quote of the day

Sounds like the old story of the grunts not being told anything. I can't figuare a reason why the US would intentally attack these reporters.

A Spanish cameraman died in the attack. It was said at the time that US forces had set the hotel as a military objective two days earlier, but nobody told the reporters about that. The Spanish government didn´t even ask for an explanation of the incident to the US secretary of state. So it seems there will be no trial for the murderers or for the one(s) who ordered the attack.

Excuse me, but it was a war zone! And, unlike the civilians who live there, the journalists had a choice to stay or go. They knew the risks, better than we arm-chair generals, by far.

The grunts in the field know only so much. I doubt very much that anyone, even someone armed with the knowledge that there were journalists in that building, who just spent days in combat, would be able to identify the hotel in a strange city with possible shooters around every corner. On top of that, if I hear that my guys are taking fire (true or not) and I see in the distance, some dude on a rooftop or in a window holding a camera (or maybe it's an RPG? Hard to tell when you only have seconds to choose.) I'd take him out. Not gonna wait for him to pull the trigger first. Not much different than pointing a toy gun at a cop and being surprised at being shot. Sorry, dude, better luck next life.

It's a regretable incident. No question about it. Murder? Maybe, but blame the civilian authorities who put the grunts there in the first place.

Save your sympathies for the civilians who lost their lives. They are the ones that had no choice, and paid the ultimate price for [insert today's reason for the war here].

Hmm. The problem is that the reasons given for the shooting have changed. First, it was the snipers. Then that was discarded when journalists said they hadn't seen any. Then it was some guys using binoculars from the roof of the hotel. Then that seemed to get scrapped. And finally this. The fact that they didn't know the hotel had journalists. Seems odd is what I'm saying.

The problem is that you can´t shoot journalists. They´re protected by international laws, just as prisoners of war are. And the assasins knew they were there. Everybody knew, where do you think most of the images you saw on tv were taken from? Another Spanish journalist died under Iraqi fire, but at least he was in the line of fire with the marines, that was the risk he took. The ones in the hotel were not supposed to be in danger. That´s why they were there with all their cameras and equipment. Besides, is it rational to use a tank to response to a sniper? My sympathies go with all the victims in both sides, civilians or not. I think this war was a crime. In a perfect world, everyone responsible for it --including my own government, sadly-- should be judged as criminals against Humanity.

Armchair generals would know the journalists were there because we're getting our information from their reports. The troops in the field get there information from their commanders, who get it from intel, who get it from...?
Therefore I can't hold any blame at all to those in the field or even thier direct commanders, maybe even extend that up a couple of rungs.
However, I do understand your point about saying one thing, then another. That's a serious problem our govt has with nearly everything, here in this land supposedly free, open and run by a govt by for and of the people. We have only token control over our government and they in turn feed us lies. It's an exhausting battle overall and one that seems futile in fighting very much. However, cases like this will get it in the most trouble over the long haul, by creating a larger credibility gap than is already there.

It's easy to second guess from a distance. It's another matter when you hear/feel enemy H.E. going off inches from your head. Plus, your view of the world is entirely thru a small periscope. As stated before, it's a WAR ZONE. Warriors do not think like civilians, especially when being shot at.

"The fog of war" is not just a trite phrase.