Give your friend some good advice, and tell him to organize and VOCALIZE an opposition, before he gets caught in the inevitable crossfire.
SPEAKING UP IS DANGEROUS
Last week, unknown militants gunned down Iraqi broadcaster Liqa Abd al-Razzaq and three of her companions in a Baghdad taxi, according to media reports. Abd al-Razzaq was well-known to Iraqis as the broadcaster for Al-Sharqiyah television's "Sahafah" (Press) program and as a newsreader, Al-Sharqiyah reported. She previously worked for the Iraqi state-run media under the Hussein regime as a broadcaster with domestic Iraqi television and with the Iraqi Satellite Channel. Abd al-Razzaq was reportedly also under contract with U.S.-supported Al-Iraqiyah television. Militants gunned down Abd al-Razzaq's husband two months ago for reportedly working with the U.S. military. Abd al-Razzaq left behind a newborn daughter and six-year-old son.
ARAB JOURNALISTS WHO SPEAK UP ARE MURDERED
One of the boldest attacks on journalists in recent months was the 30 October car bombing of the Baghdad office of Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah television. A group identifying itself as the Jihadist Martyrs Brigade in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombing, which killed seven staff members, and injured at least a dozen employees. In a statement posted on the Internet, the group said that the channel was targeted "after much hesitation" due to its excessive praise of the interim government led by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, Beirut's Al-Manar television reported on 31 October. The group called the bombing an "ultimatum," adding that it's next attack would be a "quality operation." The group also threatened to attack media agencies and television channels based outside Iraq should they fail to meet what it called "balanced" reporting -- meaning the media should present the militants' view in their reporting. The statement added that the militants intended to kidnap journalists and slaughter them like sheep if they continued to reflect the view of the U.S. "occupiers" in their reporting.