ABC just showed a clip of a soldier, obviously pre-approved by the Pentagon, giving the "strongest argument for staying" in Iraq

I can't believe ABC News' World News Tonight just did this. Their "strongest argument for staying" in Iraq came from US Army Colonel James Brown, who must have been pre-approved by the Pentagon to speak to ABC on camera. Just Google Col. Brown and see how many interviews this guy does - there is no way he's freelancing and doing TV stints, in addition to interviews with lots of papers, without the Pentagon knowing and approving him in advance.

So what do you think Col. Brown had to say? Why, shock of shocks, he thinks we should STAY in Iraq!

There is no chance in hell the Pentagon would have let a soldier go on camera and say that Iraq is a quagmire and we should withdraw immediately. The few soldiers who have made such criticism in the past, of Bush and Rummy, were threatened by the Pentagon and the White House. Not only wouldn't the Pentagon permit a dissenting voice, but peer pressure alone would prevent a soldier from speaking his mind on camera to ABC News and 11 million people.

So where does ABC News get off, on World News Tonight, with 11 million or so viewers watching, putting what amounts to a government apparatchik on TV, and then presenting his government-approved position as the "strongest argument for staying in Iraq," when in fact that government apparatchik is giving the party line lest his career be ended, and everybody knows that?

But hey, it was great television, and viewers who aren't familiar with how the Pentagon works and how troops are threatened if they criticize the orders of their commanders, would think this was indeed a hell of a strong argument.

Congrats to World News Tonight.

Maybe they should change their name to Woodward News Tonight.