Article

2003-08-17 Iraq

U.S. Troops Shoot Dead Reuters Cameraman in Iraq

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by snellenr 2003-08-17 8:52:10 PM|| || Front Page|| [11138 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I guess the BBC guy in front of him, ducked.

Posted by anonon 2003-8-17 9:16:43 PM|| 2003-8-17 9:16:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 I lost all respect for cameramen and journos after I saw how they did their work in the Balkan conflicts. A cameraman creeping up to a wounded civilian screaming in pain, took a picture of the person's face in agony, and crept back to take cover from the same gunman who shot the civilian. Vultures. But I bet he won several awards for that shot, and his bravery. No sympathy here, sorry.

Posted by Raphael 2003-8-17 9:25:22 PM|| 2003-8-17 9:25:22 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Itâs a shame, and they need to investigate what happened

Actually, I think it's great a Reuters reporter is in the bag. Good shooting.

No sympathy here, sorry.

Same here. Maybe they'll learn to be as respectful of us as they are of the enemy.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2003-8-17 9:39:32 PM|| 2003-8-17 9:39:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 A shame the guy is dead, but I agree that these vulture "journalists" are all but asking for it. Anyone with an ounce of sense runs away from the sound of gunfire, not toward it. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to others who should know better.

Posted by Scooter McGruder 2003-8-17 9:48:41 PM|| 2003-8-17 9:48:41 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 It's bitterly amusing how in a site dependant so much on reporting during wartime, wartime reporters get so little respect as to be called "vultures".

"Anyone with an ounce of sense runs away from the sound of gunfire, not toward it."

Unless you are a policeman, or a soldier, or a wartime reporter. In which case it's your job to run towards the sound of gunfire.

Posted by Aris Katsaris 2003-8-17 10:44:54 PM|| 2003-8-17 10:44:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 it's your job to run towards the sound of gunfire

...with a camera mounted on your shoulder. That's called Darwinism at work. Aris, you can't be this naive.

Posted by Raphael 2003-8-17 11:04:37 PM|| 2003-8-17 11:04:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 I watched a show before the war about a class the military had for journalist. They spent special time showing journalist how hard it was to distinguish between a RPG and a Camera. In fact they would set up the Journalist and have people move around with Camera's and RPG's and had the journalist attempt to guess quickly which was which. All the journalist came away from the drill understanding the trouble. People need to use some common sense and understand the situation. How many soldiers have died in the last month from RPG attacks? In fact one of the methods is to jump from a car and fire off a quick shot. Please!

Posted by Patrick 2003-8-17 11:21:35 PM|| 2003-8-17 11:21:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 It's bitterly amusing how in a site dependant so much on reporting during wartime, wartime reporters get so little respect as to be called "vultures".

We really don't use much material from Reuters, and the stuff we use isn't generally provided by the likes of Palestinian reporters (or Greek ones, for that matter).

Posted by Zhang Fei 2003-8-18 1:07:04 AM|| 2003-8-18 1:07:04 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 It's bitterly amusing how in a site dependant so much on reporting during wartime, wartime reporters get so little respect as to be called "vultures".

Unfortunately for us, there are many more vultures where he came from. Although I'm a Reuters shareholder, I am happy to see its reporters get wasted. Maybe this will convince Reuters to ditch a money-losing division that is simultaneously working against American interests.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2003-8-18 1:14:18 AM|| 2003-8-18 1:14:18 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Stupid is as stupid does.Come on,Aris.The dumb-ass pointed an object that could have easliy been a RPG at a tank.If I'm a soldier with about 2 secounds to make a decision,guess who is going to die?

Posted by raptor 2003-8-18 7:29:31 AM|| 2003-8-18 7:29:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 zhang, that is unusually harsh for you!

would you prefer no wartime journalists?

Public relations/media is an essential element of modern Western warfare.

Without the effective managing of public opinion, western governments would be strangulated by protest movements at home.

Part of managing public opinion is informing the public. managing public opinion in a literate, intelligent community does NOT mean keeping the public in the dark and feeding them propaganda.

