CNN - Iraq Sought To Assassinate CNN Reporters

CNN | 04-10-03 | Tall_Texan

[Tall_Texan]

CNN's Aaron Brown has a producer on who has been in Jordan and is now back in the US. He reports that there was a plot to blow up CNN's reporters and technicians who were trying to get a report in Kurdish-controlled Iraq.

Baghdad Bob made threats against the producer, whose last name is Jordan. After CNN was kicked out of Iraq last month and Hussein was overthrown, CNN obtained taped confessions from the men sent to blow up their newspeople.

The Iraqis believed the CNN unit was working for the CIA. According to Jordan, they were convinced of it.

Brown has moved on to another segment but I hope this will be replayed. The threats began in December but they chose to reveal it only now when they feel there is no chance of reprisal.

Hopefully, a link or some web content will appear to back up my report.

[Tall_Texan]

Amazing. They probably thought **everyone** at CNN must have reported life in Iraq the way Peter Arnett did and felt betrayed.

[Tall_Texan]

Correction: the producer was *in* Iraq. His name is Jordan.

[observer5]

Little did they know that CNN was working in cooperation with Bagdad Bob!

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[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

In related news, Judy Woodruff was heard to exclaim, "So Saddam's the bad guy?!"

[rvoitier]

They'll do anything for ratings.

[San Jacinto]

The Iraqis believed the CNN unit was working for the CIA.

Those people who were running Iraq are stu-u-u-u-pid!

[nhoward14]

Hmmmm... I don't know if I can believe this until Baghdad Bob denies it.

[Trailerpark Badass]

It's always all about THEM, isn't it?

[chachacha]

The Iraqis believed the CNN unit was working for the CIA.

ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,

This is hillarious. Goes to show the Iraq's can't even tell who their friends are!

[Amerigomag]

Oh my golly. Saddam did not recognize that journalits are above the soverign laws of his nation.

What a shock.

Journalist are exempt from the human consequences of the political propaganda that spews forth from their collective mouths. Doesn't everybody know that basic truth.

[LayoutGuru2]

...they chose to reveal it only now when they feel there is no chance of reprisal

They chose to reveal it only when their ratings were in the sub-basement...

[Stopislamnow]

psssst....psssst hey, Mohammed....Fisk is a CIA agent...no, really, he is.

[Drango]

Clear case of fratricide...

[Nebullis]

They also sought to assassinate Al-Jazeera journalists.

[OneVike]

Bummer they failed.

But seriously I doubt this is true. It sounds like a story cooked by the CNN producers to get people to believe they are pro american.

CNN is Al Jazeer west and nothing will ever get me to watch them again.

[nmh]

"He reports that there was a plot to blow up CNN's reporters and technicians who were trying to get a report in Kurdish-controlled Iraq."

Too bad they didn't succeed. It would have been amusing since they are sympathetic to evil and saddam was that.

[nmh]

CNN Is just groping for attention. Using the "victim" status is a common ploy of liberals.

[ladyinred]

How strange is this? I would think that CNN would be the Iraq former govt's dream team.

[timydnuc]

After the great laugh I had at this, I realize that CNN reporters put a much higher premium on their lives than the soldiers that fight the war for their freedom. Ah, Machivellian, just perfect. The call of the coward in the face of courage. God is setting in His Heaven watching all of this, do you think he cares about a squid reporter's life over a brave man. If you were in God's place what would you do?

[OneVike]

True, so true. Just like Dashole complaining about the so called Dominant conservative media.

[joesnuffy]

LOL .....CNN is only pretending to be the Clinton Commie Crapola News Network...in reality
they were just pretending to be uber liberals for 20 plus years just to get in good with Iraq to plant CIA agents..
Man the paranoia runs deep in the Baghdad regime

[Nita Nupress]

Nothing against you, but I don't believe this.

NO ONE is that stupid, not even Baghdad Bob. And CNN would put out this story in a heartbeat to improve their pathetic ratings.

[#3Fan]

Since CNN has the types of reporters that say they wouldn't alert US forces to an ambush if they knew beforehand, then those who perpetrated this would-be attack haven't really done anything against the US, have they. Sounds logical to me.

[kesg]

You know those Saddamites were hopelessly confused when they think that CNN would actually help their country.

[Calpernia]

Do I remember Daniel Pearl being accused of working with the CIA?

[bonesmccoy]

Can I join you???

BA HA HA HA HA HAH AAAA HGAAAGAA

I Can't STop!!!

HA HA HA HAH AAAHHAHA HA HA HA

[FirstFlaBn]

Christian Amanpour lectures us regularly that the U.S. military has an obligation to protect reporters covering the war. Guess she'll be dropping another steaming heap about this. Hey, maybe that's it! Our tank on the bridge that shot at the hotel was protecting the media by shooting at the approaching assassins.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

No offense to you or anyone but what is with all the breaking news being from CNN lately. I watched CNN for the first time in a looong time the other day and did not recognize the guy and the reporting stank! And if Judy Wooddork is still there furgit it!

[UNGN]

CNN IS the CIA!


