Edited by author 11-16-2004 08:46 PM
Actually, in defense of the journalist, it's not his/her job to moralise, only report the truth. Transparent media should not make assesments of current situations; that is not what s/he is trained for. Whether the journo knows or not the workings of the law is irrelevent, apart from his or her own transgression of it. I would have thought, having seen other media reports by Kevin that his reporting was actually strongly biased towards the right wing. He is not supposed to be merely a propaganda machine for the soldiers. He is a public reporter. Reporting this only balances it a little. Good reporting Kevin

It is a war, you don't get to decide what to show and what not to show if you are a true journalist. None of these young men are to blame for anything that is going on in Iraq. George Bush and his desire to do what his dad could not do is the reason we are there and yet under that premise we are asking everyone to behave properly. I don't blame the Marine or Kevin. They were both doing their jobs, ugly as that may be. Yes, the behavior of the Marines can be shocking and at times I don't know what to think or feel. Much like them I am sure. Funny how everyone claims this is all for freedom and free speech yet Kevin was suppose to censor, lie, and hide what he saw happen. Pull the journalist out, you must be kidding! So the next place Bush wants to barge into we can feel good about because we won't know the truth. Not all young men and women in this country are in the Armed Forces and they need to see the truth of war. And do you really think that this video is what is going to make the rest of the world mad at us? A little late I think. Please, as much as this all hurts, what happened happened and I for one am glad I know. Why is it that only our troops can be brave, why not our media? The main stream media has been too reserved about this war from the beginning. I choose to believe this Marine was a victim of this war. I cannot believe in my heart these young men go out with the idea of acting like henchmen. Unlike the Iraqi's, I admit. Still, our young men are put in a situation that only those who have been there can know. I can not say what I would have done, most of us can't. That said, I would like to believe I would have done what Kevin did. We can't have it both ways. Our men dying for the freedom of the people in Iraq yet our journalist and media censored? Isn't freedom of the media in Iraq one of the things we would hope for them to attain at the cost of our young men? If they don't have that, our men fought and bled for what? Oh yeah, Bush's agenda. Well, now that we are there and the ultimate sacrifices have been made, I pray that Iraq will know freedom, complete freedom, not what someone else decides. Like, well, your journalist can report this but they can't report that. To anyone I have offened, I am sorry. To Kevin and that young Marine, may God Bless you both and keep you safe and healthy.

OK Ant. You make some good points and my first few posts here was just my venting frustration with the way Western media is covering this war. I shouldn't have attacked you the way I did. I apologize.

Live feeds, biased and sensationalized bylines, pounced upon by liberal 'news' organizations because they keep people glued to their TVs is what's wrong. I have friends in Iraq, anything that endangers their lives, and their ability to do their jobs, really pisses me off.

Edman – true, this was an isolated case - unless it happened to be the only one caught on film. We can only speculate. But if we take that position, we might also take it on Abu Ghraib; the list could go on. To add to that, in Fallujah, we had that Jordanian dirtbag Al Zarqawi given full media attention which has consequently painted all Iraqi resistance as terrorists beheading people which is simply not the case. It works both ways. Those rules apply if we’re dealing with a truly balanced media, but CNN, FOX & all mainstream outlets are anything but fair & balanced.

Sorry, gentlemen, but I was caught watching the majority of "Scarborough Country" (MSNBC). Moderator Pat Buchanan is debating the exact topic we're debating with a Medal of Honor (Vietnam) winner, G. Gordon Liddy, a Time reporter (recently back from Iraq), and a Marine infantry Captain (back from Iraq, wounded). Ironically, they're going over the EXACT points we were, and in many times, using the same words. Anyway, I'm back to the TV. Just thought you'd like to know.