Ross: Why we’re not getting the full truth about Ukraine conflict

I got a note from a listener who told me he’s worked in military intelligence, and he doubts we’re being told the truth about Ukraine.

He notes that we’ve been told for a week now that Russia would probably attack today, which hasn’t happened. We were also told to expect the Russians to release fake video footage to claim self-defense, and from the Russian side, we heard a military official announcing exercises were ending in Belarus. But then the next day, the U.S. military claimed that, in fact, more troops were moving in.

The point being, we may not be getting the truth.

So I might as well admit that as someone who every morning is reporting these statements from both sides, I, too, suspect we are not being told the truth. But then, when it comes to real military confrontations, I don’t expect to be told the truth.

It’s like a reporter asking General Eisenhower on June 5: “So general, when’s D-Day?”

We all know that the truth is the first casualty in any war. The news media becomes part of the arsenal. Each side tries to use the media to project strength.

Our side wants to send a signal that we’re ready, no matter when Putin gives the order to move into Ukraine and no matter what justification he claims, and Putin wants to create as much confusion as he can and catch us by surprise.

I have zero combat experience, but I did spend 10 days in Baghdad in 2004 being escorted by a couple of Australian ex-special forces bodyguards, whose job it was to keep me from being kidnapped as I interviewed people.

I could tell from the moment I arrived that the city was not under control, and when Defense Secretary Rumsfeld went on TV telling reporters about all the freedoms the Iraqi people were enjoying, I knew he was lying. The Iraqis I met were scared to leave their homes.

One of the local security guards in our hotel told me, “if this is freedom, give us Saddam.” Seeing and hearing that for myself – I could report it, and I knew it was more accurate than what our government was saying.

So when it comes to Ukraine, the same rules apply. I think the best source is a reporter on the ground. When the information comes from a government source, we say so, and you can to decide whether to believe it, keeping in mind that for any government in time of war, there is always one thing that has a higher priority than the truth: winning.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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