The Captive Press: Foreign Policy Crises and the First Amendment.

• Author: Kwitny, Jonathan

As you read Ted Galen Carpenter's The Captive Press, you get the idea that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom ... of the press" (the First Amendment) is a lot like "Thou shalt not kill": good advice, frequently ignored, especially in wartime. Carpenter's message is that restrictions on what reporters can learn and publish are almost always introduced with the argument that they are necessary to protect national security or the lives of troops, and yet usually serve no purpose other than to mislead the public into supporting bad policy or to protect government officials who have done their jobs poorly.

The few really valid military secrets have never been an issue. Reporter Seymour Hersh once observed that anyone who published technical details about nuclear weapons construction or combat submarine positions wouldn't find many readers at fifty cents a copy anyway.

Carpenter provides plenty of illustrations of outright U.S. government censorship on matters related to public policy and of government denial of access to important news sites, not just on the battlefield but also in the corridors of Washington. But he is equally concerned with the constant, often successful effort of U.S. government propaganda operations to seduce reporters into slanting the news the government's way. He provides abundant evidence that self-censorship by reporters -- whether inspired by a greedy desire to curry favor with news sources or editors, or just by misguided idealism -- can be more dangerous than overt government censorship.

Advocates of open government and a watchdog press will find The Captive Press the perfect supportive literature to hand out to friends and congressmen. It is an ideal cross between a tract and a scholarly tome (which Carpenter should consider adding, as he appears to have done most of the necessary research already). In this volume, the writing is lively, the recitations of data never stray far from a good yarn, the documentation is solid, and Carpenter goes on just long enough about each topic to persuade average citizens without entangling them in unnecessary complications.

Best of all, Carpenter is principled and free of partisan agendas. He isn't carrying water for Republicans or Democrats, capital or labor, and this neutrality allows him interesting insights. For example, his indignation over the witch-hunts against the Left in the McCarthy era is coupled with the perception that in many ways these injustices...