January 02, 2004

The Defense Department sent a letter of complaint to the Washington Post, then met with the paper's top editors in an effort to crack down on the paper's military reporter, Tom Ricks. It is unusual -- if not unprecedented -- for a Pentagon spokesman to complain in person about one reporter's coverage.

A 20 year vet of the beat who has done 2 tours in Iraq, Ricks has written coverage embarrassing to the Pentagon. In particular DOD was upset by Ricks' March 27 account quoting military brass saying they "had trained for the wrong war against a different enemy that would take longer to defeat."

The Washingtonian, a DC monthly, reports the Pentagon recently sent a letter of complaint about Ricks to Post executive editor Leonard Downie. Reportedly, the letter "had language charging that Ricks casts his net as widely as possible and e-mails many people." (Which seems like a very strange "accusation" to level at a veteran military reporter working for the Post.)

The letter was followed by a hush-hush meeting. DOD spokesman Larry DiRita met with Downie and other senior Post editors Steve Coll, Liz Spayd, and Mike Abramowitz.

In the meeting, according to a Pentagon source, DiRita said Ricks did not "give enough credence to official, on-the-record comments that ran counter to the angle of his stories."

Editor Steve Coll confirmed the meeting happened, but declined to give details. "It was a private meeting that covered several subjects," he told The Washingtonian, "and I don't want to characterize what Larry had to say."

To its credit, the Post is backing Ricks -- publicly, at least. "Tom Ricks is a great reporter, the best covering military affairs," national editor Abramowitz told The Washingtonian. "And we have complete confidence in him."

[Read the source...]

The 12/29/2003 "Washington Buzz" column in The Washingtonian, a DC monthly:

Pentagon to Washington Post Reporter Ricks: Get Lost by Harry Jaffe, national editor, Washingtonian

When George Bush's Pentagon doesn't like what a reporter writes, it attempts a preemptive strike.

In the case of Tom Ricks, military reporter for the Washington Post, the Pentagon took the attack right to the heart of the enemy. Defense Department spokesman Larry DiRita first sent a letter of complaint to the Post; then he met with the paper's top editors to press his points.

Ricks is one of the most senior defense reporters in the country. He covered military affairs for the Wall Street Journal for 17 years and has been doing the same for the Post since 1999. He's written two books about the military, one about the Marines and a novel about the US intervention in Afghanistan, published four months before the United States sent in troops.

In his more than two decades covering the military, Ricks has developed many sources, from brass to grunts. This, according to the current Pentagon, is a problem.

The Pentagon's letter of complaint to Post executive editor Leonard Downie had language charging that Ricks casts his net as widely as possible and e-mails many people.

Details of the complaints were hard to come by. One Pentagon official said in private that Ricks did not give enough credence to official, on-the-record comments that ran counter to the angle of his stories.

DiRita followed his shot across Ricks's bow with a personal visit to the Post. He met with Downie and editors Steve Coll, Liz Spayd, and Mike Abramowitz.

"It was a private meeting that covered several subjects, and I don't want to characterize what Larry had to say," managing editor Coll said. "You should ask him."

Said DiRita: "I had a very good meeting with the editors at the Post, but I won't discuss the specifics. It was very constructive, very professional."

Ricks has not exactly been a cheerleader for the war in Iraq. The Pentagon was not pleased with his March 27 piece quoting military brass that they had trained for the wrong war against a different enemy that would take longer to defeat.

"Tell me how this ends," one senior officer told Ricks.

The Pentagon did not complain when the Post ran story after story that seemed to support the Bush administration's run-up to the Iraq invasion. It is unusual, if not unprecedented, for a Pentagon spokesman to complain in person about one reporter's coverage.

Ricks's editors circled the wagons.

"Tom Ricks is a great reporter, the best covering military affairs," says national editor Abramowitz. "And we have complete confidence in him."

Ricks took the complaints lightly. He has had two tours in Iraq and is scheduled to head back for a third in January.