Review Edited by Mike Hoyt, John Palatella, and the staff of the Columbia Journalism Review, Reporting Iraq, An Oral History Of The War By The Journalists Who Covered It, Melville Publishing House, 2007

  

In 2006 the Columbia Journalism Review got three reporters to interview journalists who’d been in Iraq about their experiences. A total of 46 people were included which led to this book Columbia Journalism Review, Reporting Iraq, An Oral History Of The War By The Journalists Who Covered It. The book covers 2003-2006 and has short excerpts from the interviews.

 

Several topics are covered with the three most interesting being the change in security from 2003-2004, the debate about good and bad stories about Iraq and how Iraqis were mistreated and killed by U.S. troops.

 

All the journalists who were in Iraq for the invasion noted that within a year the environment in Iraq dramatically changed. Right after the fall of Saddam reporters could go anywhere in the country and everyone they met were happy to talk. Journalists made day trips to places like Fallujah and Mosul that a year later were mostly off limits due to the insurgency. Iraqis also wanted to tell their stories and were forthcoming with the media. By the start of 2004 reporters had to cut back on their movement, hire security, buy armored cars, and came to rely upon their Iraqi staff more and more to find stories. Not only was there the insurgency but the Shiite militias and criminal gangs that were kidnapping people. Iraqis also became afraid to be seen talking to foreigners because they could be killed as a result.

 

Vivienne Walt, who was a freelancer, talked about one time she went to a Baghdad hospital to talk to women about honor killings. Someone heard her speaking English and next thing she knew she was told that there were armed men looking for her. Luckily she was able to get out of the hospital.

 

Liz Sly who was working for the Chicago Tribute at the time talked about how she had to move offices three times. The first time it was hit by a rocket. Then they had to move into a hotel after a kidnapping. Then that was destroyed by two suicide bombers.

 

Second as the war in Iraq started going badly there was a pushback in the United States especially amongst Republicans that the media was only writing about the bad and ignoring the good that was happening. The journalists interviewed were largely annoyed and angered by this debate. Several said it wasn’t their job to write “good stories”. Many others noted that people who criticized the media had no idea what was happening in Iraq.

 

Dexter Filkins for example who was embedded with the Marines during the 2^nd Battle of Fallujah reported that ¼ of the unit he was with was killed or wounded. He got complaints from Americans accusing him of lying. People didn’t seem to want to know what was going on they just wanted their political views reaffirmed.

 

The most striking part of the collection is about how the U.S. military routinely killed and mistreated Iraqi citizens and journalists.

 

Chris Hondoros a photographer with Getty Images was on patrol with a U.S. unit in Tal Afar. A car came speeding up, the soldiers fired warning shots but the vehicle didn’t stop so they shot it up. Inside they found two dead parents and six kids one of which was hit. The children said they were trying to get home because it was past curfew. They didn’t even see the American soldiers and the warning shots only made them drive faster to get out of the area. This happened again and again with American troops.

 

Journalist Ali Fadhil talked about how his house was raided by American forces. An American reporter was kidnapped and someone said she was being held at Fadhil’s house. The army blew out his front and back doors, smashed up all the furniture and beat Fadhil, his father and brother in laws. He was eventually able to convince the soldiers that he was a reporter and the victim wasn’t there. The Americans ended up taking him away for questioning anyways. He was given compensation money but it didn’t make up for the humiliation that the family faced.

 

Yasser Salihi worked for Knight Ridder. He went out to get gas for his car and drove near a checkpoint where he was shot and killed by a sniper. The Americans said he was driving too fast.

 

These were just snapshots of what the Iraqi public was facing at the hands of the Americans. It explains a lot why the U.S. occupation failed and so many supported the insurgency and militias.

 

Reporting Iraq is a worthwhile read. The journalists give some real insights into not only what it was like to work in Iraq but why it turned into a fiasco for the Americans and the heavy price Iraqis paid.

 

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