CBS's Lara Logan Slams American Coverage Of Iraq War (VIDEO)

On last night's Daily Show, Lara Logan, CBS's Chief Foreign Correspondent, spoke out against the coverage of the Iraq War by the American press.

At about 6 minutes into the clip, Logan recalls being asked if she felt responsibility for how Americans perceived the war.

Tell me the last time you saw the body of a dead American soldier. What does that look like? Who in American knows what that looks like? Because I know what that looks like, and I feel responsible for the fact that no one else does. ... And the soldiers do feel forgotten, they do. No doubt. From Afghanistan to Iraq, they absolutely feel -- you know, we may be tired of hearing about this five years later, they still have to go out and do the same job.

Watch:

Thanks to Think Progress for catching this.

Comments

[Durango]

In the run up to both the Afghan and Iraq Wars there was NOT ONE SINGLE TELEVISION PROGRAM devoted to explaining the history, social, political,economic, cultural backgrounds of these countries that we were on or way to invade and occupy.

Both nations are among the oldest civilizations on earth. Their heritage goes back to the BEGINNING OF CIVILIZATION There has been plenty of scholarship devoted to both societies. Why was it ignored?

The Corporate media could not be bothered to inform the American people about these countries.
They could not be responsible for distinguishing the Taliban from al Qaida. or explaining the war against the Soviets or the arming of the Mujahadeen against the Soviets. Or the Wests abandonment of Afghanistan after the Soviets pulled out.

Or the politics of oil and colonialism in Iraq, Iran and the rest of the region.

Instead we had endless reports about the military. And propaganda about WMDs and the threats to America.

Now we are paying the price for our ignorance.

[HappyDae]

The misspellings and word misusage in this blog indicate that there are several "children left behind." I'd originally thought that the mental disorder extended only to politics, but I amend that to include education. This seems pervasive among Obama supporters and is inexcusable. Educate yourselves; read all sides of the important issues; and consider the future of this nation in the long run.

Happy Dae.
http://www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com

[bubba9000]

u r n idiot.

[Shelly1970]

Al Queda is the supplier of Lara's video footage. I know. Michelle Malkin said so.

[SoonerThought]

Love her!

[Bluedog12]

Her insight is more impressive than her radient beauty.

[hypnus]

You got that right.

[tj3]

A friend of mine has an array of TV satellite dishes in his yard. They are aimed at the free to air signals from just about every nation on earth. Many times we have just skipped from one region to the other seeking stations we could understand. One thing I could understand without language was that other places show the war in Iraq and Afghanistan in a far more graphic light.

Laura Logan and other people who work for US based news agencies may try to tell the full story and show what is going on but are prevented from doing so.

I do not care if you are a liberal or a conservative or for these wars or not. Whatever your stand we should have some full idea of what is going on.

Since we are involved , sick and tired of Iraq or not, we are stuck with it. Ignoring the realities of what is happening there is helping what, morale?

Just as an example the net winner in the geo-political mess we have made there is Iran, not the USA. Now how does that work, that our dead soldiers have benefited Iran more than us?

We could stay there 50 years and things will not go our way. Withdrawal right after the next election will not be a cake walk either. Bush has blundered so ineptly that an Obama administration will be blamed for more death and destruction over there.

Laura Logan stay safe.

[racom]

Agreed, the lady deserves great credit. Doing a dangerous job, doing it well and even having to fight her bosses for air time, unbelievable. As one of the millions who were against ever invading Iraq, had a sit down with my republican congressman to insist the UN inspectors be allowed to do their job, I have been supporting getting out from the first. If the Lara Logans were allowed to actually show what war looks like we would be out of there soon. Just a few videos of children blown apart would get us over our war fatigue in a hurry.

[readyfornewleadership]

Journalism isn't a profession anymore. Poor Lara didn't know.

[provgrays]

Lara Logan may be the bravest journalist working today.

[JayInDallas]

Right behind Keith Olberman. The first time I saw him blast the Bush administration I was floored.

[MrStill]

Keith should go back to sports. I used to like him on ESPN.

