|
|
April 08, 2003
Where are the POWs?
And where is the interest in the fate of the POWs? Caught a passing blurb from the Fox Pentagon correspondent a couple of hours ago, stating that Marines searching a prison in South East Baghdad found some bloodied US Army uniforms, indicating that US POWs may have been held there. Just a passing reference, to a confirmation, tacked on as the final item in a laundry list of quick updates. I looked over the Command Post News page, fully expecting to see one or two posts referencing this imprtant discovery. Nothing. Not because nobody picked up on it, but because no one was carrying it. Went ahead and posted the live catch from TV, and went searching for a backing piece of print. I eventually located this Fox News article, after searching through AP, UPI, Reuters, CNN, MSNBC.com, and Yahoo news. What struck me was that all of these outlets have similar coverage of the Marines' activities in the city, but only Fox is referencing the uniform find, and then initially only as an 'also, this' focus. The Pentagon is confirming this, according to Fox's correspondant (my first lead), so the news has gotten from the theater back to the beltway, and into media outlet information streams. Indications of our soldiers in captivity, at the hands of madmen, and it only rates a passing reference? What the hell is up with that? Why isn't this story getting higher visibility? Finally now, at about 10PM EDT, in a teaser to Greta Van Sustern, Fox is featuring the issue. Several hours after this popped up - nothing on the other services. Nothing at Reuters. Nothing on CNN. Not a peep at MSNBC.com. Zip on Yahoo, likewise UPI. Van Sustern and the talking heads chew on it for a few minutes, at the top of the show, to Fox's credit. But where is everyone else on this? Are Fox, and by extension the CP, that much faster than the other outlets, or is this a lack of pickup on their part? I hope it is simply a question of speed. Anything else would be disgraceful. I'm cross posting this issue over at SR. Shining a spotlight on this will be a good thing - while I imagine that US officials aren't going to let us all in on exactly what they're doing to look for these servicemen, but it would be nice if the major news oulets would tell us that the search is on. I'm confident that information on these folks whereabouts is up near the top of the Special Ops guys list of 'things to get in Baghdad.' I think its shameful that our major news outlets are more interested in rehashing the tragic passage of foriegn journos at the Palestine hotel, than updating the nation, and the world, as to the fate and recovery of our servicemen. Posted By Wind Rider at April 8, 2003 10:20 PM | TrackBackComments
Well, there was that whole aspect of Iraqi troops in stolen American army uniforms... You can't tel, justl by looking, that it's an American's blood. Posted by: MA at April 8, 2003 10:32 PMSorry MA, but those stories weren't about stolen uniforms, they were about uniform replicas. If there is anyone that is an expert about what a US uniform looks like, its a US servicemember - and if the Marines are reporting them as US Army uniforms, then they probably know of what they speak. My big problem with the entire thing is the passe reaction to this news by the news outlets so far. They've run around like chickens with their heads cut off the past few days everytime anyone has found a can of bug spray, for example, but this comes up and.......(crickets chirping). Pisses me off, but then again, I carry a Green Card, and there, but by the grace of whatever... Posted by: Wind Rider at April 8, 2003 10:37 PMI think that there's not much overt interest in it in some sort of misguided attempt to protect them. The Iraqis could, as a last gasp, hold them hostage in front of the world. It wouldn't work, but they might be executed as a result. This would be bad. I think as long as the military believes them to still exist corporeally, attempts will be made in earnest to find them. The media is just being, yet again, hyperfocused. Posted by: Jonathan at April 8, 2003 10:39 PMI don't want to sound too horribly pessimistic, but is it possible that the military (and the media) are, like, 99% certain the POWs have already been murdered? And we don't want to say that since there's still a faint hope, but don't want to trumpet the search too much, since we don't expect happy results? Posted by: Sue at April 8, 2003 10:39 PMWR, I understand your frustration and agree with it, however, there is another angle. If the media pay attention to the POW's they will turn it into a bleeding heart crusade and the POWs will become a valuable asset for exploitation by the highest bidder. As the J. Lynch rescue shows, those who can are doing something about it. The rest can only pray. Those who will, are. The media can only screw this up, so let this run silently. Posted by: Richard A. Heddleson at April 8, 2003 11:35 PMThis was posted on the main page at 7:09. A few comments, but not many. http://www.command-post.org/archives/004682.html Posted by: DSmith at April 9, 2003 12:06 AMWR, Tomorrow is POW day. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59117-2003Apr8.html Posted by: Richard A. Heddleson at April 9, 2003 12:33 AMA simple prediction for the next 48 hours. We will find the POWs. Helpful Iraqis will lead us to their remains. Then may God have mercy on the town of Tikrit. Posted by: Chris at April 9, 2003 03:19 PMPost a comment
|