C ommunists
I n
A tlanta

[ChadGore]

Can I join you???
BA HA HA HA HA HAH AAAA HGAAAGAA
I Can't STop!!!
HA HA HA HAH AAAHHAHA HA HA HA

PPPpffffttttwwwwahahahahahahaha !

[bonesmccoy]

=== PPPpffffttttwwwwahahahahahahaha !

Aaron Brown... (knee slap)... babh ah ha ha hah ha hah h!
(pause)
No really...
(pause)
ABhah ah hahghah ah aha ha
Can't stop!
ah hah ah ah hah haaha hah ha!!!

[bonesmccoy]

=== PPPpffffttttwwwwahahahahahahaha !

Aaron Brown... (knee slap)... babh ah ha ha hah ha hah h!
(pause)
No really...
(pause)
ABhah ah hahghah ah aha ha
Can't stop!
ah hah ah ah hah haaha hah ha!!!

[expatpat]

Come on, commie CNN is the perfect cover for a few CIA guys. Who would expect it?

[Tall_Texan]

Don't blame me - my co-worker turned it on. But I swear I saw it, complete with videotape of one of the men who was recruited to do it.

CNN's website has nothing about it though. If they are making it up for sympathy, ratings or attention, they are being rather mum about it. Drudge always puts sirens around his death threats!

Believe it or don't believe it. Doesn't matter to me but I figured folks here would find it interesting. I'm still looking for some verification.

BTW, the part with Baghdad Bob had to with comments when CNN tried to get permission for some interviews. Jordan claimed the Information Minister told him that if CNN went out on their own to get a story (remember this was before the war began - this was in December) that Baghdad Bob told him they would suffer "the most severest consequences." When Jordan asked for clarification of the comment, Baghdad Bob repeated that they would suffer the severest consequences.

[Nucluside]

Even given the seriousness of some missions, I would think that CIA operators would have more pride than THAT.

[U S Army EOD]

Which goes to show you, there is some good in the worst of us. As terrible as Saddam and his hinchmen were, they may have had some good points after all. Did anyone think to tell them that Jane Fonda is actually the head of the CIA?

[CyberAnt]

Well ... I think Baghdad Bob may be under tons of rock in Monsur. I sure hope you're not going to hold your breath.

[PianoMan]

Fisk is a CIA agent

Have to admit, that would explain a whole lot of nagging questions...

[CyberAnt]

I don't know ... CNN had better ratings than ABC or CBS who actually lost ratings share in the past 3 weeks.

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

Here is a NYT editorial by CNN's "chief news executive" (free registration required).

I posted this on the Command Post blog:

This pretty much gives the lie to the "brave journalists in Baghdad to bring the world the truth" claim. In fact, CNN now admits that A) they have routinely suppressed the hideous truth about the Baghdad regime precisely because there were CNN people in Iraq, and B) their presence routinely got Iraqis tortured and killed.

One wonders why they were willing to risk Iraqi lives and prostitute themselves to Saddam's regime just to be able to say, "We have people in Baghdad."

I wish I could believe they would engage in some soul-searching about this, but their arrogance and self-righteousness is such that I cannot imagine it happening.

American journalism is a cesspool.

[faithincowboys]

This has got to be at Peter Arnett's direction. Hell have no fury like a weenie scorned.

[nhoward14]

He probably is. I just hate the fact that every time I find a show I like a lot like the Baghdad Bob show it gets canceled. :)

[cookcounty]

Predictably, Nightline did not mention this, nor the Arnott story about planted child casualties by Saddam.

[CyberAnt]

Boy, can I relate!

I found this really great bath gel - lo and behold, they discontinued it. Then I find out Ben and Jerry's has discontinued my favorite ice cream (Triple Carmel Chunk). That's just two of about a dozen things this year alone which have been cancelled - right after I discovered how wonderful they were. Bummer!!

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Is this the same story?

[Tall_Texan]

Yes! Thank you. Here was the most relevant portion:

Last December, when I told Information Minister Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf that we intended to send reporters to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, he warned me they would "suffer the severest possible consequences." CNN went ahead, and in March, Kurdish officials presented us with evidence that they had thwarted an armed attack on our quarters in Erbil. This included videotaped confessions of two men identifying themselves as Iraqi intelligence agents who said their bosses in Baghdad told them the hotel actually housed C.I.A. and Israeli agents.

I think it was Brown that was using the word "assassinate".

[Contra]

CNN was (and still is) Saddam's best friend, so this makes no sense. But I will say that what better cover than a sickening leftist like Peter Arnett or Scott Ritter to be working for the CIA, somebody who had a lot of access around Iraq and who may have been able to provide useful information to the USA. Of course I find it hard to believe that Arnett, Ritter or any CNN reporter would be a CIA operative because I truly believe they are just anti-American, but what if that was just an effective cover, because after all, they are very convincingly anti-American. Oh, by the way, Ritter was on CNN today but I missed him, the criminal pedophile has resurfaced.

[weegee]

Also see this:

The News We (CNN) Kept To Ourselves (From the NY Times)

[weegee]

Pacifica Radio or NPR could use a host like Baghdad Bob if only he could shift his rants to American political parties.

Maybe this is what James Carville was doing in the Middle East, he was scouting new talent.