Posted on 04/02/2003 6:18:05 AM PST by veronica
A hotel in Basra being used as a base by al-Jazeera's team of correspondents in the city was shelled this morning, the Arabic TV news channel has claimed.
The Basra Sheraton, whose only guests are al-Jazeera journalists, received four direct hits this morning during a heavy artillery bombardment, according to the Qatar-based broadcaster.
No casualties were reported in the incident, but al-Jazeera said it would be writing to the Pentagon again to provide full details of the location of all its journalists and bureaux in Iraq.
"The official HQ of al-Jazeera's team covering the war on Iraq in Basra was subjected to heavy shelling in the early morning of Wednesday. Al-Jazeera is the only TV team reporting from Basra," said a spokesman for the broadcaster.
"It is not clear whether the shelling was directed solely at the Sheraton hotel. An al-Jazeera reporter in Basra, however, described the situation as 'very dangerous'," he added.
"Al-Jazeera had officially advised the Pentagon of all relevant details pertaining to its reporters covering the war on Iraq, as stipulated by relevant international practice and conventions governing reporting wars. The details included official HQs of all its reporters in Basra, Mussol and Baghdad."
The shelling of the Basra Sheraton mirrors a similar incident during the Afghan war, when al-Jazeera accused the US military of deliberately targeting its Kabul office, despite having told the Americans where its reporters were based.
In November 2001 al-Jazeera's base in the Afghan capital was destroyed by a US bomb that also damaged the nearby BBC office.
At the time the Pentagon denied it had deliberately targeted al-Jazeera, but said it could not explain why the Kabul office was hit.
What's for lunch?
I have a feeling someone is already quite familiar with the location of your 'bureaux.'
How about that!
MILITARY WAR MEMO
FM: United States Military
TO: al-Jazeera
RE: Recent bombing of hotel of al_Jazeera reporters
DT: 4/2/03
Thank you for your recent letter instructing us again of the exact coordinates of the hotel. We have them on file, and we are conducting an investigation to determine how it was possible for any of our rounds to miss. We believe there was a training error and we are working diligently to make sure that no further rounds miss. Thank you again, because it helps us in our BDA. We request that you cram as many al-Jazeera reporters as possible in the hotel before the next shelling begins. BTW, can you provide us with the coordinates of the French Embassy?
Warmly.
The U.S. Military
i would not be upset if a few errant rounds in Basra and elsewhere found their way in their general direction. their satellite deserves a laser bolt. the crap and lies they broadcast are disgusting and one sided--straight from the Ba'ath Party/ al Qaida perspective. (I get their broadcasts live)
and yet they defend themselves as 'balanced', with straight faces in slick, fluent English on Larry King's puff/softball interview show. they know that 98% of Americans do not get al Jazeera live, and that another 98% of Americans don't understand Arabic, so they hoodwink and hoodwink good!
aJ NEVER show Iraqis greeting American troops, nor do they air stories about human shields used by the Iraqis, etc. they avoid any images of American strength and victory, such as big Saddam statues and murals being defaced or destroyed. just footage of endless civilian "bomb bings" by the Coalition and how cruel the US aggressors (their words) and invaders (again their words) are. enough! blow them off the air. they run a 30 second spot on the hour with Saddam calling all arabs to "Jihad" throughout the middle east. they are a hindrance and an extension of the enemy, ergo a national security threat to our objectives and our troops' safety in the theater of War. they need to be silenced for the rest of this operation.
That assumption might be the correct one. After all:
No casualties were reported in the incident
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