Words of War

Here's another slippery comparison of Iraq with Vietnam. In 20 years of fighting in Vietnam, "only" 63 journalists were killed. In a little more than two years, the Iraq War has surpassed that: to 66, according to a Reuters story on Sunday. By today, that number was already obsolete. The death toll among those reporting on the war is 67, says media-rights group Reporters Without Borders. Reuters reports:

In addition to those killed, 22 have been kidnapped. All but one was released. Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni was executed by his captors. The media was targeted from the first days of the fighting, when cameraman Paul Moran, of the Australian TV network ABC, was killed by a car bomb on March 22, 2003.... Two other journalists have been missing since March 2003 and August 2004. [ITV News cameraman Frédéric Nérac, and Suedostmedia cameraman Isam Hadi Muhsin Al-Shumary, respectively.]

The list of the dead covers many of the Coalition nations, but is heavy on Arab names. They've been killed by insurgents, by US soldiers or Marines, by accident. The latest is Rafed Al Rubaii, an Iraqi TV journalist killed by unknown gunmen (presumably insurgents) while he covered a pro-Saddam demonstration last week. No. 66 was Reuters TV soundman Waleed Khaled, shot by US snipers. The cameraman was wounded and arrested. Both were on assignment in western Baghdad. The Paris-based RWB reports:

"This incident in which Khaled was deliberately gunned down by five shots is extremely disturbing.... Our outrage is compounded by the fact that they arrested Kadhem, the only eye-witness, who was himself injured in the incident."

Reuters is also upset, and is demanding the release of its cameraman, who is being questioned and held incommunicado, reports Editor & Publisher. "We fail to understand what reason there can be for his continued detention more than a day after he was the innocent victim of an incident in which his colleague was killed," E&P quotes Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger. But US authorities won't even say where the journalist is being held.

[Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Robert Whetstone] said there were "inconsistencies" in Kadhem's statements and officers were looking into "events that led up to the incident". No military investigator, however, had contacted Reuters, whose senior staff offered a full account of the assignment on which they dispatched the journalists shortly before they were shot.

This is not the first time Reuters has had problems with US authorities (or vice versa, if you want to look at it that way). The E&P story adds:

Two Reuters cameramen have been killed by U.S. troops in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003. A third was shot dead by a sniper in Ramadi last November in circumstances for which Reuters is still seeking an explanation from U.S. forces. Reuters' cameraman in the city of Ramadi, Ali al-Mashhadani, was arrested by U.S. forces three weeks ago and is being held without charge in Abu Ghraib prison. U.S. military officials have said he will face a judicial hearing shortly but have still given no access to the journalist or said what he is accused of.

In March this year, the US military closed its investigation of alleged torture in January 2004 of three Iraqis on assignment for Reuters, and one working for NBC, without ever questioning the Iraqi journalists. E&P followed the story, including some of the graphic details from a report by Reuters bureau chief Andrew Marshall:

It should be noted that the bulk of their mistreatment -- including their humiliating interrogations and the mental and physical torment of the first night which all agreed was the worst part of their ordeal -- occurred several hours AFTER I had informed the 82nd Airborne Division that they were Reuters staff. I have e-mail proof of this.

Not exactly the risk-free "hotel journalism" alleged by radio talk-show hosts as an excuse for a shortage of "good news" from Iraq.

Bonus: For a good inside view of the military effort in Iraq, check out the online magazine of Michael Yon.

Update: E&P is now reporting that Reuters' cameraman has been freed. The US Army is continuing its investigation.