CNN lies

04.15.2003

Instapundit posted a few links about the looting of the historical museums in Baghdad. There's evidence to suggest these were looted before the fall of Baghdad - by fleeing Baath officials.

And here's more on the pro-Hussein slant in CNN coverage. It's quite disturbing. But now that CNN editor Eason Jordan "confessed" to The New York Times, more reporters and staff will probably start spilling their beans. Excerpt:

The next day, I was CNN's reporter on a trip organized by the Ministry of Information to the northern city of Mosul. "Minders" from the ministry accompanied two busloads of news people to an open, plowed field outside Mosul. The purpose was to show us that American warplanes were bombing "innocent Iraqi farmers." Bits of American ordinance were scattered on the field. One large piece was marked "CBU." I recognized it as the canister for a Cluster Bomb Unit, a weapon effective against troops in the open, or against "thin-skinned" armor. I was puzzled. Why would U.S. aircraft launch CBUs against what appeared to be an open field? Was it really to kill "innocent Iraqi farmers?" The minders showed us no victims, no witnesses. I looked around. About 2000 yards distant on a ridgeline, two radar dishes were just visible against the sky. The ground was freshly plowed. Now, I understood. The radars were probably linked to Soviet-made SA-6 surface-to-air missiles mounted on tracks, armored vehicles, parked in the field at some distance from the dishes to keep them safe. After the bombing, the Iraqis had removed the missile launchers and had plowed the field to cover the tracks.

On the way back to Baghdad, I explained to other reporters what I thought had happened, and wrote a report that was broadcast on CNN that night.

The next day, Brent Sadler, CNN's chief reporter at the time in Baghdad (he is now in northern Iraq), came up to me in a hallway of the al Rasheed Hotel. He had been pushing for the interview with Saddam and had urged Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jordan to come to Baghdad to help seal the deal. "Petah," he said to me in his English accent, "you know we're trying to get an interview with Saddam. That piece last night was not helpful."

The reporter quit in disgust shortly after. This makes all the anti-US, weepy-eyed victim Iraqis reporting CNN - and other networks - extremely suspect. If not just plain false. Which is too bad; some of those stories are likely true. But now the credibility gap is too large.

Here's more on this issue. And an email exchange between a CNN anchor and another journalist. What has CNN not told us about Syria? Jordan? The Palestinian Authority? Are they sucking up to tyrants in order to get the freshest scoops? Are CNN editors just slack-eyed boot lickers? I won't trust CNN for a long, long time.

Posted by Miguel at 01:49 PM

Comments

in my part of the world, cnn and other mainstream u.s media are considered (popularly) as giving a skewed and judgemental view of most issues... considering how cnn is basically a corporate organization, one shouldnt expect all so much... corporate journalism and journalists will not stake anything in the search for truth and other such baloney... take the case of fox and sky.. both owned by same corporation yet toeing a completely diferent line... one fact reported in two vastly different ways.. are the people behind schizophrenic? no :) fox caters to a particular segment and so does sky... that then, is how the money rolls in...
cheeers
Q

Posted by: quaterlaine at April 19, 2003 10:11 AM

I am an American missionary in Romania, who has lived in 3 countries overseas (Germany, England and Romania), and I am so tired of the Anti-American News from CNN that it's making me sick to my stomach. Any American, who has lived overseas and viewed the International News from CNN has enough intelligence to know that either CNN has an agenda, or they are determined to make money through the propaganda and lies to the USA, other Nations, and adversaries. Not only does CNN lie to the public to appease the National interest of countries like France, Germany and Russia, but I believe that they are a major cause of bad relations with Americans serving foreign citizens abroad.I am tired of ridiculous communication with Nationals, due to CNN lies and missrepresentation. Many people throughout the world watched a particular incident during the Invasion of Bagdad, when a reporter revealed evidence of tapes and radio transcripts discovered in a Bagdad Building, which revealed Putins direct communication with Saddam up to the last moment of the invasion. They also realize that he was not only cut off by CNN, but never heard from again. This is just one occasion in the many incidents of CNN deception. I believe the the anti-american sentiment that CNN speaks of every 10 minutes on the International News has allot to do with the fabricated information,greed and miserably irresponsible journalism of the CNN Staff. I used to consider a list of jobs I would never like to have, like accountant, and now I realize that CNN Journalist or reporter would be on the top of my worst job list. Where else can you be paid to missrepresent the interests of america, the citizens and President, interview irreputable people with a conclusive agenda prior to the filming, and dedicate your self to International distortion for the sake of what? (the $,power, hidden International objectives). It's a sad fact that anyone (american or foreign) without sufficient education, after viewing CNN on a consistent basis, will tragically and inevitably end up Anti-American. May God have mercy on the souls of people, who are dedicated to free speech without a concientous desire to share the truth.
Thank you for the opportunity of sharing, and thank you for committing yourself to honest journalism. Ciao!

ps Please protect my email from any CNN exposure sir. Since I disstrust their journalism and integrity, I believe they also have the capacity to respond disruptively to serve their objectiives.

Posted by: John Haskell at September 11, 2003 04:59 AM

Is there anybody among you that has just a bit of brains to remember all the media-lies told and still repeated an behalf of the US-government. Sometimes it is as if the US are no better than any dictatorship or any kind of Saeed al Sahef. The whole purpose of going to war, the lies about nuclear weapons told before the whole world as if high ranking politicians (backed by Tenet) were no beteer than 5 year old lying child who wants his candy (=war) anyway, the links between Saddam and Al Qaeda yet nobody tells that Ben Laden and Bush family are quite close, that the Ben Laden family owned shares in the Bush's family oil-concern and in the Houston-airport (cynical but true), nobody speaks of the handshake and visit of Rumsfeld with Saddam in the 1980's (yet the images exist), nobody speaks about the Israeli nuclear weapons. And I could go on and on, remeber Kissinger? why is he forbidding any archive in his concern to be revealed ? Indonesia, Chili,Grenada, Columbia Afghanistan. Who brought Ben Laden and the Taliban together to fight those evil communists? What are the "Scolas de America" about? Know one thing : your journalism is not independent, it used to be, but now thanks to the corporate structure it all depend on a few (not good) men whose interest are closely linked with the governement and other instances who have the power in this country, hence the world.
And another thing : there is no such thing as anti-American. Those who accuse the crimes of certain policymakers should be thanked. Anti-American is just a part of a blame-game to convince that one is right. It used to be "communist" now it's anti-American or terrorist. The biggest anti-Americans are the neo-cons upholding the true freedom that once was a privilege of this country. By attacking the truth and defending culprates just because they took power (not elected since the president did not have a majority) is anti-american. People in the rest of the world are fed up with the US's policy to defend it's economy with war, when they complain about it they are called anti-american, in the end they will become if all American keep defending the dictatorial policy of their government.
But don't you mind just stay scared that's good for business and let your sons be slaughtered for the Texan oil companies, pay your taxes for Enron and the defense budget, slaughter the poor in third world countries and sleep well since your concious already somnulant by the convincing indoctrination of your ass-licking pulitzerprice owning journalists. And when a journalist dares to speek the truth just fire him if he is American and drop a bomb on him if he's dirty arab (once could be coincidence but twice in less than a year com'on!!!!).

Posted by: Lucas Lurren at December 24, 2003 08:31 AM

So. The biggues "anti-Americans" are neo-cons, not a terrorist organization that recently murdered more than 30,000 civilians in a single day. Interesting.

Posted by: Miguel at March 20, 2004 02:20 PM