrictions on the Press particularly television with shape of the American expression experience in Vietnam, according to officials. They were on March at the time from British authorities to the effect that Americans lost their War. Vietnam because of the press when I going to have another Vietnam in the Falklands. So the battle lines are being drawn around the world, but it's a two-way street. I personally believe that critics of fire overestimated the impact of the Press on Vietnam or other Wars. I wouldn't go as far as last year's keynote speaker his side, hush who contends that the Press is no longer relevant to anyting he believes that government is so much awesome, but it can lie pretty much with impunity. And he says that lying is becoming a weapon that government used to stay and tired. He's talking about the American government. I see the price is still capable of filling its constitutional role to check and balance government and is the direct result of the war in Vietnam. There is much less trust in government handouts. There is less willingness to Simply go along with government policy or government statements. I think I however the too many news organizations too many of us are too willing to print broadcast government statements without examination and the Press still permits the government power to set the agenda of a public debate and the government decides. What positions are responsible and what positions are not. It's fascinating the discontinuing controversy catches up with a time when Ronald Reagan to sort of policies and Central America record. The early. Of us involvement in Vietnam. The United States is once again speaking as if it would pay any price bear any burden and JFK's words to a post challenges to the Free World the Reagan Administration recently move S. Kennedy did two decades ago to re-emphasize the role of the Special Forces. Central America dominates the news is Vietnam, which digit is three stories on Central America, Nicaragua Kissinger? Planning military exercises 20 years ago Vietnam would have occupied this much of the pavement. I'm not suggesting because of this at the American experience in Vietnam will inevitably repeat itself in Central America. Put the question that I see now it when I go there that I try to answer the question I see is what game is really being played down there. What is the purpose of the decisions? The US public is I have to support without challenge. In fact to not support its being unpainted being called ignorant or unpatriotic just look at Nicaragua. For example, the Reagan Administration says it's not trying to overthrow the sandinistas government. However, the stated policy is no longer just a stop the Onslow the rebels in El Salvador, but to make the Nicaraguan regime keep the promises of democratic pluralism given to the organization of American states, which Nicaragua got in return for supporting housing the Somoza dictatorship, but to achieve that the Reagan Administration is asking 80 billion and secret funds for people who sub Samosa and who's about David is the top of the successes. We're supporting them said to me that looks pretty very confusing and judging from polls taken from amongst a u.s. Boat has recently. Am I to wish people it's confusing to them to no one is really knows what the hell is happening in Central America? 20 years ago few in America question such confusion when it applied to policies in Southeast. Asia has no confusion who was challenging American policy and Laos who was challenging the buildup in Vietnam. We know where that got us too far down a long slide into a quagmire. I'm not suggesting that we as reporters can prevent similar disaster happening somewhere or even that we should because ultimately it's the will of the American people that should Prevail but that will can be terribly Miss and applied by an uninformed public. I do less Wok high bridge now that I used to but I get out to Asia the Middle East and down to Central America on occasion and I be hot and but the quality and Suzy azzam of the reporters the news when I meet out there in the Middle Ages, the report is a felis the veterans of striping Beirut and crisis in Israel and Central America. The Press go boldly goes where we never even did in Vietnam driving all over. Country if the government closes off of Military operation in El Salvador news middle getting to the advance and go around the perimeter go to the back way and talk to the gorillas having access to the Gorillaz incredible improvement over the Vietnam coverage. We can get their Viewpoint when her some sold remade the first trip behind the lines to handle a 1966 Christmas of 66. It was almost ostracised when we return to the United States, he was called unpatriotic, even though the reports he brought back reveal the dimension of the American bombing the other than ever been admitted before. More important than that from what I see around the hotspot to the will of the reporters themselves at you today's report. He usually speaks. The language is energetic. He's pretty well-educated the free air and better and just every way and in better in every way that I think we were in Vietnam. I'd like to think that we pave the way in Vietnam sure governments put up restrictions today, but I think the international press Corps now is very tough very active there a formidable force of professionals and then I'd not just Americans that drawn from all over the world that way here to CBS with CNN buy a p that tough professionals and I think because it's so good. It's one of the reasons we're under such heavy attack because we're bringing the facts home as much as we can in the stories that were signed a cover. Banana egg rolls. I think we're better able to handle it now and I think that the public does expect coverage today of these places. They want reporters at the scene. They want the television cameras