The Conversation Hour, 612 ABC
Brisbane -- 29:10
As a war correspondent in
Baghdad, Mick Ware works in the most dangerous place
in the world: He's been threatened, held hostage,
narrowly avoided bombs and tanks and has caught a few
life-threatening diseases to boot. It's a long way
from Brisbane Grammar School, where Michael completed
his education, but he's just been appointed as CNN's
Baghdad correspondent.
Michael began his journalism career in earnest at The
Courier Mail, before moving to Time in Sydney, then
New York and covering the 'War on Terror' first from
Afghanistan, then Iraq. In Afghanistan, Michael
relied on the most basic journalistic skills. "This
is what a lot of people lose sight of - doing your
homework, paying attention and listening," he says.
"Afghanistan was completely alien to me... I spent
the first few weeks trying to find out what
Afghanistan was really about... I dressed like an
Afghan - it's about immersing yourself."
In Afghanistan he spent time with members of the
Taliban. "It's like opening a refrigerator door --
really quite chilly -- to know that these groups are
responsible for the this historic event [September
11], and then be sitting in a room with these men...
It's like you're touching history... From Brisbane,
transported to some safe house with men in black
turbans and Kalashnikovs with this glint in their
eye."
Michael believes that many Americans have had enough
of the war in Iraq. "America is tired," he says.
"They don't want to hear about the war, by and
large... It's just grinding them down... The boys are
coming home in body bags; boys are coming home
without limbs... To hear that it isn't going well and
that the ultimate solutions may be unpalatable is not
welcome news."
However, Michael says America is unable to withdraw.
"It would be mayhem... No one would be able to really
effectively exercise control... You'd see a
proliferation of terrorist camps... Whether you're
for or against the war, it's too late, America. You
broke it, you pay for it."