Posted by
Reeson on Friday, October 20, 2006 8:36:29 AM
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, CNN aired video footage of insurgent snipers targeting U.S. military personnel in Iraq. A CNN executive defended the airing of the video as part of the network's effort to present the "unvarnished truth" about the the war to the American people.
Now, the CNN video does not show the actual bullet strikes, nor does it identify the victims. But it doesn't take much imagination to figure out the result when you hear the shot ring out.
Okay, CNN has the right to air the video. As a military officer, I have taken an oath to defend that right, and will do so to my dying breath. But does that make it okay for CNN?
Legalities aside, showing such footage is insensitive and in plain bad taste. What about the husbands, wives, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. that have loved ones in Iraq? Isn't enough that they worry every waking minute about the safety of our soldiers? Isn't enough that the news is saturated with the attacks, and the bombs, and the blood from Iraq, but almost never airs footage of the school building, medical services, and humanitarian missions that go on every day?
Why is this necessary? Is CNN trying to turn public opinion against the war even more than it already is? I submit that the influence of opinion is not their job. To report the news is.
CNN should start with a more balanced approach to what is going in Iraq and get away from the "If it bleeds, it leads" mentality. The truth about the war is that for every act of violence in Iraq, there are hundreds of acts of compassion and humanity. How about some video of that?