Friday, September 30, 2005

A War Like Never Before : US Forces 'Out of Control', Says Reuters Chief

Remember Eason Jordan? You ought to. Right wing Bloglodytes claimed his scalp after he said something that sounded to neo-con ears as though he were accusing the US military of targeting journalists in Iraq.

Now David Schlesinger, Reuters's global managing editor, has told Sen. John Warner (R., Va.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, that US miltary conduct toward journalists in Iraq is "spiraling out of control."
By limiting the ability of the media to fully and independently cover the events in Iraq, the US forces are unduly preventing US citizens from receiving information ... and undermining the very freedoms the US says it is seeking to foster every day that it commits US lives and US dollars.
The recent death of Reuters soundman Waleed Khaled brought the total number of journalists killed in Iraq since March 2003 (30 months) to 66.

Also from the Guardian:
Journalists in danger
30.08.2005:
Press groups demand release of Iraqi cameraman
26.08.2005: No special treatment for journalists in Iraq, says US
20.05.2005: I never said US tried to kill reporters, says ex-CNN boss
03.05.2005: Journalist death toll worst since 1955
28.04.2005: Captive journalists may still be alive
27.04.2005: Kidnappers threaten to execute Romanians
08.04.2005: CBS cameraman shot by US troops
29.03.2005: Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq
07.03.2005: Italian hostage accuses US
18.02.2005: Journalist group calls US to account over Iraq
16.02.2005: Kidnapped journalist makes video plea for freedom
04.02.2005: Italian reporter kidnapped in Iraq
09.02.2005: Journalist killed with son in Iraq
04.05.2004: Media death toll highest for a decade
27.08.2004: Media war toll rises
18.01.2005: Do more to protect journalists, governments told
18.01.2005: Journalists' killers 'not being brought to justice' International News Safety Institute

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