[ OUR OPINION ]
MOST Western journalists assigned to Baghdad reluctantly left the city before President Bush's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein expired. A few brave ones have chosen to remain, dedicated to providing objective news of the conflict from that central target of U.S. military forces. We salute those colleagues while appreciating the responsibility of news organizations to act upon safety concerns in ordering their correspondents to leave the city. Western journalists
brave risks of war
THE ISSUE A few American journalists remain in Baghdad, while many are accompanying U.S. troops invading Iraq.News services that provide international coverage to the Star-Bulletin were making these important decisions as the war was about to begin. Reuters, like other news services based in Europe, promised to stay in Baghdad despite the risks. The Associated Press is making decisions daily about its deployment in Baghdad, said Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll. The New York Times told its staff members to leave the city, but as the first bombs fell yesterday, a Times' correspondent said he and his colleagues felt it was safer to remain.
Others journalists for U.S. publications who stayed in Baghdad are Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post and Melinda Liu of the Post's sister publication, Newsweek. The only television correspondents still there were Nic Robertson and Rym Brahimi of CNN and Peter Arnett of MSNBC.
Arnett, an Australian, was stationed in Baghdad for CNN throughout the Gulf War of 1991, earning unfair accusations of giving excessive credence to Iraqi statements. He is in Baghdad on assignment from the MSNBC series "National Geographic Explorer," and said he has no plans to leave. "I always stay in places like this," he joked Monday. "I do anything to avoid a New York winter."
Despite the mock bravado, the danger faced by news men and women in war zones is very real. Eight journalists, including two from Reuters, were killed covering the American military action against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.
Baghdad is more dangerous now than it was during the first Gulf War because it is a primary objective of the U.S.-led forces. Western journalists also face a greater risk of being taken as hostages or being overtaken by civil disorder.
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC agreed to share any video footage from Baghdad during the first 24 hours of war, as they did on Sept. 11, 2001, following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Western news agencies have asked permission from the Iraqi government to continue their work outside the Ministry of Information building in central Baghdad, but that building, which has two anti-aircraft guns on the roof, is a potential target of a U.S. attack.
"What concerns me," said Eason Jordan, CNN's chief news executive, before the bombing started, "is if we abandon Baghdad and have to rely on Iraqi journalists, then the reporting would fall short. And that would be a disservice to our viewers."
Hundreds of American journalists accompanying U.S. troops had been expected to arrive soon in Baghdad. We can only hope that when they do make it into the city, they will be greeted by Arnett and other courageous journalists who decided that this story is significant enough for them to take the enormous risk of reporting it from the scene.
BACK TO TOP |
FLOWERS, photographs and other mementos placed at a palm tree near Haleiwa serve as a memorial to the five people who died there Tuesday and as a reminder of the consequences of reckless driving. Deadly wreck offers
vivid safety lesson
THE ISSUE Five people are killed in a North Shore crash that involved speeding and drinking.The sorrow of the victims' families and friends cannot be assuaged by the knowledge that attention to safety might have prevented the accident, but should make others think twice when tempted to mix driving with excessive speed and alcohol.
Three men and two teenage boys were killed in an accident on Kamehameha Highway that involved one car overtaking others, then one of those trying to regain its position. Passing on a two-lane highway is a risky maneuver in the best of conditions. In the dark, after a night of partying and at speeds exceeding 80 mph, the danger is magnified -- as evidenced by the severity of the crash that almost ripped the car in two.
"A lot of innocent lives were lost because they like to speed and they think they have control," said Mary Tampon, an aunt of three of the dead. "But they don't have control."
The mother of two of the victims said her sons and their companions, who were returning home from a birthday celebration, had been drinking, but were not drunk. However, authorities have determined that alcohol consumption, along with speeding, was partly to blame for the accident. This can hardly lessen the mother's anguish, nor can the recognition that this tragedy could have been avoided.
BACK TO TOP
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comMary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (USPS 249460) is published daily by
Oahu Publications at 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.
Periodicals postage paid at Honolulu, Hawaii. Postmaster: Send address changes to
Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802.
