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Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2007 > September > 27 > Entry
Pentagon top brass: Pen is mightier than the sword
The military’s top general struck a blow for First Amendment rights on Thursday, telling Pentagon reporters the pen is mightier than the sword.
“If you would push me to pick between a free press and a strong military, I would pick the free press,” Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace said in his final news conference as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. “You need them both.”
A U.S. Naval Academy graduate who cut his teeth as a platoon leader in Vietnam, Pace has advised President Bush on military operations in Iraq during two tumultuous years when the White House has repeatedly taken issue with press coverage of the war. “I don’t necessarily like all your questions,” Pace told the Pentagon press corps. “But I have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and a free press is absolutely vital to the freedom of this country.”
After 40 years as a Marine, Pace retires on Monday. He’ll be replaced as chairman of the joint chiefs by Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, who has served as the Pentagon’s chief of naval operations.
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