An American activist who dared to help Iraqi victims (An article by Jill Carroll)

was always amazed at how composed Marla remained amid the violence and confusion of Iraq. One of my favorite memories of her was when I was sitting in the middle of the Palestine Hotel lobby in Baghdad, surrounded by a confusing swirl of soldiers, officials, and reporters. Fear swept over me. What was I doing here? I had come as a freelancer, with no experience covering a war. Just as I was quietly freaking out, Marla appeared in the dusty, harried scene. She was the picture of calm in a perfect French braid and long blue dress. She was like a breeze blowing through, so tranquil, so clean.

Later in the fall of 2003 when I moved here and was despairing of my sputtering freelance work she would always say, "Jill, good for you. You're working so hard. I'm so proud of you." She was the eternal supportive cheerleader. One night she slipped a note in my hotel mailbox. It was a small essay of encouragement and praise from out of the blue, scribbled in black ink on a scrap of notebook paper.

Well, One thing touched me. It's when Jill wrote of her friend Marla,

""Then we got a call from the US military saying a woman fitting her description had been in an accident, but that she was in the military hospital and in good condition. We were relieved. In Baghdad's strange logic, we all thanked God it was a car accident and not a kidnapping. Then we received another call. It was the military again. This time they said the woman was dead on arrival.""

JANUARY 1, 2005 : (REPORT : DEMOCRAT REPRESENTATIVE HENRY WAXMAN ASSISTS ANTIWAR ACTIVISTS CODE PINK & GLOBAL EXCHANGE IN DELIVERING AID TO THE TERRORISTS FIGHTING U.S. AND ALLIED IRAQI TROOPS IN FALLUJAH, IRAQ) Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman (California) is reported to have given a letter to antiwar activists to facilitate their delivery of aid to the 'other side' in Fallujah, Iraq.
The leftist online publication Peace and Resistance, in an article published January 1, said that Rep. Waxman had written a letter addressed to the American ambassador in Amman, Jordan to help ease transit through Customs of $600,000 worth of medical supplies and cash collected by the anti-American groups Code Pink and Global Exchange. According to the groups' leader, Medea Benjamin, the aid is destined for the "other side" in Fallujah.
The letter was being carried by Fernando Suarez Del Solar, an antiwar activist whose Marine son, 20-year-old Jesus A Suarez del Solar Novaro, was killed in Iraq on March 27, 2003 when he reportedly stepped on an American cluster bomb fragment.
Mr. Suarez is being accompanied on the trip by fellow parents of soldiers killed in Iraq, as well as several family members of those killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
One Iraqi, when informed that parents of American soldiers killed while liberating his country were giving aid to the "other side" in Fallujah, asked, "what kind of people would help those killing their own sons and daughters?" That's a question the House Ethics Committee should be asking Rep. Waxman.
Original report on FR--------- "REP. HENRY WAXMAN INVOLVED IN CODE PINK'S AID TO THE 'OTHER SIDE' IN FALLUJAH," FR's Kristinn, Sunday, January 2, 2005 , Posted on 01/02/2005 6:06:46 PM PST by kristinn

There's a difference between a news story and feature writing.

The first is, indeed, "just the facts" if it is written properly and well. A feature story, on the other hand, is a word picture of what the journalist sees, a portrait in prose of people or events or subjects that encompass more than the who-what-when-where of breaking news.

Jill Carroll, in the article highlighted on this thread, was writing a feature story, not news.

she helped Iraqi families navigate the process of claiming compensation from the US military for injuries and deaths.

Hmmm...too bad she didn't attempt to navigate the process of claiming compensation from the Saddam Hussein regime for injuries and deaths...no...wait a minute...what is that big shredder for?...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Hmmm...too bad she didn't attempt to navigate the process of claiming compensation from the Saddam Hussein regime for injuries and deaths.."

Deciding who are the rightous victims. Typical anti American leftist, the deaths and injuries of people killed by the enemy don't matter.

It's all about bringing down America, not helping the unfortunate victims of war.

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