Should Americans see a video captured by Iraqi insurgents of enemy snipers killing U.S. soldiers?
On Oct. 18, CNN aired a clip of insurgent snipers firing upon and killing several American soldiers. The footage was filmed by the insurgents and provided to CNN as a terrorist propaganda film. CNN decided to air the video, which showed the insurgents picking which American to kill and then shooting at him. The video blacked out the moment when the American soldier was shot.
This decision to air the video enraged Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Hunter, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said CNN has become "the publicist for an enemy propaganda film." He called upon the Pentagon to oust any CNN journalist embedded with American forces.
Appearing on CNN itself, Hunter asked the network, "Does CNN want America to win this thing? You can't be on both sides. And I would say, if I was that platoon leader, I would say, 'Absolutely not.' Take CNN out of there. You can't be on both sides."
Hunter argued that the killing of one American isn't really representative of what's occurring in Iraq: "Of the people killed in Iraq, 524 of our Americans have been killed in accidents, mainly automobile accidents," he said. "Now, you don't show automobile accidents, because it's not sexy. It's not violent. It doesn't draw a big audience. Showing the impact of a single bullet, a single shooting, doesn't tell you anything. If you isolated one American going down on Omaha Beach at Normandy, what would that tell the American public?"
CNN has strongly defended its judgment call on the video, releasing a statement that read, "You should also know we tried to put all of this in context. Our reporting included an interview with a current U.S. sniper in Iraq. He's been both under attack from insurgent snipers and he has himself operated as a sniper. We also heard from Major General William Caldwell, a coalition forces spokesman in Iraq, and CNN military analyst General David Grange, formerly with the Green Beret, Delta Force and Army Rangers. ... The decision to air the insurgents' videotape was a difficult one, but for a news organization, the right one. Our responsibility is to report the news."
In a blog on CNN.com, CNN producer David Doss wrote, "Whether or not you agree with us in this case, our goal, as always, is to present the unvarnished truth as best we can."
Doss is correct: Hunter is mistaken in his na've criticism of the organization. CNN not only made a good decision, they made the only responsible decision for a journalistic organization.
The American people have the right to know what is going on in Iraq. We pay the bills for the war, and we elect the leaders who make the decisions. It's the media's job to report the war to the people from every angle. They can't omit one side of the story simply because it doesn't celebrate an American victory.
Hunter's argument that watching this video will somehow make Americans sympathetic to the insurgents' cause is unfounded. CNN provides a disclaimer for the footage in its introduction, admitting that the footage about to be shown is a terrorist propaganda video. The video shows calculated and cold-blooded murder.
If anything, it shows how horrible these terrorists are. Watching insurgents assassinate American soldiers who are helping the Iraqi people just makes me want to go after them more aggressively.
The idea that CNN wants terrorists to win because they showed this film is also wrong. By showing this video, CNN was not supporting the terrorists, it was merely reporting on the insurgent's tactics, just like it does for American forces. CNN showed the video only after making sure none of the American soldiers were identifiable.
Moreover, CNN made the correct decision to black out the moment when the Americans were hit. What is left is a video that is an insightful look into the Iraq conflict that Americans deserve to see.
Even Tucker Carlson, former CNN pundit and current host of the MSNBC show, The Situation with Tucker Carlson, commended CNN for showing the video. "CNN has done us all a service," he said. "CNN has spent a lot of money covering this war in Iraq, unlike a lot of other people. Good for CNN."
Good for CNN, indeed. Hopefully, other media sources will follow its lead and attempt to give Americans the full picture of the War in Iraq.
Benjamin van der Horst is a College sophomore from Cincinnati. He is executive director of the nonpartisan political organization CSAmerica and the managing editor of the Emory Political Review.
On Oct. 18, CNN aired a clip of insurgent snipers firing upon and killing several American soldiers. The footage was filmed by the insurgents and provided to CNN as a terrorist propaganda film. CNN decided to air the video, which showed the insurgents picking which American to kill and then shooting at him. The video blacked out the moment when the American soldier was shot.
This decision to air the video enraged Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Hunter, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said CNN has become "the publicist for an enemy propaganda film." He called upon the Pentagon to oust any CNN journalist embedded with American forces.
Appearing on CNN itself, Hunter asked the network, "Does CNN want America to win this thing? You can't be on both sides. And I would say, if I was that platoon leader, I would say, 'Absolutely not.' Take CNN out of there. You can't be on both sides."
Hunter argued that the killing of one American isn't really representative of what's occurring in Iraq: "Of the people killed in Iraq, 524 of our Americans have been killed in accidents, mainly automobile accidents," he said. "Now, you don't show automobile accidents, because it's not sexy. It's not violent. It doesn't draw a big audience. Showing the impact of a single bullet, a single shooting, doesn't tell you anything. If you isolated one American going down on Omaha Beach at Normandy, what would that tell the American public?"
CNN has strongly defended its judgment call on the video, releasing a statement that read, "You should also know we tried to put all of this in context. Our reporting included an interview with a current U.S. sniper in Iraq. He's been both under attack from insurgent snipers and he has himself operated as a sniper. We also heard from Major General William Caldwell, a coalition forces spokesman in Iraq, and CNN military analyst General David Grange, formerly with the Green Beret, Delta Force and Army Rangers. ... The decision to air the insurgents' videotape was a difficult one, but for a news organization, the right one. Our responsibility is to report the news."
In a blog on CNN.com, CNN producer David Doss wrote, "Whether or not you agree with us in this case, our goal, as always, is to present the unvarnished truth as best we can."
Doss is correct: Hunter is mistaken in his na've criticism of the organization. CNN not only made a good decision, they made the only responsible decision for a journalistic organization.
The American people have the right to know what is going on in Iraq. We pay the bills for the war, and we elect the leaders who make the decisions. It's the media's job to report the war to the people from every angle. They can't omit one side of the story simply because it doesn't celebrate an American victory.
Hunter's argument that watching this video will somehow make Americans sympathetic to the insurgents' cause is unfounded. CNN provides a disclaimer for the footage in its introduction, admitting that the footage about to be shown is a terrorist propaganda video. The video shows calculated and cold-blooded murder.
If anything, it shows how horrible these terrorists are. Watching insurgents assassinate American soldiers who are helping the Iraqi people just makes me want to go after them more aggressively.
The idea that CNN wants terrorists to win because they showed this film is also wrong. By showing this video, CNN was not supporting the terrorists, it was merely reporting on the insurgent's tactics, just like it does for American forces. CNN showed the video only after making sure none of the American soldiers were identifiable.
Moreover, CNN made the correct decision to black out the moment when the Americans were hit. What is left is a video that is an insightful look into the Iraq conflict that Americans deserve to see.
Even Tucker Carlson, former CNN pundit and current host of the MSNBC show, The Situation with Tucker Carlson, commended CNN for showing the video. "CNN has done us all a service," he said. "CNN has spent a lot of money covering this war in Iraq, unlike a lot of other people. Good for CNN."
Good for CNN, indeed. Hopefully, other media sources will follow its lead and attempt to give Americans the full picture of the War in Iraq.
Benjamin van der Horst is a College sophomore from Cincinnati. He is executive director of the nonpartisan political organization CSAmerica and the managing editor of the Emory Political Review.
This column ran in the Emory Wheel on 10/27/06.
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