The US put some rounds into the al-Jazeera office in Baghdad, killing a reporter. Then, they put a few rounds into another room at the Journalist Hotel, killing two cameramen, from Reuters and Spanish TV.
The journalists that were killed were in a combat zone. By definition of the Rules of War, journalists are off limits. Knowing the Rules of Engagement, from a soldier’s point of view, ensures that you don’t fire at non-combatants, which includes Da’Press.
The Press goes along with this, by not doing anything that looks aggressive. They often drive white trucks or SUV’s and write “TV”or “Press” on the roof, hood and doors in black letters, usually with gaffer tape or camera tape. They most often use blue police-colour body armour and purposely avoid wearing anything that looks like fatigues or camouflage clothing, trying to remain as obvious as possible to both sides.
Part of weapons training for police and military is target recognition. At a distance, a video cameraman, with a Sony Betacam on the shoulder, viewfinder up to his or her eye looks just like someone with a Rocket Propelled Grenade up to their eye, getting ready to fire.
Soldiers and police are taught to look for the differences at a distance, in less than a second. News cameras do not trail smoke and fire when they take pictures. News camera crews try to be obvious and not pop up to surprise people. They might even have a bright blue vest or body armour that says PRESS in big letters on the front. These are the folks you do not shoot at.
Anyone else, might be fair game. If the US military were in a pissy mood and wanted to teach al-Jazeera a lesson, there would not be an al-Jazeera office in Baghdad, just a smoking hole, or any living employees. Would a trained, controlled soldier fire on a journalist? It is eminently possible; especially if the soldier thought that fire was coming from the journalist or even if it was a blind-panic shot. That can happen, just like fratricide and it is just as tragic.
Being in a cross-fire can get you killed. Rounds can, and do, ricochet. As learned in WWII and Somalia, bullets tend to follow along walls and skipping bullets along the ground is a taught tactic with weapons.
The tank round that got parked into the Reuters and Spanish TV people, I suspect, was not deliberate. An accident; most certainly, a mis-identification, probably. Tragic; very. Deliberate fire; very, very doubtful. An Iraqi RPG round done on purpose, or even accidentally? More possible than deliberate fire from the tank, to my mind.
War is Heck. Journalism in combat zones is not as safe as covering a story from Mahogany Ridge. Mahogany Ridge? Watch it on the TV in the hotel bar, the Mahogany Ridge, while you down another Mai Tai, if you can’t stand the risk.
RoadDave 