Nixon, in later years, declared when the question first arose he should have publically burned the tapes in a bonfire on the White House lawn.

I expect Eason and his ilk to hold just such a bonfire really soon.

But I’m surprised nobody else is drawing the Eason/Nixon parallels.

One additional item. The US military was absolutely explicit in its statesments prior to the onset of hostilities that they were not undertaking in any way to provide security for non-embedded reporters. Additionally, I am unaware of any claims that any journalist applying for embed status within prescribed time limits was denied.

The journalists and their sponsoring organizations are themselves responsible for the outcome. Kinda gives new meaning to the phrase “terminal stupidity”.

You have hit the nail squarely on the head. The reason that the rules and customs of war ban those in civilian attire from engaging in military acts is to protect innocent lives. When you cannot distinguish between combatants and non-combatants on the battlefield everybody becomes fair game.

Same thing goes for false surrenders. When combatants ambush their opponents with false surrenders it places those who actually wish to surrender in jeopardy.

The pro-communist left accused the US of war crimes during the Linebacker II strikes because we bombed a hospital clearly marked with the Red Cross symbol. When Telford Taylor, the Nuremberg Prosecutor, investigated the incident for the pro-Hanoi faction, he discovered that the NVA had placed AAA batteries on top of the hospital. [Which itself was at the end of a military runway]

Taylor concluded that the NVA was responsible for the attack on the hospital because they violated the conditions of the Red Cross.

So indeed, if journalists have been shot by US forces while they cover an engagement, it is merely an outcome of an environment where unlawful combatants operate. We can solve this problem by putting the unlawful combatants on notice that they will be treated in the manner of the traditional customs of war. Unlawful combatants are Hors de Combat, i.e., executed on the battlefield. Reporters will then understand that mixing in with terrorists and murders will more then likely get them shot instead of a scoop. Mr. Jordan should blame the unlawful combatants and not the US military.

The situation in Iraq is one in which the terrorists attacking coalition forces and the Iraqi people are unwilling to have “a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance” and who are not “conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war” (3rd Geneva Convention). How on earth are our soldiers expected to act? People in civilian clothes are shooting at them, blowing them up, and “journalists” are mixed among the terrorists.

I ask this: on whom does the responsibility lie here? Jordan has tried to blame the US military in his weaselly way and those who want to drink this kool-aid are slurping it up. If the terrorists and “journalists” were clearly marked there would be no problem. They have made their decisions. If accidents occur they are culpable.

And by the way, if the tape won’t be released, which US Senator or Congressman does Eason Jordan want to tell us is lying?

Why not focus on the location of the “fair and balanced” boys? Are they in an “undisclosed location” on this? I thought they were supposedly working with a ‘new’ template. Their silence is as deafening as it is damning. It’s not like Murdoch has to crack his billfold to actually pay any additional reporters.

No doubt some of them indeed have been killed in battle, but perhaps that’s because they are terrorists with cameras, not innocent journalists.

What we have is a report first published on the web. It was not picked up by MSM forever reason. There is a firestorm of sorts on this topic on the web. MSM is trying to ignore it. When it feels it must respond, then you get Howard?s article.

Whether MSM likes Eason is not important. Whether he said this is not important. What they want to do is to once again gain control of information. By not following up, MSM is telling all of us, we still have the power to determine what is news and what is not news.