I may annoy the one person on the Turner.com domain who checks the site out by hammering CNN here for a few minutes, but I'm going to take that chance.
On Wednesday, October 18, CNN aired an insurgent video as part of a piece by Michael Ware. The report, broadcast on the network's "Anderson Cooper 360" program, shows the deaths of American servicemen from the vantage point of a Muslim sniper. The picture fades to black for a brief moment at the moment the American servicemen are hit.
The report in question, appears below:
(If you cannot see the video above, please click here to see it on YouTube or here to see it on the CNN website.)
CNN aired this piece under the guise of "presenting the unvarnished truth." In a written defense of why they aired the tape, called...oddly enough..."Why we aired the sniper video," producer David Doss provides the following rationale:
One had Al-Shimary himself on camera -- his face electronically concealed -- responding to Michael's questions. The second tape surprised us even more. It documented 10 incidents of insurgent snipers attacking U.S. military personnel. To be clear, insurgents shot the tape themselves. This group has released similar tapes in the past. Indeed, you can find them on the Internet. But this tape uniquely included audio from the sniper team as they selected targets, waited for their opportunities and then praised Allah as they made their escapes.
We are assuming they included the sniper tape to prove the authenticity of the Al-Shimary interview tape and to establish their credibility. Of course, we also understood that some might conclude there is a public relations benefit for the insurgents if we aired the material, especially on CNN International. We also understood that this kind of footage is upsetting and disturbing for many viewers. But after getting beyond the emotional debate, we concluded the tape meets our criteria for newsworthiness.
One might not only conclude that there is a public relations benefit for the insurgents by airing that video, but they would also be correct in making that conclusion. There is no benefit to showing that video to Americans, regardless of what CNN says.
It would be one thing if CNN had a reporter embedded with a military unit and happened to catch the moment of a soldier being shot. That's an entirely different debate. However, what we have here is video, provided by the insurgents, of them cutting down American servicemen with bullets. That video can surve no other purpose than to bolster the terrorists.
I understand that CNN claims to be presenting the "unvarnished truth," but if that were the case why doesn't CNN air video of American snipers or of American servicemen killing insurgents. Sure, they show bombs going off, but I can't ever recall CNN showing terrorists being mowed down by bullets.
Is the tape newsworthy? I think that's debatable, personally. I think the question that really ought to be asked is why did CNN not immediately go to CentCom with this tape and the relevant information so that American officials could...oh, I don't know...KILL THE TERRORISTS?!?!? The only "unvarnished truth" that seem to be here is that CNN cared more about getting this tape on the air than keeping American servicemen out of a sniper's crosshair.
How can any representative of CNN, whether they're embedded with the United States Military or stationed in the green zone not pass this information along?
Instead, they air this footage as a terrorist snuff film of American soldiers. Disgusting. Reprehensible.
CNN should lose its access in Iraq and any embeds they have today. End of story. This is a war and CNN has to realize that they're not only failing at being impartial, but they're also providing aid and comfort to the enemy in the virtual sense.
Sorry, Turner.com Person, but CNN blew it. Big time.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com
