Pentagon Threatens To Kill Independent Reporters In Iraq

Gulufuture.com ^ | 10th March, 2003 | Fintan Dunne, Editor

[johnb838]

I read here a while back that last time the Iraqis used a bunker under the Al-Rasheed as C&C facility because of the Westerners upstairs. If this is true we'd be stupid to let them do it again. And the 'journalists' ought to know that too so if they're there... tough toenails.

That said I'd be really surprised if our PC military doesn't let them broadcast from Baghdad. I hope to heck they don't but I bet they do.

[b4its2late]

Is Helen Thomas an Independent journalist?

[PhilDragoo]

THIS TARGET: BONUS SCORE ~ DOUBLE POINTS

[Poohbah]

All we have is the word of a left-wing extremist. She does not cite a name, she just says that a "senior Pentagon officer" said this to her.

[geedee]

[perfect stranger]

when it comes down, both quotes mean the same thing.....they have been warned.

[cardinal4]

This is threatening freedom of information, before you even get to a war."

You mean the same freedom of information the Iraqis enjoy?

[Jhoffa_]

That's true..

I couldn't imagine a "Pentagon Official" parsing the line like that either, personally.

[keithtoo]

I'm really having a hard time seeing a bad side to this.

Of course I wouldn't want them to expend so many bullets on independent reporters that they wouldnt have some left for the major network folks.

But I'm sure they have planned ahead for that, so I'm OK.

[Dog Gone]

LOL

[mrb1960]

Ditto!

[Publius6961]

If Saddam wants propaganda, let him provide his own!

Exactly!
Why do we need semi-literate buffoons to interpret sandmaggot for us?

I can understand it just fine.
Say.... whatever happened to Pettah Baahnet??

[Paulus Invictus]

I think it's all either hearsay, incorrectly interpreted or outright lies. Leftists media people are good at that.

[js1138]

I believe the bankrupt Iridium satellite phone system was sold to the CIA.

[tet68]

" And then on top of everything else, there is now a blackout (which was imposed, during the last war, at the beginning of the war), ...ordered by one Mr. Dick Cheney, who is in charge of this."

The adults are in charge this time.

[TADSLOS]

" I am enormously pessimistic of the chance of decent on-the-spot reporting, as the war occurs. You will get it later."

The way it should be: "I am enormously pessimistic of the chance of unbiased, post operations reporting after the war is concluded. We should get it later."

[tet68]

They can choose to report and we can choose to blow them up. It sounds fair to me.


Reminds me of an old russian folk saying,
"They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work."

Ours goes,

"They pretend to report fairly, we pretend not to blow them up." Sounds fair to me.

[Dead Dog]

the Pentagon attitude is: "entirely hostile to the the free spread of information."

Well...Duh!

" And this time the Americans are: a) Asking journalists who go with them, whether they are... have feelings against the war. And therefore if you have views that are skeptical, then you are not to be acceptable."

Would we want someone who has an ideological spasim over football reporting on the Super Bowl...nah..didn't think so.

[GirlShortstop]

 

Why Americans Hate the Media

<snip>

Then Ogletree turned to the two most famous members of the evening's panel, better known even than Westmoreland. These were two star TV journalists: Peter Jennings, of World News Tonight and ABC, and Mike Wallace, of 60 Minutes and CBS.

Ogletree brought them into the same hypothetical war. He asked Jennings to imagine that he worked for a network that had been in contact with the enemy North Kosanese government. After much pleading Jennings and his news crew got permission from the North Kosanese to enter their country and film behind the lines. Would Jennings be willing to go? Of course, he replied. Any reporter would-- and in real wars reporters from his network often had.

But while Jennings and his crew were traveling with a North Kosanese unit, to visit the site of an alleged atrocity by U.S. and South Kosanese troops, they unexpectedly crossed the trail of a small group of American and South Kosanese soldiers. With Jennings in their midst the Northern soldiers set up an ambush that would let them gun down the Americans and Southerners.

What would Jennings do? Would he tell his cameramen to "Roll tape!" as the North Kosanese opened fire? What would go through his mind as he watched the North Kosanese prepare to fire?

Jennings sat silent for about fifteen seconds. ....

[McGavin999]

Uh, did they ever stop to think that by sending something via satillite they just might draw the bombs to them regardless of where they were originally aimed?