that Margaret Thatcher kept the Press away from the Falklands. I don't think President Reagan or any future American president can keep the cameras away from America's Next War. I'd like to win with a personal reflection on the life of the war correspondent. Really he inhabits and narrow little world out there out there. The day of a war reporter is governed by a rumor sudden violence. He's generally out of touch with his family and the world he's vulnerable to second-guessing from critics from his home office. I'd like to read the conclusion of the recent story. I wrote about war reporting at follow the destiny caraga of Donald Torgeson of the LA Times and Richard cross a freelance photographer 12 for amusement four of them Americans have died in Central America so far. As an ancient times as in Vietnam and so today blame the messenger blame the youth blame their politics blame that being that a secret one no longer a secret is an embarrassment. It is also a story like a sucking into a vacuum. So is the reported drawn inexorably into the story you cover it or you leave town and in covering a war story you'll soon find that both sides died that both are capable of Good and Evil that where there is no identical Frontline there a few identical or simply explain causes you write in photograph what you see in you pass it along the British journalistic is storing Phillip Knightley believes that Wars are so complex today that report is cannot measure up to the task given then I disagree with his lofty games. When not the ears the eyes the Arbiters of the world's problems. We are in imperfect window and I trouble X providing at least the glimmer of truth from places with Darkness rules and dial. Ferguson Richard cross and scores more Backstreet recent years have given their lives to keep that window open. Thank you very much. I think the professional press car in the United States is against any kind of Licensing or any kind of card because it would be impossible to basically verify so I don't think a cop is the required but I made the comment and solve it are in one of my pieces that we have Prescott, but unfortunately, they're not bulletproof and a lot of the casualties in these places are not not targeted. They just they happen to be incidentally involved in War. I think what is required is that governments understand that the Press Corps? Hopefully they understand that the Press Corps the American press for the world presco is a detached observers. What is hurt the American Press Corps over the years is is the is information and the and the revelations that some Americans use when working for the CIA that they ended. I just noticed that Jimmy Carter was quoted. In the paper saying that to arrange the The Exodus of a few Americans held at the Canadian embassy in Iran and tear around they smuggled in some CIA people is motion picture producers of cameramen. Well that's getting pretty new to the press and I think the dude with the with the doubt around the world because of a connections allegedly to American intelligence and I don't think a international card helps that I think what is important is that Central governments with the US has influence in Central America Honduras El Salvador the US government makes it clear will not tolerate. They they brutality towards News man in Saigon and 63. I remember Malcolm Brown of the AP and I went picked up at a Buddhist rally and worked over by the secret plainclothes policeman taking the person they're going to charge us with with the spying and and being traded to the country and that it could have been a death sentence. We could have been shot at dawn basically at that point President Kennedy in Devine. Table his displeasure to the same raging. I think the US government has to be active in countries where the US government has little RIT, like if ever gonna stand use men have to take their chances International controller. I don't think it is acceptable to Us Media instantly UNESCO control. unacceptable I was in bed with the two months covering the shelling in the siege of CNN. I left before they massacres at the Palestinian refugee can put on my return. I discovered that the friends of Israel and others were upset that and I daily reports we had much video and much description and print of the damage the shell was doing to the Palestinian part of West Beirut. My answer to that was simply that we are assigned to cover what was happening in West Beirut. I was there for two months straight and each day that was showing each day. The tanks were firing each day that was casualties and I discovered it as a resident member of the West Beirut Prescott. My suggestion was it if the images of buildings collapsing impacted more on the will Consciousness than the images of Tanks firing guns from the Israeli side. That's the way it falls. I don't have any excuses but interviewing Minions are interviewing Yasser Arafat dog presenting. I stories. I'd like to point out that and CNN's cases with all the networks with a p u p i the times the post all the newsman there. They did have their reporters with the Israeli troops. And it was always each day two sides. If the side that we presented was all blood and godson collapsing buildings. And if that is Remembered in that impacted on the detrimental and Israeli policy, I'm sorry. And I do the same thing again. I don't know if the Israelis would be Siege West Beirut again, but I certainly would cover the same way again. I think you'll have less opportunity to win over the price today than he did have any early 70s. He was a very charismatic Charming personality who was doing a lot of making a lot of decisions and seemingly making a lot of progress my side hurts my I do too but his real name's where is real objectives with but he was a Charming individual who favored the press and they did in fact play the game. I think that happens in government. I