Pentagon Seeks to Oust Rivera From Iraq

AP ^ | 4/01/2001

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Fox News Channel reporter Geraldo Rivera is shown in this April 22, 2001, file photo in Pasadena, Calif. The Pentagon (news - web sites) was investigating whether Rivera endangered troops by revealing the plans of a military unit in Iraq (news - web sites) in advance. Rivera denied reports that he had been expelled from the country. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks, File)

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

I still want to know why Geraldo WAS embedded with SpecOps in Afghanistan going after OBL, and SUDDENLY he moved his "embedding" to Bagdad?

[YaYa123]

From CNN, (so who knows if it's completely accurate)... via Lucianne.com

"Fox News, military reach deal on Rivera Correspondent will leave Iraq rather than be expelled

From Chris Plante CNN

Tuesday, April 1, 2003 Posted: 6:32 AM EST (1132 GMT)

Geraldo Rivera revealed sensitive operational details in a live broadcast for Fox News, Pentagon sources say.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fox News Channel executives and the Pentagon reached a deal Monday in which correspondent Geraldo Rivera, who raised the military's ire when he reported operational details, will leave Iraq voluntarily rather than be expelled, Pentagon officials told CNN.

After early reports indicated that Rivera would be expelled from the Army unit he was traveling with, Fox and the Pentagon agreed that he would leave on his own, without being officially sanctioned.

U.S. military officials told CNN on Monday morning that Rivera violated the cardinal rule of war reporting by giving away crucial details of military plans during a Fox News Channel broadcast from Iraq, where the reporter was temporarily assigned to the Army's 101st Airborne Division.

In the live broadcast, Rivera told his photographer to aim the camera at the sand in front of him. Rivera then outlined a map of Iraq, and showed the relative location of Baghdad and his location with the 101st Airborne. He then showed where the 101st would be going next.

Senior Pentagon officials also told CNN early Monday that the U.S. military had decided to expel Rivera. "He gave away the big-picture stuff," a senior military official told CNN. "He went down in the sand and drew where the forces are going.

" A Pentagon official told CNN that members of the 101st Airborne would escort Rivera to the Kuwaiti border. But Rivera appeared in another live report from Iraq hours after the official announced his expulsion, and said he knew nothing of it.

"In fact, I'm further in Iraq than I've ever been," he said. "It sounds like some rats from my former network, NBC, are trying to stab me in the back." Rivera left his job at CNBC in November 2001 to report from Afghanistan for Fox News.

Rivera said he had heard nothing about being expelled until he called network headquarters for the scheduled live broadcast.

"MSNBC is so pathetic a cable news network that they have to do anything they can to attract attention," he said. "You can rest assured that whatever they're saying is a pack of lies."

Nevertheless, as the day went on, Fox News executives pleaded with Pentagon officials to not expel Rivera. Pentagon officials stood their ground and insisted that Rivera go, and a deal was eventually reached, the Pentagon sources said."

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

It "looks like" Geraldo was fired.

TV networks pull Arnett, Rivera

[7 x 77]

I like FOX. I gave up on CBS and ABC years ago. I just gave up on NBC/MSNBC over this Peter Arnett BS. I just won't watch.

Last night MSNBC had an anchor (football looking guy with short brown hair) who spent 15 minutes lighting into the liberal media; spent another 15 minutes giving Michael Savage free rein as he savaged the libs; and finally talked with pollster Frank Lunz about why traditional media hates the fact that Americans are supporting the War.

Shouldn't we give precision support to mainstream media when they tell the truth, both to encourage them and to remind FOX that it has to work for our support.

[mewzilla]

You either tell the truth or you don't. Lie to me once and you're toast. I'm not going to watch a network that doesn't get that.

[seams2me]

This sounds to me like, "get this guy under control, or out he goes".

They don't want the negative PR from ousting him, and you can be the Pentagon is watching every bit of stuff that comes from these embeds and just WAITING for a reason to kick one out.

If he had really gone over the line and truly endangered our troops, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

He must have come close to crossing the line, and this was the warning shot fired over the bow.

[jigsaw]

When Geraldo was on this morning, he not only excitedly showed a Baath party building the Coalition is now using (Hey, Baghdad. Anyone recognize this building? Well, this is where we are.), but he also at one point motioned in a specific direction as he spoke of Baghdad (Hey, Baggies. Since I've told you my distance from your city and I've pointed in your direction and you can see the direction of the shadows behind me in this live report, see if you can figure where we are before this live report ends.)

Bad moves Geraldo, unless you're carefully giving out false information.

[ambrose]

Geraldo and Arnett are going to get together and do "Puttin' on the Ritz" a la Young Frankenstein...

[ambrose]

No, they were not. They backed him until their mail boxes filled up

How dare you allow facts to get in the way of CYA-spin.

[Blue Screen of Death]

Hey Geraldo, haven't you heard "Loose lips sink ships"? Or, in your case "Loose lips kiss Clintons ass". Which would be a great title for your autobiography.

[Destro]

FOX broadcasting endangered American troops for profit. But it's ok-they can be forgiven because they spin the war the right way.

[lewislynn]

In the live broadcast, Rivera told his photographer to aim the camera at the sand in front of him. Rivera then outlined a map of Iraq, and showed the relative location of Baghdad and his location with the 101st Airborne. He then showed where the 101st would be going next.

I saw him on three different occasions give away positions and battle plans. The first I saw was when he told that they (101st) were so many miles N. of Q8, so many miles S. of Baghdad and so many miles west of ?.

The dirt map wasn't the problem, it was the battle plan for not only his unit but who and where they would meet up with other units he named while drawing it. He also, more than once, disclosed a "new supply route cut by the military through the desert to the west of the main highway". I've never heard that before or since he disclosed that information.

I posted this article sunday night (before the flap) while watching him for the third time disclosing what I think is sensitve information:WTF is Geraldo doing?

[GummyIII]

Check this out. I suspect he'll be out of there sometime today.

[fightinJAG]

As for Rivera's denials, well, it won't be the first time he got the story completely wrong.

In fact, he is so prone to sensationalism that he's simply not very good at understanding, and thus reporting, the truth, especially when it comes to grasping political dynamics.

You only had to watch his reporting from Turkey---his breathless I-got-the-story-first reports that Ankara indeed would allow U.S. troops to base there---to realize he doesn't apply the brain power necessary to accurately "read" a situation.

Geraldo has had his moments on Fox, but he's still an embarrasment. There are many other talented journalists. Fox should choose one of them.

[monday]

If Fox doesn't fire Rivera I will be disappointed. What Arnet did was stupid but not criminally stupid like what Rivera did. He should never work another minute as a serious news reporter.

Why Fox hired him as such is beyond me. He has always been a joke and as long as he works for Fox he makes the network look like a joke.

Reporters are supposed to report the news not be the news. Rivera doesn't seem to understand that.

[fightinJAG]

Yeah, he jumped in front of the camera twice for one reason and one reason only---to try to save his sorry be-hind.

Rivera is not a good reporter, period. Fox can and should do better.

Buh-bye, Geraldo.

[fightinJAG]

Thing is, I think it's POSITIVE PR for Fox if they boot Rivera. Shows they support the military commander's decision on the ground and that they have their own standards that, if violated, journalist gets to take personal responsibility.

I don't understand why Fox is fighting this. I think it's a good thing for them to accept responsibility for the fact that sometimes journalists must accept personal responsibility for breaking the rules.

[monday]

"How dare you allow facts to get in the way of CYA-spin. "

Facts? What, do you guys work for NBC?