Bid to halt Stars and Stripes raises fireworks
The Pentagon has ordered the imminent shutdown of Stars and Stripes, the storied newspaper that has reported on the American military since the dawn of the Civil War — though the commander in chief has vowed a stay of execution.
In an undated memo to its publisher and staff, a Pentagon public affairs official told the publication to begin vacating its offices next week and to submit a plan that “dissolves” it. “The last newspaper publication [in all forms] will be September 30, 2020,” wrote Col. Paul Haverstick Jr.
But, on Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that the publication, which is editorially independent of the Pentagon but receives about half of its funding from it, will continue. “The United States of America will NOT be cutting funding to starsandstripes magazine under my watch,” he tweeted after a spate of stories were published about the imminent closure. “It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in February that he intended to cut funds to
the publication, some $15.5 million in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
The Pentagon had no immediate comment about Trump’s tweet or how it may affect Esper’s plan to ultimately shut down the paper.
A loss of the funding would probably lead to the demise of the 159-year-old newspaper, although Congress appears poised to step in to ensure that it receives federal support.
The Pentagon’s move has alarmed a bipartisan group of senators, including some close allies of Trump. On Wednesday, they asked Esper to reconsider his decision, warning that he can’t move forward without congressional authorization.
Founded by Union soldiers in 1861, the newspaper was very briefly produced during the Civil War. The paper began consistent publication during World War I. When the war was over, publication ended, only to restart in 1942 during World War II, providing wartime news written by troops specifically for troops in battle.
Stars and Stripes has launched the careers of journalists such as Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin, whose drawings of GI grunts “Willie and Joe” were a staple on the homefront and abroad during World War II.
The publication has often run afoul of the Pentagon’s brass for reporting unflattering stories about military operations and management.
On Friday, for example, its website, Stripes.com, posted a news story about Trump’s denial that he disparaged U.S. war dead as “losers” and “suckers,” following a report in The Atlantic magazine.
It has reported extensively on the Department of Defense’s policy of keeping schools on bases in Japan open during the pandemic, even as Japanese schools were closing due to the health threat.
It broke the first story about NBC News anchorman Brian Williams’ exaggerated accounts of his experiences covering the war in Iraq, which eventually led to Williams’ demotion.
It has also covered its own potential demise. The memo directing its shutdown was first reported by Stars and Stripes on Wednesday. The publication said Haverstick wrote it last month.
Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer told The Washington Post that the paper’s management is working out the plans for ceasing publication and dissolving the organization, but it is still “premature to implement those steps.”
Stars and Stripes has said the Pentagon funding accounts for about half its annual revenue. The rest comes from subscriptions and advertising.
It’s not entirely clear why the Pentagon wants to zero out the publication, given that its annual subsidy amounts to a tiny fraction of the Defense Department’s $700 billion-plus budget. Esper said in February that funds devoted to the publication would be used for “higher-priority issues,” such as weapons purchases.
In a letter Wednesday, a bipartisan group of 15 senators told Esper that any decision about discontinuing the publication’s funding should wait until Congress has formally approved the Pentagon’s next budget. It said funding for ongoing programs can’t be cut until a new budget is enacted.
“The $15.5 million currently allocated for the publication of Stars and Stripes is only a tiny fraction of your Department’s annual budget, and cutting it would have a significantly negative impact on military families and a negligible impact on the Department’s bottom line,” wrote the group, which included 11 Democrats and four Republicans.
The signatories include several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Pentagon’s budget. It also includes nine members — four Republicans and five Democrats — on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes annual appropriations legislation.
The letter described Stars and Stripes as “an essential part of our nation’s freedom of the press that serves the very population charged with defending that freedom.”
The House has already passed a funding bill that includes money for Stars and Stripes, although the Senate hasn’t yet acted. Once it does so, the two bills must be reconciled.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in a separate letter to Esper in late August, also voiced opposition to the move, calling Stars and Stripes “a valued ‘hometown newspaper’ for the members of the Armed Forces, their families, and civilian employees across the globe.” He added that “as a veteran who has served overseas, I know the value that the Stars and Stripes brings to its readers.”
The sentiment was echoed by Ernie Gates, ombudsman for the newspaper. “Shutting it down would be fatal interference and permanent censorship of a unique First Amendment organization that has served U.S. troops reliably for generations,” Gates said. “To shut down Stars and Stripes on Oct. 1 would also defy the expressed will of the House and preempt full consideration by the Senate.”