CNN - Show Us Your True Colors!
Kim Priestap at Wizbang Blog posts Rep. Duncan Hunter Wants CNN Reporters Embedded with US Troops in Iraq Removed - Wizbang. In the post there are several quotes from Rep. Duncan Hunter and Rep. Brian Bilbray calling into question the motives of CNN for showing the footage.
I received the following weasel-worded response to my complaint to them for showing the video:
Thank you for your email regarding the insurgent sniper segment and for providing us the opportunity to respond to your concern.
Michael Ware was not with the insurgents. No CNN staffer was present during the making of the insurgent sniper video.
Through an intermediary, CNN sent a list of questions to a group of insurgents. They sent back videotaped answers and this sniper video.
To be clear: We were not embedded with the insurgency and did not meet or spend any time with the snipers.
As you know from seeing the videotape, we dipped to black at the moment of impact. We did not show any Americans being shot.
That decision — in fact, all the decisions about this story — were subject to hours of intense editorial discussion at the highest levels here at CNN. The insurgent videotapes were reviewed very carefully, not only by CNN journalists, but also with the advice and guidance of a recently retired US Marines sniper and CNN’s military analyst, Brigadier General David Grange (Retired). In particular, General Grange was able to advise on the significance of the insurgent use of snipers from his extensive service as a Ranger, Green Beret, and as a member of Delta Force.
If you have not yet seen Michael Ware’s story, it is available for viewing at CNN.com.
Again, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to respond.
Respectfully,
CNN
It’s good to know that no CNN staffers or reporters were injured in the production of this disgusting video. They are, after all, the real victims of this - trying to just do their jobs and getting caught between two differing viewpoints.
To steal the quote from the end of Kim Priestap’s post:
American reporters, especially those at CNN, must clarify who they really are: patriots or subversives? At this point, CNN looks like a bunch of seditious scoundrels to me.
