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

[jollyelle]

Ms. Logan said she go crazy watching news on the MSM......hmmmm

Excessive CEO pay = wimpy, news coverage
They're too scared to loose millions, so we get Nothing News, no truth, no substance, only reality
based on lining their pockets with lots & lots of money. $$$$$$$$$$$$
Money is everything,
Integrity, honesty, virtue, decency, principles......all qualities one would hope powerful people would aspire to possess ----but apparently not. sad for humans, so very sad.

[alfrede]

Hi,

After VP Cheney's remarks a few months ago "SO???" in answer to a question about the KIA reaching the 4,100 mark, it would appear that this Adminstration regards the US military as some sort of commodity to be used as if it were an office supply. The VP went on to say that the US Military are volunteers and if they did not want to do this, they didn't have to volunteer.

This observor regards his remarks as the most disgusting ever by a high ranking US government official. Can anyone think of any other President or Vice President making a more obscene remark about our sons and daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles??

Therefore, the President and his Vice are biding their time, counting the days until they leave office and can start on the big money lecture circuit. After all, aren't we all waiting to find out what they really thought about everything??

What do U think?

[castlerider]

unscum writes:
"Silly news starved Americans. You see one 'embed' reporter in Iraq who pretty much parrots what all the other embed reporters are saying in Iraq and you think it's some kind of Pulitzer prizes winning journalistic endeavor. How about all those other 'free' journalists, reporters and bloggers who are giving us the real story in Iraq and who are the real ones who are risking their lives without the luxury of flax jackets, armored personnel carriers, the green zone, blackwater and the marines protecting her. If this is what passes for great journalism in the US, no wonder 4000 Americans are dead, 40K are injured and 1/2 a trillion spent on what is now a lost cause in Iraq."

He definitely has a point, we are news-starved, and Lara was kind enough not to trounce us with it, however, she did share with us that she could never live on America's idea of news
It's plain to see this woman's integrity is impeccable, and its also very likely we will be seeing much more of her, absolutely on her terms.

I am sure Obama would employ someone of her caliber to be his spokesperson. It would be an awesome departure from Dana "You'll listen to what I TELL you to listen to" Perino.

[unscum]

Well thanks for quoting me but I respectfully disagree. I saw Lara's reports on the CBS evening news and I couldn't stop laughing myself out of my leather reclining chair. I know military propaganda when I hear it, I've been hearing it for 8 years now and apparently, I'm one of the few Americans (maybe 1%) who have the sense to get their news about Iraq from the Internet as opposed to the mainstream media/MSM. Go see Dahr Jamail, Go see Scott Ritter at one of their speaking tours, both courageous Americans. Shake their hands, ask them questions or simply e-mail them and check out their websites. There are many more people like them. Scott Ritter could have told you in Oct. 2002 that Saddam had no WMDs. But the we all know the war wasn't about WMD in the first place.

[MikeDu]

Here's the trick with the 'embedded' reporters scam. its the same ploy used by local TV newscasts for ratings. There's a story, you send a reporter out for a 'live broadcast' from the scene, the reporter stands in front of a dramatic view and basically does nothing but read the wire copy. No 'value added' to the on-the-scene broadcast at all.

[OBXartist]

Straight talk with get you nowhere. I bet she won't be employed at CBS for long.

[michelv]

When you come across as being so hot, without even trying, whether CBS will continue employing you or not is probably not something to be concerned about.

I bet she could attract a younger and bigger audience than Couric (adv $$).

But I suspect she is too independent and adventurous to stand being stuck behind a desk as an anchor.

I don't know her enough to judge how smart she is, but she is obviously far from being stupid and she seems like a hard worker.

[westcoastsc]

Jon Stewart made a joke that hit on something really important for real change by mocking the fake news that prevents us from getting the real news. It is very real that the media has failed us. We should take away the tax benefits of such important "news" organizations as Entertainment Tonight and the like. They do nothing to help this country and do nothing more than entertain. More: corporations need to be forced to divest from news organizations. If, in these times, media organizations free of corporate and political influence cannot afford to do the expensive investigative reporting they need to do, then perhaps they should be subsidized. Our focus very much has to be in changing our media to make it free from promoting propaganda, silencing of stories, and being in league with facsism.

