CNN airs footage of Iraq sniper attacks By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer Article Last Updated:10/20/2006 03:44:36 PM PDT A CNN executive said Thursday the network's effort to present the "unvarnished truth" about the Iraq war led it to televise portions of a video that shows insurgent snipers targeting U.S. military personnel. The tape, which came to the network unexpectedly through contact with an insurgent leader, was aired first Wednesday night on "Anderson Cooper 360" and repeated on Thursday. In one instance, the tape shows a uniformed member of the U.S. military milling in a public area with Iraqis. A shot rings out. CNN fades the screen to black before the result — described as a victim falling forward — is visible. It's one of 10 separate sniper attacks on Americans documented on the tape, which CNN technicians concluded was authentic, said David Doss, executive producer of Cooper's show, in a Web log entry describing the network's decision what to show. CNN could not determine the identity of any of the sniper victims, spokeswoman Christa Robinson said. Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware had been in contact through intermediaries with Ibrahim al-Shammari, a leader for the rebel group Islamic Army. Ware had sent al-Shammari a series of questions about the insurgency in Iraq, Doss explained. In reply, al-Shammari sent two tapes. One reportedly showed him, with face concealed, responding to the questions. The other showed the sniper incidents, seemingly taken by the insurgents themselves, CNN said. CNN understood that some critics might find that the tape had public relations benefits for the insurgency, Doss wrote. "We also understood that this kind of footage is upsetting and disturbing for many viewers," he said. "But after getting beyond the emotional debate, we concluded the tape meets our criteria for newsworthiness." The decision was subject to "hours of intense editorial debate" at CNN's highest levels, he said. Doss said he had already received several angry responses from viewers of Wednesday's five-minute report, some wondering whether CNN was helping the enemy and others concerned that the tape was inappropriate for young viewers who may have happened upon it. "Whether or not you agree with us in this case, our goal, as always, is to present the unvarnished truth as best we can," Doss said. Link
Funny how these things come about around election time, trying to pull at the heart strings of the American people in opposition of the war. Using deaths of our soldiers in political football, ****ing should be ashamed of themselves.
I can see no use whatsoever for journalists in combat except as target practice. This goes back to my feeling while watching wildlife documentaries. You see little bambi trotting through the woods and get stuck in a life threatening manner and some of the documeters don't lift a hand to help the deer out. They instead tape hours of misery as the animal slowly dies just to prove it is 'natural selection' at work. My point is this, if they want to be beneficial over there, journalists should put down the camera and pick up a gun. Either that or make a 'camera' gun. Then get an interview with the enemy leaders and eliminate with extreme prejudice. That would help the people instead of this gore show they like to do. Just my two cents.
