[Regarding Pundita post CBS, not US military, decided what Katie Couric would see in Iraq]:
I know how it works [in Iraq] because I've been there many times. Yes, you can ask to go to certain places on embeds, and that happens. In Couric's case, however, she asked to accompany commanders, rather than asking to go to specific places, and those commanders agreed and picked where they'd go together.
Even Katie asked Petraeus about some criticizing her for being on a dog-and-pony show, and he said something to the effect of what's wrong with showing your accomplishments here. No big deal. Nothing sinister here.
Eason Jordan
Iraq Slogger "
Dear Eason:
Thank you for the clarification. I am making an issue only because what Couric said on Face the Nation has been used as ammo by those who claim the US military won't let high-profile visitors see what's really going on in Iraq.
So, okay, Couric asked to accompany certain commanders; she didn't deliver an itinerary as the Spiegel reporter did. Yet from what you wrote I think my point still holds. Couric implied on Face the Nation that she had no choice about what she saw on her tour of Iraq.
What was to prevent her from telling the commanders where she wanted to go? Of course, if they didn't want to visit those areas, she might claim the military controlled what she saw. Yet that would be hairsplitting. It seems it was higher on her list to interview certain commanders than to see for herself how things were going in certain regions of Iraq.
Enough of that issue. Pundita was blown away by your article on the importance of safety gear for journalists in Iraq:
Because a staggering number of journalists and media workers have been killed over the past four years in Iraq -- more than 200 by some counts -- journalists have become smarter about protecting themselves, including wearing at least some protective gear.That last observation might be known in war journalism circles but it is news to me, and I think it should be headline news.
Yet many journalists in Iraq don't have a full kit of protective gear, don't know what what protective gear they should ask for, don't wear all the protective gear they should, occasionally wear what gear they have incorrectly, and at times refuse to wear body armor even in dangerous areas. [...]
While there's no guarantee all the right protective gear will keep journalists in Iraq alive, it will greatly heighten their odds of survival, and I know of no case in Iraq in which a journalist wearing a complete kit of protective gear was killed.
Not wearing appropriate safety gear while bouncing around Iraq as a reporter is akin to driving a race car at top speed without wearing a crash helmet and seatbelt -- and yet, despite the stunning facts you cite, it's done. Back to your report:
When ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff anchor was badly wounded in an IED attack while embedded with US forces he nearly bled to death because shrapnel and debris pierced his neck. He was not wearing protective gear around his neck -- standard issue for US troops.What also got to me was the photograph you published of Katie Couric in Iraq wearing a "Use Me For Target Practice" orange blouse, and whose only protective gear was a wrongly-fitted vest -- that while she strolled along with two soldiers suited to their eyeballs in protective gear!
That photo reminds me of Monica Crowley's explanation for why she wore Gucci flats to an outpost at the edge of the Golan. The Israeli unit protecting her (and John Batchelor) took incoming fire. Monica told John's radio audience, "I figured if I was going to get shot at, I wanted to look cute."
I think, I hope, Trooper Monica was joking but it's no joke if one walks into a conflict zone with the assumption that death can only come from a silver bullet. So I think your 'When in Rome' advice is good: if you see the soldiers escorting you wearing full protective gear, don't be an idiot; also don the full kit.
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