Brian Williams - Resign. The Fog of Memory Has No Place in Journalism.

Ronald Reagan (1911 to 2004) would have been 104 today. And if he were with us, he surely still would be reminding us about how beautiful life and freedom are, and how easy it is to lose our way as a free people and let liberty fall before tyranny - and, with that famous twinkle in his kind eyes, he would tell us never to forget that government can quickly become one of the tyrants when it is not controlled. Dear sir, we miss you and your common sense wisdom passed on to us in soaring phrases the world will never forget. Happy Birthday, Mr. President. ~~~~~ One of those Reagan phrases was : "Facts are stubborn things." It would have been well for NBC anchorman Brian Williams to have memorized that bit of subtle advice. It might have saved him from the personal anguish he must be feeling these days. ~~~~~ Williams apologized Wednesday for having said repeatedly he was aboard a US military helicopter hit by a rocket-propelled grenade during a 2003 journalistic reporting trip to Iraq - when he was actually safely traveling in a different aircraft. Williams repeated the story several days ago during a "Nightly News" tribute to a veteran he had become friends with during the 2003 trip. Before expressing his regrets on the air on Wednesday, Williams did so online and in an interview with the US military newspaper Stars & Stripes. He speculated online that constant viewing of video showing him inspecting the damaged helicopter "and the fog of memory over 12 years, made me conflate the two, and I apologize." His story changed over the years. Shortly after the incident, Williams described on NBC how he was traveling in a group of helicopters forced down in the Iraq desert. On the ground, he learned the Chinook in front of him "had almost been blown out of the sky," and he showed a photo of the aircraft with a gash from a rocket-propelled grenade. Williams also said that the NBC crew and military officials accompanying them spent three "harrowing" days in the desert, kept aground by a sandstorm. Then, in a 2008 blog post, Williams said that his helicopter had come under fire from what appeared to be Iraqi farmers with Rocket Propelled Grenades. He said a helicopter in front of his had been hit. But later, in a 2013 appearance on David Letterman's "Late Show," Williams said that two of the four helicopters he was traveling with had been hit by ground fire, "including the one I was in." Williams' story was first questioned in posts to the "Nightly News" Facebook page. It's a touchy topic because members of the military who are wounded or who come under enemy fire consider themselves nembers of a special brotherhood and they don't like people who try to intrude. However, Rich Krell, who piloted the helicopter Williams was flying in that day, told CNN Thursday that there were three helicopters in formation, not four, that the helicopter in front of Williams was hit by the grenade, and that all three aircraft were hit by small arms fire. He seemed to take Williams' account in stride. But another helicopter pilot said Williams' chopper was a half hour behind and was not hit at all. ~~~~~ Brian Williams has been trapped in a lie, much like Hillary Clinton was when, during the 2008 campaign, she lied in saying that she came under sniper fire when, as first lady, she arrived at a military base in Bosnia. Her staff said she had misspoken. ~~~~~ The problem now for Williams is to ride out the storm of ridicule and anger over his lie. If he cannot, both he and NBC News will be in big trouble in an industry where credibility is crucial -- even though we all know that journalists pre-select and re-arrange facts to fit their point of view. ~~~~~ The Hill reports that one anchorman who has never lied, Tom Brokaw, is "livid" over the revelation that Brian Williams lied, and as The Hill put it : "You know you’re in trouble when Tom Brokaw is out for your blood." America's iconic journalist - the author of "The Greatest Generation" - is furious with his old network, NBC, because Brian Williams has not already been removed as anchor after he meekly admitted he hadn’t been on a helicopter hit by enemy fire. “Brokaw wants Williams’ head on a platter,” an NBC source said, although Brokaw denies this. “He is making a lot of noise at NBC that a lesser journalist or producer would have been immediately fired or suspended for a false report.” Brokaw, 74, was still the “Nightly News” anchor when Williams came back from his Iraq expedition - and an insider said he knew "the story Williams later spouted was bunk.“ According to the source, Tom Brokaw and [former NBC News President] Steve Capus knew this was a false story for a long time and have been extremely uncomfortable with it.” NBC News executives had apparently counseled Williams to stop telling the tall tale.~~~~~ That was the prior NBC News generation. Current NBC News executives seem either paralysed by the disastous admission or unable to understand just what a catastrophe it really is, not just for Williams - still in the anchor’s seat for NBC “Nightly News” - but also for NBC News itself. Another NBC source told The Hill : “He is not going to be suspended or reprimanded in any way. He has the full support of NBC News. There have been meetings about it all day. They are taking it very seriously. But we believe that Brian’s apology on the air speaks for himself. He admitted over time he conflated the events.” While NBC News executives may be satisfied that the affair is over, Williams is being excoriated on social media, where he has even been shown broadcasting on the Moon with Neil Armstrong. The insider also criticized NBC executives for not talking to the rank-and-file, saying : “NBC bosses don’t understand how serious this is. Nobody in a leadership position is talking to the troops. Nobody has addressed it.” Another senior NBC employee said : "Oh, the fireworks that are going off inside. It’s embarrassing. He’s the face on NBC. He’s a liar. Everyone knew it.” ~~~~~ In his TV apology, made without ever saying that he lied, Brian Williams said he supposed that repeatedly watching a video of himself inspecting the impact damage, plus "the fog of memory over 12 years," caused him to conflate and misremember events, some of which took place in a thick "Orange Crush" sandstorm.-- Is Williams channeling Hillary? Remember her infamous "fog of war" to explain away her egregious Benghazi faults? -- Anyway, Williams said : "Nobody's trying to steal anyone's valor. Quite the contrary: I was and remain a civilian journalist covering the stories of those who volunteered for duty." On his Wednesday evening Nightly News apology, Williams also said those two nights in the desert were "harrowing," and he called the story "a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran." He said he hoped veterans everywhere know that they have his greatest respect, "and also now, my apology." ~~~~~ Dear readers, deplorable. That is Brian Williams, his lie and his explanation. First, what does Williams mean - "one very special veteran?" All veterans are very special. That is why Americans cherish and honor them. Second, did Williams find two days in an Iraq desert sandstorm "harrowing"? -- And please spare us the effort at being one of the soldiers by using "Orange Crush." -- Harrowing? That's what America's military men and women go through for weeks and months and years in the Middle East. And they aren't surrounded by a mechanized platoon from the US Army 3rd Infantry, as you were. Nobody protects them. They protect us -- even lowlife like you. The NBC News President has begun an internal review : "We're working on what the best next steps are." But, Brian Williams, no review can absolve your behavior, so why don't you do the honorable thing - if you can - and offer your resignation. If NBC doesn't have the decency to accept it, then we can abandon both you and NBC News. And good riddance.