[nivek]

The ability to resist, to voice opposition and discuss options when faced with relentless influence is what I thought was instilled in our Bill of Rights. The GWOT has nearly washed away the foundations of the America I grew up in. Torture, personal invasion of privacy and home, profit in death. Bush made this happen and I have no doubt he intended as much. I would question whether Bush's perceived lack of competence wasn't actually wanton disregard for humanity. What I had taken for granted has been taken away.

[diddith]

she is right... maybe if we say pictures of what is really going on over there the other 28% of the counrty would come around and stop supporting the war... that being said I feel that most people are against the war, but don't think about it or doing anything to try to end it in their daily lives... if there was a draft this conflict would have ended before it started

[ceasenake]

Maybe she's upset that the number of US casualties has declined so much and no one is reporting that good news.

Anytime US Military member is killed it is a very sad event, but the good news is that last month (May '08) only 19 members were killed in Iraq - just 15 as a result of hostile acts.

So far in June - as of the 19th, only 17 have been killed -just 12 from hostile acts.

Most of the non-hostile deaths are car wrecks- just like in the USA for the corresponding age group.

For some perspective, in Philadelphia the average monthly murder rate is @ 26 per month.

More Americans die on the streets of Philadelphia each month than are currently dying in Iraq.

The actual murder rate in New Orleans is @ 70 per 100,000 per year (or 98 per 140,000). Considering ther are about 141,000 US military personnel in Iraq at the current level of violence the streets of Iraq are actually less than twice as dangerous as New Orleans for each individual US service member.

I know it hasn't been that way for long - and it may not last - but at least for now it would be nice if your major news outlets reported ...the news.

[walk0nwalls]

Did you happen to catch Iraqi civilian deaths or the displaced Iraqi civilians or is it just when 1000 Iraqis die in a month it's completely okay now?

Ever since the very beginning nobody's ever given a damn. I really don't know what to make of that.

[LibRS]

I cherish it when liberals are pissed. The river of stupidity is deep and wide and liberals are right in middle of the river.

[GeorgeKaplan]

I am a liberal and what gets me pissed are dead soldier who are dead because of war criminals in the white house. I also, get pissed when I think of the humanitarian disaster that Iraq has become. As a bleeding heart liberal I get pissed at the way we abuse our soldiers by sending that back to Iraq over and over because of total incompetence in running this war. I get even more pissed when I see the same thugs who sent our soldiers to Iraq voting down more benefits for our soldiers who have given so much to us. I get pissed when I see how shabby the housing is for our soldiers who are recuperating from having their brains and limbs damaged from the war.

I would think the river of stupidity in our time runs right through the white house.

PEACE

[eplatypusunum]

Agreed, GeorgeKaplan. I would add that the MSM gets me pissed. Other than that, it's a pretty complete list. Oh, and evangelists. And...

epu

[hoodrat]

Methinks if your holy ignorance were in the middle of a protracted 15hr. + firefight - you might rethink what ignorance means. Of course if that's your son/daughter lying next to you, trying to draw their intestines back where they belong - you might feel different. But never fear idiot! If McSenile is POTUS - you might get your chance to cherish warfare too. If there was EVER a definition of treason - you and your ilk fit the glove like OJ. And your river of ignorance should be fed by a BIG stream of 7.62 love. What in Gods name are you tools smokin'?

[Bluedog12]

Is it the river that's not over its banks not in Iowa where there are no affects of global warming because global warming isn't happening or is it because we have to go there to fight them before they come here but they can't go to Iowa because of the flood? Well dammit your right we didn't stand around singing coom by ya afta the Germans attacked Pearl Harbor Michigan hey Archie Bunker?

[SoonerThought]

My, instead of being an American first, you show that you're a conservative first and foremost. How unique. If this were a Democrat administration's war and Ms. Logan's comments were made, I somehow think you would agree with her. By the way, that "river of stupidity" you reference is actually the collective piss from BushCo flushing the country down the toilet.

[racom]

Too moronic to answer!!!!

