Independent Press Was a Target in Iraq

[paineinthearse]

Danny Schecter was the one who broke the Eason Jordan story out of Davos. Here are his latest writings. For prior postings, use "advanced search" and my DU handle and search word "Eason Jordan". The posts were made on or about February 12.

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http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert331.shtml

Independent Press Was a Target in Iraq

By Danny Schechter
Television Week

NEW YORK, February 28, 2005 -- With CNN's Eason Jordan silent, or silenced, the right brain of the blogosphere has nailed a new media scalp to its belt. Mr. Jordan, who had been with CNN for 23 years, said during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that a dozen journalists covering the war "not only been killed by U.S. troops in Iraq but they had in fact been targeted," according to press accounts. Mr. Jordan quickly tried to back off his statement, but the reverberations led to his resignation. Now the issue he raised seems destined to disappear, with many believing that since he didn't offer backup, there is nothing to the story.

Not true. Mr. Jordan's remarks about the targeting and killing of journalists were not invented out of whole cloth, even if he did do what executives often do: attempt to dampen a controversy that turns out to be too hot to handle. Fox News commentators said that even raising the issue of targeting journalists was "sliming our troops." Like the Pentagon's efforts, this was a way to dismiss the issue, even though there is evidence to make such a case.

The reality is that Jordan's concerns have a background and context that were under-reported in our media. Before the war, the Pentagon issued warnings that sounded like threats, saying it would not guarantee the safety of journalists who were not officially "embedded" into assigned U.S. military units. Pentagon publicist Victoria Clarke, around the time the war began, said that journalists who went out on their own were "putting themselves at risk."

On March 8, 2003, 12 days before the invasion, Kate Aidie, then a war correspondent for the BBC, said on RTE radio in Ireland that she was told by Pentagon officials "that any uplinks by journalists would be fired on" by coalition aircraft. What they were doing was creating an environment of intimidation and threat. This was a ploy to ensure that the reporters who did go to Iraq without Pentagon cooperation would be blamed when anything happened.

much more....

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[murray hill farm]

1. "sliming our troups"?

Bullshit! The troups are told what they want them to hear..that this vehicle is a threat...they dont know the details..and then they shoot...it is not the job of the troups to make these decisions of which car, etc. to target. they are told that it is a threat..that is all they know and all they hear.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Thanks for posting -- Jordan, it seems, is vindicated. nt

[phoebe]

3. Kate Adie was interviewed several times by independent media

including Democracy Now and KPFK over a period of approximately a week.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/0321256

From Democracy Now on March 14 2003 -

A BBC war correspondent says the Pentagon told her the military will target satellite communications of journalists in the upcoming war on Iraq.

In an interview on Irish Radio last Sunday, veteran BBC war correspondent Kate Adie said a senior Pentagon official told her that US planes will target any electronic communications on the ground, even if they are operated by journalists.

Adie also said that when she questioned the Pentagon official about the consequences of targeting journalists, the senior Pentagon officer replied QUOTE: "Who cares? . . . They've been warned."

Adie was the BBC's chief news correspondent in 1989 and has covered major wars including the Gulf War and the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Rwanda, China and Sierra Leone.

[stanwyck]

4. It's in the best interest of the Bushies

NOT to have independent coverage of Iraq. That's why these incidents are so frightening. The message has been sent. Report at your own risk. Unless you're one of our pets. Then you'll be given exclusive footage of our soldiers liberating poor Jessica Lynch. Oh, wait. That was a complete Hollywood setup. Totally faked.
Look. The Bushies are all infommercial. Nothing real is allowed to penetrate their castle walls. They've got hate radio guys swimming around in their moat like the creatures they are.
This incident is treachery. How could our military personnel NOT have known who was in that car...and why? Is their intelligence that bad? No cell phones?
This story reeks. All part of that bad smell emanating from the Bush administration.

[paineinthearse]

5. KO Countdown tonight - targeting journalists.

Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 09:51:18 -0800
From: "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" <[e-mail]> Add to Address Book
Subject: Controversy Ratchets Up over Journalist Killing
To: [e-mail]


------------------------------------------------------
Tonight on Countdown
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The White House on Monday said it was "absurd" for an Italian
journalist to charge that U.S. military forces may have deliberately targeted her car as she was being escorted by Italian agents who had just negotiated her freedom from hostage-takers.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7089948/

Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count is never complete without you. Join us. Alison Stewart is in for Keith tonight.

[paineinthearse]

6. A kick for the evening shift / KO fans.

:kick:

[tsuki]

8. The Republican Party is sooooo good at diplomacy. At least

they didn't say it was "absurd" for those shitheads.../sarcasm off

[paineinthearse]

9. Did anyone catch KO? I was out.......nt

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. The only problem with this story

is the title. 'Was' should read 'Is'.