Bush and Rumsfeld announced over a week ago they aren't going to comment on any plans they may or may not have. Rumsfled made it a point last week to say that there are so many rumors going around that they aren't going to respond to any of them. His point was that if they failed to comment on any given rumor, some would see that as a confirmation the rumor was true. With countless rumors flying around, there's always the possibility that one or more contain kernels of the truth. Rather than risk giving away classified information, better to simply refuse comment on all rumors. There are simply too many rumors to keep them all straight.

Back in WWII, the Press was a different breed than today. In 1943, Eisenhower had a run-in with a press corps that demanded answers. He did the unthinkable - he closed the doors and gave the press a full briefing of an impending invasion (I think it was Sicily). He laid out all of the details - units, invasion time lines and sites, the whole works. Not one press member leaked the story. In fact, some later commented that they were afraid to take a drink that night for fear of letting the secret slip.

Other incidents proved that the Press back then was a different breed than today. For example, many reporters like Walter Cronkite went in on the opening waves of the Normandy invasion. Walter actually went to France in a glider, a very gutsy thing to do. They all were aware of at least some of the D-Day information before they embarked but none said a word.

I shutter to imagine what would happen if an American general did the same thing today that Eisenhower did in 1943. Odds are it would be broadcast within an hour. Remember the Gulf War press conferences with reporters asking stupid questions like "When does the ground war start, General?" Even "Saturday Night Live" ripped the press for being a bunch of idiots.

As someone who spent a lot of years in the military and whose son is serving today, you'll have to pardon my mistrust of the Press. I'm not willing to risk my son's life (and countless other sons' lives) on the 'integrity' of the Press to keep their mouths shut in the hours leading up to a military operation. Sorry, but my son's life is worth more than some hot-shot reporter's attempt at a Pulitzer Prize.

I remember the Press standing around on the beaches of Somalia shining their lights in the faces of the SEALS going ashore and broadcasting it live to the world back in 1992. While that might have been a disinformation operation, it still exposed those SEALS to possible attack and ruined their night vision. Frankly, I would've shot out those lights before coming ashore but that's just my opinion. I'm reminded of Churchill's saying, "In wartime, the Truth is a commodity so precious that it must be protected by a bodyguard of lies."