Posted on 12/28/2004 9:13:31 AM PST by BCrago66
We should all be grateful, once again, to Wretchard at Belmont Club, this time for hammering away at the amazing ability of an AP photographer in Baghdad to take pictures of Iraqi terrorists executing election officials. Wretchard keeps asking--and AP keeps kinda denying but increasingly kinda admitting culpability--how come the photographer was there at the precise moment the killings took place, and managed to take the pictures even though everyone else except the terrorists was running rapidly away from the scene. Lots of good work has also been done by Roger Simon, Power Line, Instapundit and others.
It's a big story, potentially even bigger than Dan Rather's forgeries, because it raises the broader question of journalists' complicity with evil people. Frontpagemag has a devastating analysis of how "reporters" end up telling only the most radical Palestinians' "side" of events.
The redoubtable Tom Holsinger emailed this cheerful note to Roger Simon, suggesting a line of action: Roger, AP may have significant civil liability exposure to the victims' families in American courts, under the legal theory of civil conspiracy. The conspiracy objective would be to give publicity to terrorists. Every person or organization agreeing to act in concert to achieve a conspiracy's goals is liable for every act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
American courts have taken jurisdiction, and awarded huge civil judgments, in far more questionable cases. Here is the Lexis summary of Halberstam v. Welch, 705 F.2d 472(D.C. Cir. 1983):
"The personal representative of the physician's estate brought a wrongful death and survival action seeking damages based on consequences resulting from the physician's death during a burglary. The district court found that appellant, who was not a participant in the actual burglary, was jointly and severally liable with her live-in boyfriend for the killing of the physician under theories of conspiracy and aiding and abetting and awarded a monetary judgment against both of them. Appellant sought review on the issue of her liability. The court found based on the record that appellant knew the purpose of her boyfriend's nightly outings and the means that he used to acquire their wealth. Further, appellant was a long-time willing partner in assisting her boyfriend dispose of the burglary proceeds. Appellant acted as a secretary and recordkeeper for the burglary enterprise and maintained financial transactions solely in her name. Appellant also took unsubstantiated income tax deductions related to the burglary proceeds. The court affirmed the district court's judgment finding appellant jointly and severally liable as a co-conspirator and joint venturer."
My reaction to the increasingly complicit behaviour of the MSM with terrorists is fright. How could we have gone so low so fast?
It's terrifying that people like this are in high positions in America, and are highly paid and go unpunished.
The presence of the photographers certainly raises the questions if they knew in advance what was going to take place, and why they didn't fear for their own safety. The problem is that both the insurgents and the press want to spread terror, as it coincides with the terrorists and the MSM's agenda.
Would these people have been shot if not for the media-savy terrorists and their MSM cohorts? No one knows.
But I do know that theses terrorists can't resist having their terror deeds filmed and having the press help them in their goals of terrorizing the world.
Ap and these photographers have been in concert with the terrorists from day one IMHO. If they ever show up on American soil they should be arrested and tried for terrorism.
If that ever happens call me and when I get there we'll play rock-paper-scissors to determine the best course of action.
But we'll probably have to go at least best 5 of 7.
FLASH!
Wars are not fought for the benefit of journalists, and if they aid the enemy, directly or indirectly, treason and sedition laws should apply swiftly and without mercy!
If these "correspondents" were on their own, worried about their own protection, travel, logistics and support, we would not be having this discussion.
I'm all for that. Be independent and aid the enemy, if that's your thing. But there are consequences...
The argument would be that these Iraqi election officials were not murdered as an end in itself, but for the visual demonstration effect, i.e., to provide the content for photographs meant to terrorize the Iraqi people. Because the chances - in a country the size of California - that the murders would be photographed without a prior arrangement with a media organization is effectively zero, the Iraqi election officials would not have been mudered if AP had not agreed to prior arrangement - an agreement - to be there to take the photographs.
This seems to be conspiracy to commit an act (terrorize the Iraqi population) by illegal means (murder.)
"how come"? Did this pass an editor?
I agree. The families of those murdered election officials should file a major lawsuit against AP and the animals that they employ.
This is an entry in a group blog.
Oh, do they still have those?
Dear G-D, there are no words to describe the depths of depravity of the MSM
Yes. The style guide mentions not to include photos of fetuses. It says nothing about siding with the enemy in a war.
We have room in Guantanamo?
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