April 2003 journalist killings by the United States
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On April 8, 2003, three locations in Baghdad housing journalists were fired upon by U.S. armed forces during 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing three journalists and wounding four.
Al Jazeera's office
Two
Palestine Hotel
A
At the time, Company A of the
In 2008, whistleblower Sgt. Adrienne Kinne, a former Arabic linguist in U.S. Army Intelligence, reported that she had seen secret documents listing the Palestine Hotel as a possible military target before the 2003 shelling incident in which it was targeted. [2]
Abu Dhabi's office
Office of the United Arab Emirates satellite channel Abu Dhabi was hit by air strikes. The station aired the picture of Iraqi fire from beneath the camera.[citation needed]
Responses to the three in general
Pentagon
During a briefing from The Pentagon on April 8, a reporter asked "(...) There are reports that a tank took small arms and perhaps R.P.G. fire from the direction of the hotel, although journalists say that they saw no sign of it. Do you think that's reason enough for a tank to fire a round at the hotel where you know there are unarmed journalists?"[3]
Major General Stanley McChrystal answered "(...) particularly with this war, journalists have been closer to coalition soldiers than probably ever before with the embedded program, and those who are not. (...) When [forces] get into combat in the cities, which, from the beginning, we had specifically said would be dangerous and difficult, you put yourself in their position, they had the inherent right of self-defense. When they are fired at, they have not only the right to respond, they have the obligation to respond to protect the soldiers with them and to accomplish the mission at large (...)."[3]
U.S. Central Command
At a briefing in Doha, Qatar, Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks said of the Al Jazeera attack, "This coalition does not target journalists. We don't know every place journalists are operating on the battlefield. It's a dangerous place indeed."[4]
Governments
On March 8, Spanish and Portuguese governments insisted that all the journalists of the countries evacuate from Baghdad.[citation needed]
Journalist and civil organizations
Committee to Protect Journalists sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to demand investigation. Reporters Without Borders demanded proof from Donald Rumsfeld that the incidents "were not deliberate attempts to dissuade the media from reporting."[5] Amnesty International demanded independent investigation.[citation needed]
Report of Committee to Protect Journalists
On May 27, 2003, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published a report of their investigation into the tank shelling of the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003. After interviewing "about a dozen reporters who were at the scene, including two embedded journalists who monitored the military radio traffic before and after the shelling occurred" the CPJ determined that the facts suggest that the "attack on the journalists, while not deliberate, was avoidable". The CPJ determined that the tank's intended target was an Iraqi forward artillery observer when it hit the hotel. The report went on to say "CPJ has learned that Pentagon officials, as well as commanders on the ground in Baghdad, knew that the Palestine Hotel was full of international journalists and were intent on not hitting it."[6]
See also
Notes
- ^ Zucchino, David: "Thunder Run, The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad", Grove Press, 2004.
- ^ "DEMOCRACY NOW! EXCLUSIVE: FMR. Military Intelligence SGT. Reveals US Listed Palestine Hotel in Baghdad as Target Prior to Killing of Two Journalists in 2003". Democracy Now!.
- ^ a b "A NATION AT WAR: FOR THE RECORD BRIEFING AT THE PENTAGON". The New York Times. April 9, 2003. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ Freeze, Colin (April 9, 2003). "Three journalists killed in Baghdad battle". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ "Reporters Without Borders accuses US military of deliberately firing at journalists". April 8, 2003. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ "cpj.org". Archived from the original on February 5, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2006.
Sources
- At Least 3 Journalists Die in Blast at Baghdad Hotel The New York Times (registration required)
- News Organizations in Baghdad Fired / Three Correspondents Died Asahi Shimbun (Japanese)
- Three foreign journalists killed in Baghdad AFP via Yahoo news
- Spanish Government to Demand Explanation to the U.S. for Death of its Cameraman Asahi Shimbun (Japanese)
- In Spain, Premier Is Focus of Anger at Journalist Deaths in Iraq The New York Times (registration required)
- Briefing at the Pentagon: 'We Choose Targets Carefully to Avoid Civilians' The New York Times (registration required)