[DerAmi]

Jon Steward and the Daily Show have more journalistic integrity than the main-stream-media. He'll deny it but it is true.... and very sad. Except that he make us laugh. And if it wasn't for laughter we'd have even more insanity in this world.

[WasteNJ]

Yes I saw this the other night, I thought she was some independent journalist from a foreign media outlet. I was surprised to see she is with CBS. I confess I haven't watched a CBS show in over a decade or more.

Maybe they should hire her to work with Michael Ware, but not at CNN.

[swift goat pet for truth]

I noticed there is no one working at Dana Perino's position.

Well, no one of any consequence.

[Axolotl]

...even when she is present....

[speakingtruth2power]

Let's hire Lara Logan as our new Fairness Czar!

Let her go on Faux and speak truth to their lies!!!

[Daly]

Why bother? Stop watching fox; they know exactly what they are spewing and it would be a total waste of time. We the people are the ones that have the power to change or kill Fox and it will not be happen with cries but with force; the force of the $ which comes with viewship that they have never deserved.

[CommonSensePlease]

Common sense people agree with her 100%!

[2bad]

She's right! The MSM doesn't cover the war much these days. I find it more than a little hypocritical though of the conservatives (what else is new) that when our soldiers were be slaughtered because W. sent them in completely unprepared and under equipped, conservatives were howling and screaming that reporting on the war was hurting the country and aiding the enemy. Which is it? You only want the good things reported and when it's bad you just hide your head in the sand!

[Shelly1970]

Much these days? They never covered what's really going on there.

[edva]

This lady has more integrity than anyone in the Bush administration.

[Jasel]

The same reason that you never see any dead Americans on television yet we're more than willing to put 3rd world hurricane and earthquake victims corpses on the news. We're willing to dehumanize other groups for ratings at the cost of the victims dignity but we're not willing to do it to our own. When it comes to America and the Iraq war whether it's media coverage, politics, or whatever it's all just wrong. I still find it amazing when I run into Americans who can't seem to understand why so many people hate us and have hated us for so long.

[iamjoyce]

Been saying for years, now....Until the American public starts seeing coffins of our fallen and families screaming with grief, we are not going to do too much in regards to getting out of this mess. Bush, Cheney, et.al., knew that very well and SHAME on the networks for capitulating!!!!!

[kladinvt]

CBS should replace 'cupie doll' Katie Couric with Laura Logan if they ever want to attempt to regain some credibility. Not that Laura Logan would have all that much influence over what the corporate owners of CBS would allow to be broadcast....since the bottom line in journalism these days, is the bottom line!

[speakingtruth2power]

Lara was briefly considered when they chose Katie

but infotainment won out over truth and hard news.

[castlerider]

I"m sure Lara simply would not compromise her need for being in the thick of where the action is, although I also will make the distinction that this could also be seen as not wanting to compromise her integrity.

It'a plain to see this woman's integrity is impeccable, and its also very likely we will be seeing much more of her, absolutely on her terms.
A facsinating thing- to watch a person of real integrity at their best.

If anything happens to her in the dangerous places she covers, many will be devastated, including me.

[LaurenceFlorida]

I agree, but not only in the case of Couric. My screen is filling up with branded product (Lou Dobbs, Fox O'Reilly, etc.). We need true journalists (RIP Tim Russert), not celebrity 'reporters'.

We blow up a wedding reception and hear that 'suspected militants' were hit. Reporters are "embedded" (read "domesticated") and do little more than polish the party line.

The media (all media) should be ashamed of their performance on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo. I admit Dick Cheney is a scary guy, but do we really need to grovel quite so hard at White House press conferences?

Lara Logan should get a medal for bravery.