ABC News producer new Pentagon spokesperson

The US Senate has voted to confirm a new Pentagon spokesperson, months after President Bush bypassed the Senate to install him in the job after objections were raised about a column he wrote for the Wall Street Journal. Senators approved the nomination of Dorrance Smith, a former ABC News producer, to be assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. The vote was 59-34. Sen. Carl Levin, (D-MI), had held up the nomination because of an opinion article in which Smith accused US television networks of helping terrorists through their partnerships with Arab broadcaster Aljazeera. The job of Pentagon spokesperson had been unfilled since Victoria Clarke quit the post in June 2003. Bush used a recess appointment in January to put Smith in the job. So what, exactly, did Smith write? And why did a Wall Street Journal editorial later declare, "Contrary to Sen. Levin's assertions, Smith's op-ed is evidence of why he is qualified for the job."? In a column in the Wall Street Journal on Apr. 25, 2005, Smith cited "the ongoing relationship between terrorists, Aljazeera and the networks…. Isn't it time to scrutinize the relationship among Aljazeera, US networks and the terrorists? What role should the US government be playing? "Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and al-Qaida have a partner in Aljazeera and, by extension, most networks in the US. This partnership is a powerful tool for the terrorists in the war in Iraq. Figures show that 77 percent of Iraqis cite TV as their main source of information; 15 percent cite newspapers…. "In addition to being subsidized by Qatar, Aljazeera has very strong partners in the US–ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN and MSNBC. Video aired by Aljazeera ends up on these networks, sometimes within minutes. "The arrangement between the US networks and Aljazeera raises questions of journalistic ethics. Do the US networks know the terms of the relationship that Aljazeera has with the terrorists? Do they want to know? "There has been no in-depth reporting about Aljazeera in the US and virtually no scrutiny of Qatar and its relationship with the network. Why not? Is it that the American networks don't want to give up their tainted video? And since they all get the same material and all air it at the same time, do they feel a certain safety being in bed together?" Sen. Levin, in opposing Smith's appointment, said the comments went too far for someone who had been picked to be the Pentagon's chief liaison with the news media. "That you would characterize them as aiders and abettors of the terrorists that attack us," he told reporters, "as far as I'm concerned that is so far over the top, it's unacceptable." Smith was a top producer for ABC's "Nightline" and "This Week." When he left ABC in 1999, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post observed, "Smith, a friend of Linda Tripp from their days in the Bush White House, has told friends that he believes ABC management was displeased with some of the reporting he helped provide during the Monica Lewinsky scandal."