[lit-ideas] Re: the latest body count
- From: Robert Paul <robert.paul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 21:24:20 -0700
I wrote:
This is an exaggeration, Andy. Only US journalists had to be 'embedded'
into some US unit. There are a number of enterprising journalists not
embedded. The catch is that for Westerners, unescorted travel is
virtually impossible.
Andy replied:
A.A. No, this is not an exaggeration. Journalists have been unable to work
in Iraq for a long time now. They have to be embedded or risk being killed
or taken hostage. This is not an exaggeration. It's possible that some
journalists are willing to risk their lives, but for the most part, the
days of free reporting in Iraq are over. I remember reading or hearing
about that at least a year ago. The virtual impossibility of unescorted
travel for Westerners applies to journalists as well. Life for ordinary
Iraqis isn't much better. They are at constant risk of being taken hostage
for ransom as well. And of course being caught in crossfire, car bomb
explosions and the like. 170 Iraqis were killed last week I believe.
If you'd read the four sentence I wrote carefully, you'd see that you're
more or less repeating what I said. Of course 'Westerners' was meant to
include journalists. I think you and I mean different things by
'embedded.' There are Western journalists in Iraq (particularly in
Baghdad), who are not attached to and overseen by any particular US
military unit (which is what 'embedding' means). There are also
journalists from the Middle Eastern press in Iraq. I doubt they have
much freedom of movement either, but at least they don't need to go
about with US military 'minders.' Even the vile, constantly lying
Western Running Dog Capitalist Lackey Press occasionally quotes from them.
You could read what some of them have to say at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
(This is the only Middle Eastern site in English I could find quickly.)
The Times says the Cards beat Milwaukee 11-4 yesterday. Want to 'second
guess' that?
Robert Paul
Unfettered reporter
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