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American POWs in Iraq

CNN: Iraq: U.S. POWs to be shown on TV

Video of American prisoners of war is to be shown on Iraqi television, Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said Sunday.

“In a few hours time you will see the American captives on Iraqi television, those who tried to invade Suk al-Shoukh, and you will see the burnt armor and vehicles,” said Ramadan, initially rumored to have been killed during Thursday’s “decapitation attack” on Baghdad.

And they were shown on Iraqi television.

BBC: Iraqi TV shows US prisoners

Iraqi television has broadcast a video of five American soldiers it says were captured around the southern city of Nasiriya.

It also showed pictures of at least four bodies, said to be dead American soldiers. Two of the bodies were shown to be lying on a road next to what appeared to be a water-carrying vehicle and a tow truck

Two of the captured, including a 30-year-old woman, appeared to have been wounded. One of the men was lying on the floor on a rug.

The five, who are believed to be the first coalition prisoners taken by Iraq, were questioned on air and gave their names, military identification numbers and home towns.

Identified

They identified themselves as “Edgar from, Texas”, “James Reilly, 31, from New Jersey”, “Joseph Hasan from El-Paso, Texas”, “Shauna from Texas” and “Private Miller from Kansas”. Some said they were from the 507th maintenance company.

The Americans were also asked to give their views of the war.

Asked why he had come to Iraq, Private Miller said he “was told to come here”.

He said he had come to fix “broke stuff”.

Asked why he was fighting Iraqis, he said: “they don’t bother me, I don’t bother them.”

He said he did not “want to kill anybody”.

When asked how many officers were in his unit, he replied: “I don’t know sir”..

Asked why he had come to Iraq, Joseph Hasan said: “I follow orders”.

He was then asked if Iraqis had greeted him with “music or with guns”. He replied a number of times that he did not understand.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Iraqi television footage was a violation of the Geneva Convention.

The 10-minute video, which was relayed by the Arab satellite station al-Jazeera, was shown on Sunday 1523 GMT.

Reuters: Iraq Shows Dead and Captured U.S. Soldiers

Iraqi television showed film on Sunday of at least four bodies, said to be U.S. soldiers, and five prisoners who said they were American.

Two of the prisoners, including a woman, appeared to be wounded. One was lying on the floor on a rug.

They were the first U.S. prisoners known to have been taken by Iraq. The prisoners were questioned on air and gave their names, military identification numbers and home towns.

The bodies and prisoners were shown on Iraqi television, relayed by Al-Jazeera, which said the dead and wounded came from a battle near the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya, where U.S. Marines are fighting for control.

The first prisoner shown gave his name as Miller and said he was from Kansas.

Asked why he had come to Iraq he replied: “Because I was told to come here. I was just under orders. I was told to shoot — only if I’m shot at. I don’t want to kill anybody.”

Earlier, Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said that enemy soldiers captured at the southern town of Souq al-Shuyukh near Nassiriya would soon be shown on state television.

General Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC television some Americans — fewer than 10 — were missing in southern Iraq.

Souq al-Shuyukh is southeast of the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya, where U.S. Marines have reported resistance on their northward sweep from Kuwait.

Rumsfeld: Iraqi Footage Violations Geneva Convention

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Sunday Iraqi television footage apparently showing American prisoners of war was a violation of the Geneva Convention.

On CBS “Face the Nation,” Rumsfeld was shown footage relayed by the Arabic satellite station Al-Jazeera that Iraq television claimed were captive U.S. soldiers.

“That’s a violation of the Geneva Convention, those pictures you showed,” Rumsfeld said of the international law on treatment of prisoners of war. He said the convention prohibits the photographing or interrogation by media of those captured in battle.

Geneva Conventions on treatment of POWs

And BBC is in hot water for airing footage of Bush being primped before his Wednesday address to the country.

We Begin Combing in Five Minutes!

The White House is vowing a strong retaliatory response after the BBC aired live video of President Bush getting his hair coiffed in the Oval Office as he squirmed in his chair and practiced on the teleprompter minutes before Wednesday night’s speech announcing the launch of military operations against Saddam Hussein.

The British network broadcast 1 minute and 37 seconds of presidential primping to hundreds of millions of viewers in 200 countries around the world (and locally on WETA, Channel 26) before Bush’s formal address at 10:15 p.m. Yesterday the BBC’s White House producer, Mark Orchard, profusely and repeatedly apologized to irked staffers for airing video of an “unauthorized” portion of the pool feed while Washington anchor Mishal Husain chatted up a colleague about the significance of the moment.

The Smoking Gun has more.

I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam

I wanted to join the human shields in Baghdad because it was direct action which had a chance of bringing the anti-war movement to the forefront of world attention. It was inspiring: the human shield volunteers were making a sacrifice for their political views - much more of a personal investment than going to a demonstration in Washington or London. It was simple - you get on the bus and you represent yourself.

So that is exactly what I did on the morning of Saturday, January 25. I am a 23-year-old Jewish-American photographer living in Islington, north London. I had travelled in the Middle East before: as a student, I went to the Palestinian West Bank during the intifada. I also went to Afghanistan as a photographer for Newsweek.

