Dead Messengers: How the U.S. Military Threatens J

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How the U.S. Military Threatens Journalists
This is part one of a four-part series.
Dead Messengers:
How the U.S. Military Threatens Journalists
By Steve Weissman
t r u t h o u t | Investigation

Part I: Hearing What Eason Jordan Said

Thursday 24 February 2005

Do American soldiers purposely kill journalists, as CNN's Eason Jordan supposedly said? Or, could the problem be even worse?

Eason Jordan, CNN's freshly ousted news chief, hardly knew what hit him. On Thursday, January 27, he was schmoozing with the global A-List at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. On Friday, February 11, he was looking for work.

"After 23 years at CNN," he wrote, "I have decided to resign in an effort to prevent CNN from being unfairly tarnished by the controversy over conflicting accounts of my recent remarks regarding the alarming number of journalists killed in Iraq."

"I never meant to imply U.S. forces acted with ill intent when U.S. forces accidentally killed journalists, and I apologize to anyone who thought I said or believed otherwise."

Corporate media managers had long envied Jordan's diplomatic skill, as when he arranged CNN's live coverage from Baghdad of the first Gulf War. But political conservatives reviled him for being "too liberal." They also felt he had cozied up to Saddam.

The right-wingers got that right, as many political progressives agreed. In an April 2003 Op-Ed for the New York Times, Jordan admitted that he had personally held back news that the Iraqis had tortured a CNN staff member. To run the story would have jeopardized the network's access and made it necessary to remove some or all of its people working in the country.

read more scary stuff

I had a thought, the other day, that the political climate in our nation could be compared to Vietnam...or the Civil War...or McCarthyism...or more correctly...all of them. At the same time. Iraq and the War On Some Drugs and yhe Religious Right Movement. All three at the same time. Rather than any one issue; we're fighting all three at the same time. Trifecta from hell? So, I quite honestly have my doubts that we'll pull through this period of lost rights very well. Such a shame. This story about the journalists illustrates that idea, to me.

[outgirl]

Thanks...interesting stuff. I didn't realize so many journalists had ben killed by US soldiers. And good to see you back

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outgirl said:

Thanks...interesting stuff. I didn't realize so many journalists had ben killed by US soldiers. And good to see you back

Yeah, isn't that shocking? I remember the story of the journalist being killed while he was phoning in that he had a story of US strikes on civilian homes. While he was on the phone the second time, saying they were being attacked as they tried to leave. The phone line went dead. He was blown up while he was reporting the civilian attacks. Sad.

So apparently, not unusual either. I'm actually surprised it's that bad. That our troops could even be involved. But, it's like I've been telling everyone. This is a big stakes war, big money, world wide attention. Who knows what a government is willing to unleasing on those who thwart it's intended ends? Military, civilian, adult, child, elderly, infants. All one big picture of who gets blown up just for being there. Who knows. Certainly group responsibility and group think makes all things possible, in the end. People discount stories of attrocities as if they never happen. Such denial. Makes ALL things possible. Now.

But, I'm quite sure that later they'll all be saying "But we didn't know..." Whereas in reality, they just didin't want to listen. Didn't pay fucking attention. Just let the bastards commit their act of undeclared war. Just hope it all turns out okay. And when these poor beaten people finally manage to pull themselves out of this horror that is their country?? Well, after all their suffering and pain and blood, folks in THIS country will say we did it. We did it for them. Sure. We did it all right. We gave them a hurdle to jump. Just didn't bother telling them how many would be brutualized, raped and murdered...to get there.

The American way. Beat the fuck out of someone and then when they recover, say you've done them a favor.. Sure.

Or better still, blame them for their problems, like we do with blacks in this nation. Sure, the US fucked all you over big time, but, so what? You still aren't up to speed yet, you've had a few generations of equality, and you still aren't our ecconomic equals. Still bitching about all the slavery and racism and that stuff that none of us want to admit to. So that must mean...it's your fault. All YOU guys aren't trying hard enough. Sure.

Your problems are all in your heads, because if you just tried HARD ENOUGH you'd make it. Be superheros, all of you, and rise above, because that's what all us whites say WE'D do. We'd just overcome. Somehow. Sure. Nothing external going on there. They just imagine discrimination now. Right? It's just all in their heads. They just like welfare, like eating lead, like standing in lines, and being treated like second class citizens. Just lazy, those folks. Sure. The children of the children that managed to get their kids out of the whole experience alive, though without much of a soul or right to hope for a better life.

But it should all be okay now. Right? Just lke the American Indians. It'll all be okay, if we just don't worry about horrible stories. Why worry, right? It's not us whites, right?

Is there anything left to be proud of for being white? Anything but shame? Do our white leaders do us proud? No. They just do us. And everyone else, whenever they can, apparently.

I'm sure Iraq will be just as okay. And I'm sure we'll be just as responsible for that. Too.

It's always great to find you around outgirl, thanks