Pentagon Threatens to Kill Independent Reporters in Iraq

by ashitaka 36 Replies latest social current

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  ashitaka

  I posted this without comment because I wanted to see what you guys had to say about it.

  My view is this; this isn't about people worrying about being killed in a war zone. This isn't the same as getting hit by 'friendly' or enemy fire. It's a warning meant to threaten independent journalists so that they cannot broadcast freely. The US wants them to be afraid to be there so that they can control the information coming out of Iraq. Frankly, I think it's frightening.

  As for the off-topic conversation about the girl who got run over by the bulldozer--I admire any person who will stand up to bullies; even if they are just driving a bulldozer. She was murdered because the guy driving it was

  a. pissed

  b. ordered to run over 'dissidents'

  c. dumb as a lump of shit

  We can't be willing to just believe anything that the news and our own governments tell us. Just look at the pictures of her being killed, and tell me it was stupidity that was the cause. If anything, it was a love for people.

  ash
• 

  Realist

  everybody who thinks the US media is free is more than naive.
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  undercover

  Hotshot reporters think they can be behind enemy lines and be safe? Who are they kidding? If the advancing army tells you to leave, you better leave. If you don't and you use electronic equipment that could be confused as enemy electronics then it's your own fault. If these reporters had concern for life then they would leave. The army(both sides) have a job to do. Anybody that isn't own their side or working for them is the enemy. In war, the enemy gets shot at. Independant reporters aren't on either side. So they could get shot at by both sides, doubling their chances of getting killed. The Pentagon says they will fire on these uplink sites. These reporters have been warned. Any that stay have sealed their own fate.
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  Abaddon

  I just am perpetually amazed by the level of naivety people have.

  Despite more than adequate examples of the government deceiving the public, they think that it will never happen again. Despite having been deceived and mislead into putting their trust in an organisation as the only reliable source of information, they do it again.

  Cognitive dissonance, look it up sometime, and don’t EVER play hide-the-lady.

  You can take the person out of the Borg, but can you take the Borg out of the person?

  If you actually have to make light of a woman being crushed by a bulldozer doing something she believed in, for the good of others, and can at the same time eulogise astronauts who died equally tragically, but at least not intentionally, doing something they believed in for the good of others, you have screwed values.

  I always thought the parable of the sheep and the goats was a worrying one. Goats may smell more, but they have a level of resourcefulness not found in sheep. Sheep are stunningly stupid; I used to live next to a field full of them. They quite happily stand on the edge of the field and give birth into a 4 ‘ ditch as they don’t have the sense to look behind them.

  Me ranting about slack-jawed acceptance of government spin aside, I think that potentially there are valid reasons for this (the sattelite up-link thing), and for control of information in a war zone; the Sir Galahad (a troop ship in the Falkland's 'conflict') was attacked due to sloppy news that gave its location away being picked up on by the Argentinians.

  I think that attacking an uplink is soley to control information - rightly or wrongly - as obviously an Iraqi military unit wouldn't HAVE a satellite to uplink to, not unless we sold one to them...
• 

  ashitaka

  I think that attacking an uplink is soley to control information - rightly or wrongly - as obviously an Iraqi military unit wouldn't HAVE a satellite to uplink to, not unless we sold one to them...

  Damn strait.
• 

  Shutterbug

  Hey moron, one guy was able to stop a tank in Tienimun sqaure, why couldn't a bull doze driver stop? I would have expected this in China, not in Isriel.

  Perhaps I am a moron, but this seems fairly simple. Get out of the way !! I must admit I have a certain amount of admiration for someone who has the courage to stand in front of a bulldozer or tank in support of their views, but if that person gets run over he has no one to blame but himself.

  Apparently calling people names is the only argument you have left right now. Hopefully you can do better in the future.

  My view is this; this isn't about people worrying about being killed in a war zone. This isn't the same as getting hit by 'friendly' or enemy fire. It's a warning meant to threaten independent journalists so that they cannot broadcast freely. The US wants them to be afraid to be there so that they can control the information coming out of Iraq. Frankly, I think it's frightening

  If you want frightening, reporters can go with the army of the freedom loving soldiers of Iraq when the stuff hits the fan. I'm sure they will be able to report freely about what that army is doing.
• 

  ashitaka

  If you want frightening, reporters can go with the army of the freedom loving soldiers of Iraq when the stuff hits the fan.

  Is this a different version of the 'If you don't love America then get the hell out' argument? I supported the war at first, months ago. Slowly, my opinion has changed. I see this disturbing attitude erupting in America, where moderate people who have moderate opinions are called terrorists, unamerican or traitors; all this because we don't buy all of the horseshit that the government throws at us. Now, this isn't actual dissidence, just opinions.

  It's getting worse all over.

  Here in New Jersey, thankfully, people are rather apathetic. But, I've read small town papers from all over the country, and people who are opposing the war and speaking out against certain policies are systematically being harrassed by citizens and the government. Our opinions are being policed more and more. Violence and harassment are the name of the game now. There was an article I was reading about some people who were at a rodeo, who weren't standing for a country-western song about America. Some irate asshole in the crowd starts a melee, and hits the people who were sitting down.

  BOTH people were charged with a misdemeanor fighting charge.

  It's obviously becoming acceptable to begin doing gray-area crimes against "dissidents", as long as you support America's policies and they don't.

  That is why I'm frighted. This is no longer the America of my youth.

  I had thought that 9/11 hadn't changed much. Instead, it changed everything, because America has let it's Freedom be supplanted by Fear.

  ash
• 

  dubla

  i cant believe not even one person has questioned the validity of her statements. every time theres a u.s. media article about this or that, everyone screams PROPAGANDA!....but now, this one reporter is quoting "a senior pentagon official"(sounds like the watchtower version of a source), and no one even questions her comments. id personally like to see some verification of the pentagon quotes (such as "who cares.....") before making judgement.

  this sounds a bit exaggerated to me (the title of the article is obviously meant to sway the readers thinking against the u.s.), but i could see the pentagon warning everyone in harms way to get out of harms way, which would only make sense.

  aa
• 

  Trauma_Hound

  When has any of the peaceniks whining about the Palestinians showed the slightest empathy for victims of suicide bombers in Israel? It appears that death only bothers some from the left when it isn't an Israeli

  Your comparing a peaceful activist to a suicide bomber? Let's get something straight you genocidal maniac, not using any weapons to make a point, doesn't kill people. Bombs do, however Israel has been terrorizing Palestinians for a few decades now, they not only go after so-called terrorist, they kill women and children, which puts them on the same level as the people, the supposedly are going after. They are systematically cleansing areas of an ethnic culture, they are no better than the Nazi's that tried to do the same thing to them. Two wrongs don't make a right, do you get it old man? Or are you going senile? If the US wants to legitimize any of it's actions, than it needs to stops giving aid to terrorist countries like Israel. The US has been it's own worst enemy, because of they're aid terrorist like Israeli government, they have given other terrorist legitimacy.
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  Xander

  I must admit I have a certain amount of admiration for someone who has the courage to stand in front of a bulldozer or tank in support of their views, but if that person gets run over he has no one to blame but himself.

  Remember that Tienanmen happened first, and is well known the world around (except here, apparently, where no one can even be bothered to spell it properly!).

  I suppose this person could easily have thought that an Israeli citizen would have more human compassion than the communist Chinese military when ordered to suppress dissent. Obviously, in this case, they were wrong. The communist Chinese had more humanity than the Israelis in the respective cases. Who would have thought?