Raw copy from Baghdad

RACooper · #1 10-12-2004, 11:25 AM

Interesting read in last Sunday's Toronto Star... caused no small measure of debate around the Thanksgiving dinner (well until too much wine was consumed

)

I'm just throwing this out for commentary; on the content, subject, or perspective of the readers...

Quote:

This unedited e-mail below, sent privately to friends by Wall Street Journal correspondent Farnaz Fassihi, was posted on pointer.org, a site run by the Poynter Institute journalism school.

In an Oct. 4 note to Editor & Publisher magazine, Fassihi said she never meant the e-mail to become public. She is now on a vacation that she and her employers say was planned long before the controversial posting.

Subject: From Baghdad

9/29/04

Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest. Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference.

Little by little, day-by-day, being based in Iraq has defied all those reasons. I am house bound. I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's homes and never walk in the streets.

I can't go grocery shopping any more, can't eat in restaurants, can't strike a conversation with strangers, can't look for stories, can't drive in any thing but a full armored car, can't go to scenes of breaking news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't speak English outside, can't take a road trip, can't say I'm an American, can't linger at checkpoints, can't be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling.

And can't and can't. There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second.

It's hard to pinpoint when the "turning point' exactly began.

Was it April when the Fallujah fell out of the grasp of the Americans? Was it when Moqtada and Jish Mahdi declared war on the U.S. military? Was it when Sadr City, home to 10 per cent of Iraq's population, became a nightly battlefield for the Americans? Or was it when the insurgency began spreading from isolated pockets in the Sunni triangle to include most of Iraq?

Rest of article at:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1038394944443

DeltAlum · #2 10-13-2004, 10:53 AM

Pretty interesting stuff.

A friend of mine (former co-worker) just got back from a three month freelance job in Baghdad working as an uplink and IT engineer for Fox.

They were set up in a hotel not far from the Green Zone -- and, basically, unless they had to leave to set up a microwave system or something for a news conference, they just didn't leave the hotel.

He's a former Air Force Security Policeman (used to guard nukes). He moved his bed as far away from the window as possible in his room, and always wore body armor. They were not allowed to carry personal weapons, but had former SAS (British Special Air Service) guards who worked for a private security company with them.

(ETA that Fox and/or the hotel had set up a store, restaurant, exercize room and other amenities for their use -- beyond what the hotel usually offered, so they could be reasonably self-sufficient. The had generators for power, etc. -- although the air conditioning in his room never worked and they couldn't fix it because they couldn't get parts for it in Iraq)

With the exception of a couple of rockets or other rounds that may have been aimed at the Green Zone and fell short which caused some damage to the window frame in his room, his stay was fairly uneventful.

Doesn't sound like a great place to live at the moment.

Another engineer-type friend who freelanced for CBS during some Scud attacks on Israel came back from Tel Aviv with some little pieces of Scud missle for us. Obviously, he was able to get out of the hotel more than my other friend was.

AXEAM · #3 10-14-2004, 12:36 PM

Wow, you mean things are not going great in Iraq .....I'm shocked.

_Opi_ · #4 10-14-2004, 01:35 PM

The realities of war.

It was an interesting read. But a very sad one as well.

Rudey · #5 10-14-2004, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AXEAM
Wow, you mean things are not going great in Iraq .....I'm shocked.

I heard it was like Disney Land back when Saddam was ruling the place. You even said he was all bark but no bite, remember?

-Rudey
--And the prize for Mr. Ignorant goes to AXEAM

AXEAM · #6 10-14-2004, 02:26 PM

It was not Disneyland but it was a hell of a lot better then it is now, unemployment in Iraq is between 57% and 60%. There is no respect for law enforcement, one third of the new Iraqi soldiers have resigned and terrorist run amok w/ no fear of being caught.

Kevin · #7 10-14-2004, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AXEAM
It was not Disneyland but it was a hell of a lot better then it is now, unemployment in Iraq is between 57% and 60%. There is no respect for law enforcement, one third of the new Iraqi soldiers have resigned and terrorist run amok w/ no fear of being caught.

Really? Where do these "facts" come from?

Rudey · #8 10-14-2004, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AXEAM
It was not Disneyland but it was a hell of a lot better then it is now, unemployment in Iraq is between 57% and 60%. There is no respect for law enforcement, one third of the new Iraqi soldiers have resigned and terrorist run amok w/ no fear of being caught.

Right, right...because he had no bite. Do you want some milk with your whole big old bowl of ignant?

-Rudey

AXEAM · #9 10-14-2004, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ktsnake
Really? Where do these "facts" come from?

ecoi.net click on topic & issues >Iraq.

Rudey · #10 10-14-2004, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AXEAM
ecoi.net click on topic & issues >Iraq.

Did you go on any special rides in Baghdad's Disneyland?

-Rudey

AXEAM · #11 10-14-2004, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rudey
Did you go on any special rides in Baghdad's Disneyland?

-Rudey

I swear you really do suffer from an attention seeking disorder.

Rudey · #12 10-14-2004, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AXEAM
I swear you really do suffer from an attention seeking disorder.

What is an attention seeking disorder?

Now seriously, did you go on Space Mountain when you were in Baghdad and did you sit next to Uday or Saddam himself?

-Rudey

AXEAM · #13 10-14-2004, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rudey
What is an attention seeking disorder?

Now seriously, did you go on Space Mountain when you were in Baghdad and did you sit next to Uday or Saddam himself?

-Rudey

Wow, I'll answer your question by giving you two forms of Attention seeking disorder. (1) Munchausen attention seeking Syndrome: This is an perdominantly female disorder in which an emotionally immature person w/ narcisstic tendencies,low self esteem and a fragile ego has an over whelming need to draw attention to him/herself and be the center of attention.(2) The other form I'll use is Histrionic personality disorder: In a nutshell this is when a person will say anything no matter how silly in order to be the center of attention. ( Both of which sounds like you don't they.)