don't think they're out of the roof you man as Charming as a kissing it is being said that President Reagan charms the Press should I be if I was two months in the White House last year covering it is a Charming guy, but I don't think he he charms I'm as directly as Henry does I think that's part of the salesmanship of government policy. If you can charm the Press good his current role now at Henry Kissinger. I mean, he's getting so much criticism for taking it anyway, and there's so much a negative reaction so far. I think it will have a difficult and really doing it a job that is The Spectre it's already been seeing is out of a cover-up by Reagan to get out from a difficult situation. And I think Henry must have been pretty desperate to get back in the government to accept this particular brawl. They do not like him in Central America referral link. It's hard to argue that one Westmoreland is as a 120 million dollar libel suit against CBS and CBS has admitted to some breakdowns and their normal procedure in presenting it I would have done it. That way though. It was very boring. I didn't see the point of the whole piece personally. I saw it the night it was on and I figured you know, I'm not learning anything that I didn't already know and I wondered why it got such 90-minute treatment such publicity. I think they was sold a bill of goods by by the CIA man who'd been peddling that store. If he is I don't think of any great significance is whether or not General Westmoreland was liable. I don't know what they did with his interview with the short. I did a I've done my television statement on Vietnam. I contributed to a series called the 10,000 a wall which was 12, which was 13 hour long episodes on the wall from French x 2 the conclusion produced by Canadian company, and I did all the interviews and I wrote it and I haven't Too much criticism from Westmoreland already went on that. So that's basically the way I'd like to present Vietnam is objective detached realistic at this point in time. It's history now. On the other hand just to continue that point Vietnam is history, but I don't think the kind of Wars are the situations that Vietnam was part of his history. I think career probably end of the conventional boys and we've been with Vietnam. We just the beginning or continue. I'm a lots of Wars of liberation of gorillas movements that we're going to see for the rest of the century. So those who say let's forget Vietnam like the Pentagon has forgotten Vietnam it even in West Point they do they do not teach gorilla tactics of counterinsurgency. That is simply and West Point. It's a part of the history course, but American gi's are not to Jungle training other than a couple of specialized units. All American military training is any fighting the next war in Europe for American General. He'll tell you we don't want anything to do with Central America because we know that's trouble. How to get the Central America type problems going to be with us for a long time but leave the right 17 or 18 similar Wars going in different parts of the world right now. So Vietnam is the kind of Insurgency the kind of warfare that it represents is still with us. Well, I was 20 years old when I went to Central America, so I did leave it live that time. I was interesting in Central America when I was down there recently and I'm a reporter from the LA Times. I was talking to a few newspapers and she says Well story why don't you tell us how you did it? You know, why don't you tell us how to do these things unless I said, I don't have to tell you anything you're doing exactly what we were doing and you're doing more. So I think that because what has happened over the years of the Vietnam people have gone down the technique of getting out and about is being picked up and they're already doing it. So, I mean they'll Legacy is that the really the willingness we display the willingness to go out where the action is to where the facts on to get the story irrefutable whatever they say about a Vietnam reporting. I mean we came back with the pictures we came back with the facts. It's indisputable while we found made the argument is maybe we shouldn't have presented those facts. That's the only negative against it was in the National interest will the price of the Associated Press West Galaga a powerful news. Are in the 60s made it part of speech are they can 67 he said as far as the AP stands on public interest is higher than the national interest. He laid it down. This is what the public has the right to know everything unless there is a security blanket which occasionally was imposed the public should know everything happening in that war the rape see the mutilations the successes of the Fates and that's what in the Central America. I'm amazed the degree and actually which they do get around. I mean, it's unbelievable the way they cross borders and get into the mountains and go startling Well, I'd like to think being with CNN Cable News Network with changing the format. We giving much more news and giving much greater. We give we give great, you know exit we give to all sides so great exercise their rights to talk about issues 2% They have you sleep but the problem is who's going to look at CNN 24 hours a day because it probably takes 24 hours to pick it all up. But I think it's changing very quickly Now TV news on he was going to be much more news and then if people are getting more interested news and I think I'm going to five years from now, you'll twice three times more news on television. I think CNN will be better. I think they'll be you'll get a five more info and public. Hopefully, even those inveterate newspaper readers. Will I do the big inning last night? And I hope it's a good look at television read a newspaper those who want to be informed will be informed. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to chat with you yet.