The human shields appealed to my anti-war stance, but by the time I had left Baghdad five weeks later my views had changed drastically. I wouldn’t say that I was exactly pro-war - no, I am ambivalent - but I have a strong desire to see Saddam removed.

We on the bus felt that we were sympathetic to the views of the Iraqi civilians, even though we didn’t actually know any. The group was less interested in standing up for their rights than protesting against the US and UK governments.

I was shocked when I first met a pro-war Iraqi in Baghdad - a taxi driver taking me back to my hotel late at night. I explained that I was American and said, as we shields always did, “Bush bad, war bad, Iraq good”. He looked at me with an expression of incredulity.

As he realised I was serious, he slowed down and started to speak in broken English about the evils of Saddam’s regime. Until then I had only heard the President spoken of with respect, but now this guy was telling me how all of Iraq’s oil money went into Saddam’s pocket and that if you opposed him politically he would kill your whole family.

Old news, but still worth pointing out: The following cartoon has sparked protest for The Diamondback, an independent student newspaper for the University of Maryland.

Staff Editorial: To reject cartoon is to reject free speech

Our View: We stand by our decision to run Tuesday’s controversial cartoon. Some find it offensive, but censoring it would go back on our values.

Our decision to publish an editorial cartoon on this page Tuesday ignited an international controversy. The cartoon quickly became fodder on Arab and Palestinian activist websites and e-mail listservs. As of last night, we had received close to 2,000 e-mails and hundreds of phone calls from all over the world. Plus, more than 60 people protested outside our offices yesterday and about a third of that crowd plans to continue until today.

The spotlight is turned around. Instead of The Diamondback calling out members of the university for various decisions, university community members - along with thousands around the world - are calling out The Diamondback. On dozens of issues this year, readers have objected to content published in our newspaper. But never at this level, never at this volume and never with this passion. The outcry certainly gets us thinking. We reexamined the cartoon, contacted The Diamondback’s lawyer to ask if the cartoon was libelous (he said no), and debated whether we screwed up.

Though many staff members objected to the cartoon’s viewpoint, the editors unanimously determined that by apologizing for the cartoon, we would call into question the First Amendment - a blessing from our forefathers every newspaper and every protester in America lives by. We are accused of factual errors, but the cartoon was not a news account and there are conflicting reports on the circumstances surrounding Rachel Corrie’s death. We do not have the resources to report on Ms. Corrie’s death, and different accounts of what happened make it impossible to determine what is fact unless an impartial government or media organization undertakes an in-depth investigation.

(For an explanation of our editorial cartoon policy and more background on the decision, please read a statement posted on our website, www.diamondbackonline.com, by Diamondback Editor in Chief Jay Parsons.)

The same rights that allowed the protesters to rally outside our offices last night allow us to publish the cartoon that so offends them. We respect their rights and insist on ours. To censor the cartoon would be equal to preventing well-meaning individuals from objecting to the cartoon.

I don’t agree with the cartoon myself, but I agree with the editorial decision to run it. Free speach works both ways, thankfully.

Here are some letters to the editor.

Administration blasts Diamondback cartoon

University officials, student leaders and a U.S. congressman blasted The Diamondback yesterday for publishing an editorial cartoon about the death of American pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie, calling the cartoon tasteless and the newspaper an embarrassment to the university.

Officials were outraged by the March 18 editorial cartoon, which depicted Corrie, who was killed Sunday in Gaza after a bulldozer ran her over, as showing “stupidity” for protecting a “gang of terrorists.”

Their opinions reflect most of the approximately 2,000 e-mails and hundreds of phone calls The Diamondback received in the last three days. Students staged an overnight sit-in protest Wednesday and returned yesterday to demand a printed apology, as well as an article honoring Corrie, before they moved to Washington to protest the war in Iraq.

Ann Wylie, chief of staff for university President Dan Mote, called the cartoon “tasteless” and “crude.” She called the newspaper an embarrassment and questioned the reasoning behind publishing the cartoon.

“Mote feels exactly like I do,” Wylie said. “We’re embarrassed. The Diamondback embarrassed the university. People across the world think the University of Maryland is supporting this. [The Diamondback has] damaged me by publishing something as distasteful as this.

“I believe [The Diamondback] has the right do it. The issue is, why did they do it?”

Jay Parsons, editor in chief of The Diamondback, defended editorial cartoonist Daniel J. Friedman and the newspaper’s decision Wednesday, saying the cartoon is an expression of freedom of speech. He said he would not apologize for publishing the cartoon because it would deny First Amendment liberties.

Parsons called the administration’s criticism contradictory after Mote supported freedom of speech in a letter regarding the war in Iraq.

“What is an embarrassment is that we have university administrators who do not practice what they preach,” Parsons said. “The entire university community received an e-mail from Mote promoting tolerance of differing viewpoints. But not one day later, does he and other administrators retreat to pressures that are coming in from the outside. I think it’s hypocritical and goes against everything that higher education is all about.”

