The following statement was made by CBS’s Andy Rooney:
“Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home.”- CBS News Correspondent Andy Rooney
Freedom Alliance president Tom Kilgannon today released the following statement:
“This week, CBS News Commentator Andy Rooney used his syndicated newspaper column to launch a reckless, hateful, and unwarranted attack on the men and women who wear America’s uniform by writing that ‘our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us.’ Rooney is wrong.
“Each of these young men and women have taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States; they have answered the call to duty; they are making sacrifices that may affect their personal, professional or family lives; they are providing hope to a population that has seen little but suffering; and they are doing all this with a positive, optimistic spirit of patriotism,” Kilgannon said.
Rooney also wrote in his column, “We speak of them as if they volunteered to risk their lives to save ours, but there isn’t much voluntary about what most of them have done.”
“The fact that America has an all-volunteer armed forces has apparently escaped Mr. Rooney, a man who has spent his life in the profession of journalism,” Kilgannon noted.
“Andy Rooney clearly has an axe to grind against the Bush administration and its policies in Iraq. But regardless of one’s opinion of the war, those who fight for and defend America’s freedom deserve the support of all Americans – especially journalists – who make a living exercising their freedom of speech. As a former member of the U.S. Army and war correspondent during WWII, Rooney should especially know this, and how important it is to keep up the morale of our Service Members.”
“CBS should fire Andy Rooney. If they don’t, it will cause Americans to wonder if ‘CBS’ is short-hand for ‘Criticize and Belittle our Soldiers,’” Kilgannon concluded.
