MSNBC has been re-broadcasting NBC's live coverage of the 9/11 attacks this morning, synchronizing the coverage time with real time. So, the footage of the North Tower being struck by Flight 11 at 8:46 AM appears at 8:46 EDT today, the South Tower struck by Flight 175 at 9:03, etc. However, if you didn't catch it the first time, Tom Brokaw declared war!
Brokaw had joined hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer on the Today Show at about 9:30, half an hour after the second tower was hit. The three offered vague speculations amidst reportage, dutifully noting the collapse of the towers at 9:59 and 10:28 AM respectively. Five minutes after the North Tower came down, at 10:33 AM, Brokaw declared in a very even and authoritative tone that "this is war." He continued that war had been declared on the United States by these attacks on symbols of American power and capitalism, distinctly emphasizing capitalism.
The situation at the time was only one hundred and seventeen minutes old. Congress and the Executive branch had little opportunity to digest the intelligence concerning the attacks, never mind assess their meaning and formulate policy. Confusion stilled reigned on the ground in lower Manhattan, and NBC hadn't even reported the hijacking of Flight 93 by 10:33 EDT. The full scope of the attacks, the number of targets, and indeed responsibility for these actions by whatever groups would come forward to take credit, had still to be determined. Yet here is Brokaw telling the millions of NBC viewers that the United States was, essentially, at war.
According to Article I, Section 8, and Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the Congress to declare war, and of the President to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The authority to determine that a state of war exists in the United States lies with the federal government, or at least that's what I had been led to believe. Apparently, NBC News anchors also have that privilege.
This was an unconscionable lapse on the part of Mr. Brokaw, especially if done with the desire simply to fill airtime with something pointed and dramatic. As if what was going on already wasn't pointed and dramatic enough. Declaring war, and declaring that a state of war exists in the nation, is policy determination of the highest order, one of the gravest responsibilities of any state, and one not to be declared lightly or hastily. Tom Brokaw took it upon himself to circumvent the entire apparatus of the federal government in his declaration, and did so in a very public sphere that influences millions. Had the mainstream media been controlled by individuals possessing integrity and an understanding of their responsibilities under the first amendment, Brokaw would have been fired that day for his transgression, and possibly should have been brought up on federal charges. He was not.
I don't know if his little declaration had been repeated by other MSM 'journalists' during the course of the day, but obviously very little was made of this horrendous mistake on the part of Mr. Brokaw. For those who believe that the mission of the MSM is just that of a hysteria-inducing machine, without regard for substance and accuracy, then you don't need better than Brokaw that day, one of the most revered and trusted figures in broadcasting. Hysteria will already run rampant on a day like 9-11-01; the media doesn't need to feed it.