Mote could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.

Staff Editorial: Administrative hypocrisy

Our View: The administration has spoken strongly about a recent cartoon in The Diamondback. Take note. This type of enthusiasm doesn’t happen often.

A day after the protesters flooded our hallways, demanding an apology for running a cartoon about the death of pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie, it was time for the university’s administrators to weigh in. And - not surprisingly - we’re not any more popular with them than we are with the protesters.

Provost Bill Destler has asked that we “apologize publicly for this result of the existing low standard” of The Diamondback’s publication policies.

University President Dan Mote did not respond to several requests for comment, but copied to the newsroom an e-mail that expressed “disgust.”

Mote’s chief of staff said we have “embarrassed the university.”

While we will not apologize for the cartoon, we respect their right to voice their concerns and have devoted much of today’s editorial and news space to airing their views.

But we wonder why the administration has spoken with more vigor against this paper than it has against the budget cuts, tuition hikes, student safety or any number of issues that plague this university and affect more students than our cartoon.

We hope it’s not because we’re an easier target. We hope it’s not because they can only be roused when they perceive the need to cover themselves and protect the university’s image. But we doubt it.

Oof.

The Amazing ‘Is That Saddam?’ Quiz!

And yet another report on a missile being shot down over Kuwait. And it was believed to be a Scud.

How accurate is this t-shirt? The world may never know.

Terrorist Attack in SF!

Let’s read the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language’s definition of terrorism: “The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.” Now, let’s read this story. The police have my permission to smack these people back into reality, using whatever force necessary.

Then we have today’s delightful ‘peaceful’ protest for, well, peace in Washington DC.

And how did this happen? 101st Airborne Attacked in Kuwait; 10 Wounded

The camp of the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait was attacked early Sunday with grenades and small arms fire, wounding 10, including six seriously, U.S. military officials said.

“From our reports it appears that a terrorist penetrated Camp Pennsylvania, one or more terrorists threw two hand grenades into a tent,” said George Heath, spokesman at Fort Campbell, home base of the 101st.

He said 10 people were wounded, six seriously.

The injured were rushed to a field hospital but military officials had no word on their conditions, Lt. Cmdr. Charles Owens said from Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar.

The attack, which included small arms fire, happened at a rear base camp of the 101st, near the Iraqi border, U.S. military officials said.

So even our troops can’t stop terrorists? And are military camps supposed to be a bit more secure? Wasn’t that lesson learned in Vietnam, hell, before then?

2140ish UPDATE - There are some reports that the attack was done by a Muslum American soldier. Details are still sketchy.

Ah, it DOES have a name! Sturgeon’s Law /prov./ “Ninety percent of everything is crap”.

Okay, so my protest pictures weren’t this good but, still. Man, I need to get something other than disposable cameras.

Cocktails for Peace! And I’m not talking Red Bull and vodka.

No, in an effort to tell the United States that it must stop the war and give peace a chance, protesters left a backpack with TWELVE Maltov cocktails behind. Yes, violent means must be used so we can create peace.

Sound’s like a certain administration they’re protesting…

I just heard on the radio about six journalists possibly being dead in Iraq. The only articles I’m finding so far is one from the BBC about an Iraqi suicide attack at a border crossing that killed four people including an Australian journalist. CNN’s reporting that three British journalists are missing after coming under fire while heading towards Basra. BBC has more. I’m not finding anything on the other two, but the radio had also said nothing was confirmed.

Now, all deaths in this war are shocking and really warrent mentioning. There have been about six total Iraqi civilian deaths since the start of the war which, while any deaths are bad, is a surprizingly low number all things considered. The “shock and awe” campaign injured 200 Iraqi civilians and killed three, but in a city of five million, that’s an amazing number. And that only a few battle casulties have occured for coalition forces is great.

But the loss of journalists is concerning partially for selfish reasons in that I am considering journalism as a career. But, beyond that, it makes it very hard for the media to try and give balanced reporting of everything happening when they’re getting shot at by Iraqi forces. Iraq accuses the media for pushing propoganda and causing problems, but, really, you can’t tell me their shooting at and killing journalists is going to help their cause at all.

No matter what though, the death of journalists happens, just as soldiers and civilians die in war. That is the nature of conflict.

A protest at Lafyette Park in DC (right in front of the White House) had a few folks deciding to laydown in the middle of 16th and H Streets. I happened to be near by, so I figured I’d continue with my campaign to give my mother a heart attack and jump right on in to get some photos. NOTE: These are the best of the bunch, and that’s not saying much. Please give them time to load as they are large pictures and I didn’t bother to make thumbnails and stuff. Yeah, I suck. The fourth picture is the best of the bunch. I’m going to try and get a cleaner version of it.

PS If anyone wishes to use these pictures for personal or, hell, public use, please contact me and let me know where and how the picture is going to be used. That way I can link to ya.

Protest Photos I’ll post more later, but until then go to Shaun’s website and check out what he posted about a protest I came across earlier today.

Optimus Prime is helping the US in Iraq!