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April 12, 2003

I'll never believe CNN again - they are liers!

Eason Jordan, chief news executive at CNN, writes in today's New York Times:

"Over the last dozen years I made 13 trips to Baghdad to lobby the government to keep CNN's Baghdad bureau open and to arrange interviews with Iraqi leaders. Each time I visited, I became more distressed by what I saw and heard — awful things that could not be reported because doing so would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particularly those on our Baghdad staff. ...

"The secret police terrorized Iraqis working for international press services who were courageous enough to try to provide accurate reporting. Some vanished, never to be heard from again. Others disappeared and then surfaced later with whispered tales of being hauled off and tortured in unimaginable ways. ...

"I came to know several Iraqi officials well enough that they confided in me that Saddam Hussein was a maniac who had to be removed. One Foreign Ministry officer told me of a colleague who, finding out his brother had been executed by the regime, was forced, as a test of loyalty, to write a letter of congratulations on the act to Saddam Hussein. An aide to Uday once told me why he had no front teeth: henchmen had ripped them out with pliers and told him never to wear dentures, so he would always remember the price to be paid for upsetting his boss. ...

"Then there were the events that were not unreported but that nonetheless still haunt me. A 31-year-old Kuwaiti woman, Asrar Qabandi, was captured by Iraqi secret police occupying her country in 1990 for 'crimes,' one of which included speaking with CNN on the phone. They beat her daily for two months, forcing her father to watch. In January 1991, on the eve of the American-led offensive, they smashed her skull and tore her body apart limb by limb. A plastic bag containing her body parts was left on the doorstep of her family's home.

"I felt awful having these stories bottled up inside me. Now that Saddam Hussein's regime is gone, I suspect we will hear many, many more gut-wrenching tales from Iraqis about the decades of torment. At last, these stories can be told freely."

My (Keith's) comment:
They kept this information from the world, just to keep a presence in Iraq. I have to ask, can we believe any of the CNN news coming out of countries that are lead by brutal regimes? I doubt it. How will we know if they are brutal or not if the media does not have the courage to report it?

I am sick and tired of journalists who are trying to become heroes by finding fault with America (they do it because they have the freedom to), and then ignore horrific circumstances in other countries in order to keep a presence there (money grubbers!). They expose all the dirty laundry about truly free countries (because they have been given that privilege by courageous men who fought and died for it), but they have NO courage when it comes to exposing the brutal tactics of truly evil governments. If they had any integrity or courage, CNN would have pulled all their people out of Iraq years ago and then exposed Saddam's evil regime for what it was!

What else are they keeping from us?

Shame on CNN.

Posted by at April 12, 2003 12:05 PM

Comments

... (they do it because they have the freedom to), ...

It's kinda ironic that we are going over there to protect these rights (free speech mainly). I heard an interesting story the other day, I am not too sure how true it really is. Anyway, everyone know's what a great war general Eisnehower was, and it seems that most people thought he was a decent president (although, I really don't know about that). but apparently he wasn't too impressed with congress and didn't really know what to do about it. Those on the opposite party from him were treating him almost like he was their enemy. In war, you just shoot your enemy and then it's over. in congress.... no such luck. So he went out and played golf. I think that sounds like a good idea. :D

Everything comes with a price I suppose.

Posted by: Stu at April 12, 2003 03:29 AM

This article is certainly quite appalling. If I were CNN, and if I were honest (I hope that I am), I would certainly want to keep a presence in Iraq so that I could report the goings-on to the American public. If I were given the choice between (1) staying in Iraq but having to lie about the events there, or (2) leaving Iraq, I would have to choose the latter. It appears quite obvious to me that they were motivated by greed alone. They cannot hide behind the excuse that they wanted to "keep a presence" in the country. What kind of "presence" is that if you can't even present the truth to the public you are trying to serve? It's a load of bull if you ask me.

Posted by: Joey at April 16, 2003 04:18 AM

You idiots , his just saying that to make CNN look good, this is just a page for people who want to find out if CNN is a liar, and BY GOD ITS A LIAR, just type in Google "AIDS SCAM" and you will see what i mean, and look at there stories how they try to cover up the scam, CNN is a fraud , never believ egovernment run coorps, they are all LIARS, aids doesnt exist, saddam probably doesnt exist as well

SCAM SCAM SCAM.

Posted by: jhon at December 9, 2003 07:01 AM