It means getting the media out into the field to report on the facts of the situation (though not so as to endanger lives in the field or strategy) so the public can remain informed and keep up the level of common sense.

So what some or even most reporters are biased? That is part of the cost of a free media.

They know there are dangers in going to the war zone, yet they still go: some freelance and without the aid of networks/training.

You may call them fools. I call them brave. Without them, many stories would go untold. And for some, the stories of loved ones is all they have left.

Moreover, many go with no guarantee they will even make a living wage out of it. If a freelancer goes and gets no story, they don't get paid. If a freelancer goes and gets injured/killed, they don't have network insurance to cover them.

There is an interesting book out right now by Irris Murrok (?Spelling) called Our Woman In Afghanistan. She toured freelance, by herself, around afghan after/during the war, like a crazy person and got some interesting pics and a story to tell. I respect people who get out there and do these things.

Posted by Anon1 2003-8-18 7:38:22 AM|| 2003-8-18 7:38:22 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 Raptor> "If I'm a soldier with about 2 secounds to make a decision,guess who is going to die? "

And what does *that* have to do with the reporter's morality and lack thereof? "Vulture" you bastards called the dead man about whose life you know nothing about. His main crime was making a nameless US soldier look momentarily bad by being *killed* by one. CONGRATS, you assholes! Everyone sees where your priorities lie. Why don't you take it one step further and say that they *should* be shot on sight, not by accident but on purpose.

A person doing his job in dangerous conditions. Even Raphael describing how reporters sometimes crawl *out* of cover so that they take the dangerous shots.

At the same time these reporters are accused for cowardice for crawling *back* to cover, (e.g. Raphael's comments) and accused for stupidity for not running away from trouble in the first place (e.g. Scooter's comments). No contradiction here, no siree.

Well, I'm glad your Christian charity, Zhang Fei, and rest of you people, allows you to be happy for the death of innocents. My agnostic liberal charity doesn't let me be.

Posted by Aris Katsaris 2003-8-18 7:43:29 AM|| 2003-8-18 7:43:29 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 Well, I'm glad your Christian charity, Zhang Fei, and rest of you people, allows you to be happy for the death of innocents.

Reuters reporters aren't innocents. 'Nuff said.

My agnostic liberal charity doesn't let me be.

That's right - in liberal eyes, dead American civilians or soldiers killed in peacetime are fine whereas dead foreigners are a problem, but only if they are anti-American.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2003-8-18 10:19:10 AM|| 2003-8-18 10:19:10 AM|| Front Page Top

#14 zhang, that is unusually harsh for you! would you prefer no wartime journalists? Public relations/media is an essential element of modern Western warfare. Without the effective managing of public opinion, western governments would be strangulated by protest movements at home.

Reuters is a propaganda news organization for the enemy. Goebbels's Propaganda Ministry was certainly a legitimate military target during WWII. Reuters has gotten off easy because of our squeamish sensibilities. The enemy certainly has no problem targeting that minuscule number of Reuters reporters who are pro-American. The fact is that the only reporters who are able to travel at will in Iraq are those who write anti-American propaganda.

The only reason we have to get involved in an information war is because of "news" wire agencies like Reuters, which provide their slanted views of the war to newspapers worldwide. Without anti-American reporters present, there would be no protest movement. When was the last time you saw a mass protest in the West against Chinese treatment of various religious groups in China? Were any mass protests conducted here ever directed against Saddam's atrocities? The fact is that what the news agencies don't lie about can't be protested.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2003-8-18 10:32:27 AM|| 2003-8-18 10:32:27 AM|| Front Page Top

20:24 Anonymous
10:32 Zhang Fei
10:19 Zhang Fei
07:58 Anon1
07:43 Aris Katsaris
07:38 Anon1
07:29 raptor
07:20 Anon1
04:57 Anon1
01:14 Zhang Fei
01:07 Zhang Fei
00:35 Anonymous
00:00 Steve White
23:21 Patrick
23:15 tu3031
23:04 Raphael
22:44 Aris Katsaris
22:43 tu3031
22:40 john
22:30 .com
22:17 Robert Crawford
22:15 Robert Crawford
22:09 john
22:03 .com