[GQTaste]

I love in the interview how neither have ever served a day in their lives. the American pulbic has gotten numb w/ this war. We're sick to death of it and want it over but like I said, We're sick of hearing about all the horrible problems that was this war from just about day one.

[coldcanuckinwhite]

EURORANT1 - You are absolutely correct! My husband and I moved back to North America a few years ago, after living over 20 years in Europe and we LAUGH at the news on TV - the American as well as the Canadian content. (They think their public is so stupid and all are guilty of talking down to us...)
The media in every which way has covered everything up. There is not one journalist who has a so-called clean vest.
We call it THE DUMBING OF THE NATION and guess what? This bunch of cowboys has succeeded in doing just that, for the sake of their own agenda$$.
About 20 years of watching violent videos have pre-conditioned our youth. A life to them is worth nothing, so now they are acting out their video games in Iraq. Way to go!
IRAQ AND EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT, is one big lie. We all were conned. Read the book by Vincent Bugliosi "The Prosecution of G.W. Bush for Murder". It is all in there.

Now, who will stand up and say "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take anymore??"
I love America and I love the American people but - they must realize that they have been thad, taken for a ride, an awful ride. It is time they opened up their eyes and started taking their country back.

[motu]

well around half of us have been against all things bushie from the beginning..
some wrote their congress & marched in the street and argued with family and neighbors... but you're right about the other half which is a lot of mighty stupid people who we're gonna have to deal with for a looong time.

[jackdav]

Bugliosi's book is terrific.

[walk0nwalls]

Please, please, please don't demean the intelligence of the youth.

We're smart enough to discern the difference between actually killing someone and killing someone in a game. We're aware it's fiction.

It's the media's fault in supporting this fiction, propping up this fiction as though it were reality, as though we just need to keep peddling through this level until some definite "YOU WIN!" sign at the end, it's their fault in failing to point out the difference between fiction and reality.

Journalism, pfft. They all peddle the same fiction.

[96Bravo]

In all honesty, Logan is right. There are very important stories regarding Afghanistan not being reported.

She's hot too. (Oops, not supposed to say that)

[Outrageous]

It is jarring to see an attractive female journalist who is so intelligent and honest after a decade of watching all the major networks install women on their programs to act as eye candy or sycophants to their moronic male co-hosts. This is not to say beauty and brains can't coexist. However, it is clear that news organizations are not interested in the brains part.

[IRepTheKing]

You're right. She could revolutionize how we see blonds now.

[IRepTheKing]

Go ahead, say it... she is. LOL

[letsgetsmart]

A lot of anger here and that is good. It shows that the momentum for the upcoming election is alive and well. Regarding the criticism of the msm, I think a lot of you are discussing symptoms and not the disease itself. Why was Al Gore not our president? Why was Kerry not our president? Why do we not see our fallen military personnel on the news? Maybe it is because the same people that control the hand puppet in the white house also own the media. Many of you have put your finger on it by saying that the independents and bloggers tell the real story. Why is this web site so popular? Many of us really want to know what is going on and we obviously don't feel that we get it from standard sources. One of the most important jobs that we have is not only to shout that we want our country and government back but also we want control of our media back. These are our air ways and they are used at our pleasure not some criminal organization's. I know that many of you can imagine what this reporter could tell you over a beer in a pub somewhere. We are indignant but we will never solve our problems until we get our media back.

[IRepTheKing]

"Why was Al Gore not our president? Why was Kerry not our president?"

Exactly. That's what scares me about this election. We obviously knew what Bush was gonna do (especially in 2004 when we'd already had a 4 year dose) and he was still elected. With his twin running for office, I hope we don't shoot ourselves in the foot again.

[KyotoProto]

In the event of a third stolen election, i would hope that those disenfranchised would finally find the courage to organize and call a national strike. Shut the whole fetid money making for the rich mess down. I think 20 million of us should be marching on D.C. to shut that insignificant mess down too. We need some parliamentary form of government where we can throw the entire gang out on accountable paper ballots.

Bought and paid for democracy is called fascism or oligarchy.