These are posts from my time in Baghdad working for CNN (2/26-3/25):
One of the cool things you get to cover sometimes are raids conducted by the military. They can comprise of many things from, a sweep of an area to an all out night shoot out raid that we’ve all seen in the movies. Most of the time the reporter goes alone with a cameraman, but I got sent out on one recently. It was a neighborhood sweep near the UN compound in east Baghdad. At one point the area was to be home to some of Saddam’s senior commanders, but most of the homes were unfinished due to the invasion. Iraqi Shiias moved in and either finished building some of the houses or made due with what had been completed.
As the helicopters buzzed around providing support to the US troops that had moved ahead, the commander of the battalion and I walked through the area along with the Iraqi troops that were there to learn how to conduct these sorts of operatons. He likened the experience to “herding cats.” An apt description if I do say so myself as we watched them fumble and goof through the fields and houses that, luckily, had been swept recently and were relatively safe. Nonetheless, it was a good experience to observe US troops interacting with Iraqi troops. The US commanders treated them really well, were patient, and the Iraqis seemed to respect them. They looked up to them and seemed to really want to learn from them. A good experience for a cynic.
Within this press realm you’ve got many characters streaming in and out. From journalists to people doing what they’ve always wanted to do, whatever that may be. Even the ethically challenged Geraldo of FOX News made his way here and walked right into a perfect self-promoting live TV segment by getting shot at. At one point he even said, as he had the cameraman push in on the chip in the windshield caused by one of the many bullets fired at a car he had been riding in, “And this one here, this was meant for me folks. Thank God for bullet proof glass.” Yes, thank God.
Another minor FOX News celebrity — at least to us — is a lanky, long-nosed young chap named Alistair. The first time I saw him, I thought he was an intern or someone’s little flunky. He just looked up tight. But he’s a celebrity to us because of one singualr quote, that really, only an uptight Brit could utter. There was a press conference going on at the convention center and it appeared as though Alistair had been having a bad day. Maybe someone mentioned to him how the checkered bow-tie, stripped shirt, and checkered blazer he was wearing was a fashion faux-pas, even here in the desert. Regardless, his camerman asked for some help b/c his bureau was not seeing video from the convention center. They re-checked their connections and various other things to no avail. Alistair was getting calls form a nervous bureau trying to find out what was going on, clearly he was getting frustrated. Then the engineer yells out to him, “Hey, start eyeballing the cords and see if anything’s unplugged.” Alistair replies, “I’m on the phone!” He hangs up, turns around shaking his fists and yelps out to no one in particular, “Eyeballing isn’t even a verb!” They soon found the problem, one of their electrical cords had been unplugged from the wall.
From ‘eyeballing’ to yee-awwhhh. Several months ago, before I got here, two rockets were fired at the Palestine Hotel from the circle (or roundabout) across the street. There was little damage reported but there was plenty of evidence to show how the rockets had been fired. Two donkeys were on fire and making a very loud ruckus in the circle. Why? Because thier asses were singed. Apparently, the poor donkeys were used as the launch pad. The next day the Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt reported that the donkeys were treated by a vet, and donated to a farm.
An Iraqi ABC cameraman died from a gunshot wound last week while he was filming a firefight. He’s only the latest. I don’t know how many Iraqis or even just journalists this makes but these guys are fearless. Especially, the local guys that all of the networks use. They have recently become targeted for working with the media or the Coalition. Cameramen, translators, fixers, women who work with us or the Coalition — these guys help keep us human, keep us sane, and remind us that Iraq is about more than just the rest of the world.