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February 02, 2005
Eason Jordan: What The Hell Are You Talking About?
Eason Jordan runs CNN and at the Davos forum in Switzerland accused American troops of intentionally killing 12 journalists in Iraq. Here is a link to the forum blog whose author was an eyewitness to what happened. I posted about Jordan just the other day when discussing how journalists won't report stories because they fear retaliation and lost access. Jordan refused to report many atrocities that occurred under the Saddam regime so that CNN could stay in Iraq for ratings.
Here is part of what the forum blog reported, "During one of the discussions about the number of journalists killed in the Iraq War, Eason Jordan asserted that he knew of 12 journalists who had not only been killed by US troops in Iraq, but they had in fact been targeted. He repeated the assertion a few times, which seemed to win favor in parts of the audience (the anti-US crowd) and cause great strain on others.
Due to the nature of the forum, I was able to directly challenge Eason, asking if he had any objective and clear evidence to backup these claims, because if what he said was true, it would make Abu Ghraib look like a walk in the park. David Gergen was also clearly disturbed and shocked by the allegation that the U.S. would target journalists, foreign or U.S. He had always seen the U.S. military as the providers of safety and rescue for all reporters.
Eason seemed to backpedal quickly, but his initial statements were backed by other members of the audience (one in particular who represented a worldwide journalist group). The ensuing debate was (for lack of better words) a real "sh--storm". What intensified the problem was the fact that the session was a public forum being taped on camera, in front of an international crowd. The other looming shadow on what was going on was the presence of a U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Senator in the middle of some very serious accusations about the U.S. military."
CNN needs to broadcast the tape of that event. And if they won't then Fox or someone else needs to. Jordan made a charge that if true should lead to the courtmartial of several soldiers. If not true, then Jordan needs to be fired for spreading slanderous rumors. See this Captain's Quarters entry for more details about how CNN reporters who read on air documents handed to them by the Iraqi Information Ministry without any commentary. Hugh Hewitt also has a good roundup.
Gaypatriot (via TKS) reports that it was Barney Frank, a Democrat congressman, who pressed Jordan to give details, "And then, this liberal Democrat pressed Mr. Jordan to be more specific, putting the CNN Executive on the spot. The newsman rambled on a bit and mumbled some sort of response about how "'There are people who believe there are people in the military who have it out' for journalists." He could provide no evidence to buttress his claims, then "offered another anecdote: A reporter who'd been standing in a long line to get through a checkpoint at Baghdad's Green Zone had been turned back by the GI on duty. Apparently the soldier had been displeased with the reporter's dispatches, and sent him to the back of the line."
TKS reports that CNN nows claims, "Many blogs have taken Mr. Jordan's remarks out of context. Eason Jordan does not believe the U.S. military is trying to kill journalists. Mr. Jordan simply pointed out the facts: While the majority of journalists killed in Iraq have been slain at the hands of insurgents, the Pentagon has also noted that the U.S. military on occasion has killed people who turned out to be journalists. The Pentagon has apologized for those actions."
Whoever has a video tape of the event needs to release it as soon as possible.
Update 2/2/05: Eason Jordan has some very fuzzy math.
Posted by Pete at February 2, 2005 11:05 AM
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