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U.S. Military: Censorship Was Justified

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NNN0LHI Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 03:42 PM
Original message
U.S. Military: Censorship Was Justified
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6470894,00.html

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - The U.S. military asserted that an American soldier was justified in erasing journalists' footage of the aftermath of a suicide bombing and shooting in Afghanistan last week, saying publication could have compromised a military investigation and led to false public conclusions.

The comments came Friday in response to an Associated Press protest that a U.S. soldier had forced two freelance journalists working for the AP to delete photos and video at the scene of violence March 4 in Barikaw, eastern Afghanistan. At least eight Afghans were killed and 34 wounded. snip

The AP disputed the assertions.

``That is not a reasonable justification for erasing images from our cameras,'' said AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll in New York. ``AP's journalists in Afghanistan are trained, accredited professionals working at an appropriate distance from the bombing scene. In democratic societies, legitimate journalists are allowed to work without having their equipment seized and their images deleted.''

Afghan witnesses and gunshot victims said U.S. forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot along at least a six-mile stretch of road from Barikaw following the suicide attack against the Marine convoy. The U.S. military said insurgents also fired on American forces during the attack. One Marine was wounded.

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fooj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 03:48 PM
Response to Original message
1. F*ck them. They expect us to believe their line of BS?
led to false public conclusions.

Give me a break.
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MUAD_DIB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 03:49 PM
Response to Original message
2. But it's okay. Americans are the good guys.
:eyes:
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lpbk2713 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 03:54 PM
Response to Original message
3. Ludicrous.




Those who did the censoring reviewed the case and decided they did OK? :shrug:

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this the same Army who looked at Walter Reed and said everything was just fine and dandy until the public became aware of what a rat hole it is?







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Selatius Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 03:55 PM
Response to Original message
4. That's bullshit. This is things the Nazis the and Communists did.
You can't claim to fight for freedom of speech when you crush it in the process.
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hughee99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 04:01 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. Come on now...
Edited on Mon Mar-12-07 04:01 PM by hughee99
Not to stick up for the Nazis or Communists, but it's not like the US military is known for allowing full media access (at any point in it's history) either. It's wrong no matter who does it, but this isn't breaking new ground for them either.
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Selatius Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 04:08 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. Then they shouldn't claim to fight for freedom either if they like to stomp on it.
If they're not going to give the American public a square deal, then they should quit with the whole "good guys" meme and simply adopt a more realistic message: Hey, you can choose to live in a depressed, poverty-stricken community, or you can get out of that situation by joining the military provided you aren't fooled, tricked, led into war by corrupt politicians and come home dead.
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hughee99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 04:15 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. I 100% agree on this...
but in every war the U.S. Military (and U.S. leaders) have claimed to be fighting for freedom yet censored the press. This isn't really exclusive to the Nazis or Communists.
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ThomCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 03:59 PM
Response to Original message
5. If we allow that answer to stand
then the military has permission to control every image we see. They can always claim it was necessary.
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Supersedeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 04:21 PM
Response to Original message
9. Bet the media doesn't touch this--they go to the mat for Judy Miller and pass on this
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truebrit71 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 04:26 PM
Response to Original message
10. Bullshit. What about installing a democracy at gunpoint? Aren't you 'free' in a democracy?
Total bullshit...

Smells like another cover-up...have they learned nothing?
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EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 04:27 PM
Response to Original message
11. Fuck them. n/t
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Tierra_y_Libertad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-12-07 04:29 PM
Response to Original message
12. Erasing evidence is "conducting an investigation"?
Oh, I forgot, it's the military - defenders of freedom.
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