Confusion over status of Geraldo Rivera in Iraq

Reuters | 3/31/03 | Charles Aldinger

[kattracks]

Confusion over status of Geraldo Rivera in Iraq

By Charles Aldinger

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - Veteran reporter and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera, a correspondent for Fox News, was asked to be removed from Iraq by the U.S. military for reporting Western troop movements in the war, the Pentagon said on Monday.

But in a report from Iraq where he was about 60 miles (100 km) from Baghdad with the 101st Airborne Division, Rivera, known for his provocative on-screen style, said all was well and suggested he wasn't being ejected from the country by the U.S. military for coverage of the war.

Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman later told Reuters, however, that Fox News itself had agreed to remove Rivera after the military commander where Rivera was reporting felt that he had "compromised operational security."

A Fox spokesman said: "All I can tell you is that he's still reporting from Iraq."

Rivera said in his televised report that he did not know where the reports about the alleged security violations came from but accused colleagues, including former employer NBC, of perhaps "spreading some lies about me." He suggested all was well between him and the military.

"I'm further in the country than I have ever been," Geraldo said.

"If you were to ask me on whether or not he had reported on things that were of tactical value and compromised operational security, I would have to say yes. In the eyes of the commander on the ground, he did," Whitman told Reuters.

"I would say that he is going to be leaving Iraq," added Whitman. "Fox has talked to us and they have indicated to us that they are going to remove him from the area of operations."

Whitman, who had earlier said the military was ejecting Rivera, later amended that to Fox agreeing to withdraw the correspondent.

Reports from competing media said earlier that Rivera, a former talk show host and veteran correspondent who has also reported the war in Afghanistan and high-profile stories such as the O.J. Simpson murder trial, had been accused of violating rules against compromising operational security.

Whitman said Rivera was not officially "embedded," or assigned to the unit by the military, but was covering the troops at the time.

03/31/03 13:32 ET

[Dog Gone]

Sounds like Geraldo is the last to know.

[GOPrincess]

Thanks for this update. The way this story is developing is sure curious. Wonder if this is the "end" to the story. Don't think Geraldo has been on in the last hour or so...

[Capt_Hank]

Time for another cigar and a glass of wine. The previous channel button on the remote will now get a rest. Let's see, his next stop CNN.

[EllaMinnow]

A Geraldo-in-the-fog-of-war ping.

[merrin]

Looks like the Pentagon's "Remove Geraldo" plan has run into a quagmire.

[ken5050]

"....was asked to be removed..."...tortuous prose, eh?

[Disgusted in Texas]

Rivera showboats everywhere he goes.He is an insult to the journalists who are embedded and doing fine jobs with out playing to the audiences.I can't watch him without being reminded mentally about him crying in his beer for Billy Clinton.Whenever he is "reporting" ,I change channels.

[fight_truth_decay]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/880671/posts

[San Jacinto]

LOL! The Pentagon has underestimated the fierce resistance Geraldo would have to leaving.

[sauropod]

I saw Whorealdo say all this.

But I do like the fact that he is gung-ho for our troops.

[sharktrager]

His personal Fox motto:

"I report. Soldiers die."

As if he couldn't figure out that naming their objective was a bad idea.

[cyncooper]

Whitman, who had earlier said the military was ejecting Rivera, later amended that

Or Reuters got carried away with their characterization in the first place?

[Servant of the Nine]

They need to really embed him.
Superglue him to the front of a Bradley like a big smelly hood ornament. That way he will get to see it all.

SO9

[Humidston]

I watched him - in this morning's early AM - draw a detailed map of operations in the sand. He clearly explained how our forces are driving forward toward Baghdad.

I thought to myself that no one had made it that clear to me before. I hope that wasn't what got him into trouble. It sure helped me understand, and I don't even particularly like him!

[cyncooper]

Thanks for the ping!

[af_vet_rr]

There is a lot of confusion over this. The Pentagon is acting like it removed him.

[Salvation]

Interesting

[Hildy]

It's a quagmire.

[Temple Owl]

There's an opening at MSNBC.