Good grief. That whole story was basically made up by other media outlets who were mad at Fox news recent success, and here people on Free Republic are repeating it.
Here is the CNN story, can't believe they haven't pulled it:
Military kicks Geraldo out of Iraq
A lot of the reports I saw that he was going to be banned from reporting from Iraq credited "anonymous sources", I have at times wondered if those sources didn't really exist and the media just counted on that happening. An example
(from CNN):
A U.S. Central Command official said, "He is being pulled. He just doesn't know it yet. He has not gotten the word."
Yeah, well, time showed how true that statement was. Anyway, I don't really know or care how much they made up or actually received from some irate democrat working at Centcom. There certainly were a few Pentagon spokesmen who were interviewed at the time who went on and on about "violating embedded procedure". I believe one of them was Bryan Whitman if anyone cares to look it up. But remember, not everyone in the pentagon likes the president or the fact that we are over there, and aren't beyond talking out for political reasons.
The dumb map he drew in the sand did not put any of our troops in danger. Saying that he was 50 miles out of Badgdad didn't either. Right now I'm 50 miles out of Houston... I'd challenge you to find me and shoot me just with that little bit of info. I have yet to talk to a military officer who was even a little irritated with him for this supposed information leak.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Bottom line is that despite the trashing he gets here on FR the troops that I've talked to about Geraldo like him. In fact my dad is over in Bagdhad right now; I've had several conversations about him and he is quite appreciative of Geraldo's upbeat reporting on the situation. So I have quite a personal stake in people disclosing information. Trust me, if disclosing the information put peoples lives at risk I would be very upset. The truth is it didn't.
The daily emails I get from my old man on Iraq and are
very optimistic. Same with the notes he forwards on to me from other military personal and the ones I get personally from friends there. Again, Geraldo is the only reporter I watch that matches the optimism I get from our troops. Too often even the more conservative journalists take a "cautiously optimistic" outlook on events, it is nice to see a true optimist. I appreciate that a great deal.
I'm not saying he is a saint, I mean, the guy is on his fifth wife and she is less than half his age. But his reporting on the war is something I can't really complain about, and he really seems to care for the troops and telling their stories.
-paridel