|
Comment on this article |
Email this Article
|
|
Hidden with code "Submitted as Feature" |
|
News :: Media |
|
Pentagon Acquits Itself In Killing Of Journalists |
Current rating: 0 |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
12 Aug 2003
Modified: 11:48:17 PM |
|
The New York Times is reporting that the Pentagon, after conducting an internal investigation, has acquited itself of any fault in the death of two journalists by Abrams tank fire on the Palestine Hotel, well-known location of most of the foreign press, during the U.S. attack on Baghdad. |
|
Picture of the skyline of Baghdad from the firing position of the tank involved. It shows how the Palestine and Sheraton Hotels dominate the view of the east bank of the Tigris River. (Molly Bingham for CPJ)
The New York Times is reporting that the Pentagon, after conducting an internal investigation, has acquitted itself of any fault in the death of two journalists by Abrams tank fire on the Palestine Hotel, well-known location of most of the foreign press, during the U.S. attack on Baghdad.
The Times quoted the Central Command statement, which stated that U.S. Forces "properly fired upon a suspected enemy hunter/killer team in a proportionate and justifiably measured response[and that]...the action was fully in accordance with the Rules of Engagement."
As proof of its assertion that U.S forces had no direct complicity in the attack on the easy to identify skyline of one of the most sensitive spots in Baghdad during the capture of the Iraqi capital, the Central Command cited "the fierce enemy resistance" that day in that portion of Baghdad, and said Iraqi forces were firing "from the roofs and windows of surrounding buildings..." as the reason the tank crew fired a 120-mm projectile from across the Tigris River at the hotel filled with journalists.
This conclusion contradicts the findings of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ - http://www.cpj.org/), which found in a report released in May that "Pentagon officials, as well as commanders on the ground in Baghdad, knew that the Palestine Hotel was full of international journalists and were intent on not hitting it. However, these senior officers apparently failed to convey their concern to the tank commander who fired on the hotel."
The Pentagon's report thus seems focused on avoiding any culpability, rather than an earnest search for the failures in the chain of command in passing important information to operational units assigned to do the actual fighting. Although such incidents are often blamed on "the fog of war," if the incident against this easily identifiable landmark couldn't be prevented, then journalists must be considered "fair game" as far as having no distinction in the eyes of the U.S military from enemy combatants and civilians. Such a result fulfills the chilling leaks that proceeded the war that any journalist who was not "embedded" with a U.S. military unit could find a bomb homing in on their satellite phone if the were anywhere in the area under attack by U.S. forces.
For more complete information, visit the Committe to Protect Journalist, where the report is available:
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2003/palestine_hotel/palestine_hotel.html |
