Why Journalists Risk Their
Lives to Cover Iraq (B&C)
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Seven war-zone vets on coping, surviving and
telling the great tale
Reported by John M. Higgins and Allison Romano Edited
by Rob Edelstein -- Broadcasting & Cable,
6/5/2006
"Journalists Killed on Duty: 73." This is how the
independent Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
sums up the casualties of war among the print and
electronic press in Iraq.
...
We spoke to several of those who have been most
affected: the members of the press who risk their
lives in Iraq. While their experiences differ, they
remain united in one thing at least: a strong sense
of duty to report this most vital of news stories.
Michael Ware
CNN correspondent; previously Time magazine’s Baghdad
bureau chief
Michael Ware: I was once grabbed by an al-Zarqawi
organization and readied for execution. [Covering a
story in September 2004, Ware was pulled from his
car. A gun was held to the back of his head, and,
after the pin was pulled, a live grenade was held
against him. After a 15-minute negotiation between
opposing forces, he was released.] It happened in the
short course of an afternoon, but it felt like a
lifetime. Fortunately, I was able to get out of that
situation and return. That took a long time to get
over. [But] I stayed in-country.
Ware: Clearly, it’s very hard to distill into one
story the reality of life on the ground. Many of the
soldiers I was with recently in Ramadiyah feel that
people back home are turning off to an extent. They
feel they’re fighting this war in a vacuum. That’s
where you see the true strength of these men. They
continue to do their jobs professionally and bravely.
Ware: It’s being able to watch history unfolding.
It’s as though we’ve been given a front-row ticket to
history. Take the battle of Tall ’Afar, on the Syrian
border. That’s where the Iraqi and U.S. forces took
back the city. I was one of two fortunate journalists
to see that take place.