Activist MSM Now Harassing Soldiers in Their Graves

Not satisfied with mainstream media efforts to undermine the morale of US troops in Iraq, Associated Press writer David Pace is accusing the Pentagon of "sloganeering" the gravestones of fallen soldiers. Pace finds fault with the Department of Defense allowing the families of servicepeople killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to have the operation name etched on their tombstones:

Families of fallen soldiers and Marines are being told they have the option to have the government-furnished headstones engraved with "Operation Enduring Freedom" or "Operation Iraqi Freedom" at no extra charge, whether they are buried in Arlington or elsewhere. A mock-up shown to many families includes the operation names.

Pace also quotes a radical "peace" activist without acknowledging her background:

Nadia and Robert McCaffrey, whose son Patrick was killed in Iraq in June 2004, said "Operation Iraqi Freedom" ended up on his government-supplied headstone in Oceanside, Calif., without family approval.

Nadia McCaffery's background as a Sheehanesque peace activist is well-known, and readily available via Google. Pace makes no mention of it.

Of course, at the very end of Pace's molehill is the real story. Only radicals are trying to make a stink about this. Normal Americans aren't upset.

Mainline veterans groups are taking the change in stride. American Legion spokesman Donald Mooney said the organization hasn't heard any complaints from its members.

"I'm concerned that we do what the families want," said Bob Wallace, executive director of Veterans of Foreign Wars. "I don't think there's any critical motivation behind this."

The question is begged: is David Pace simply an incredibly incompetent reporter who didn't bother to vet his sources, or is he a liar-by-omission?