WHAT ELSE IS CNN HIDING?

Iconoclast ^ | April 12, 2003 | Stephen Rittenberg

[clintonbaiter]

April 12, 2003: In Friday's New York Times Eason Jordan, CNN's chief news executive, wrote an op-ed piece that must surely be a prime candidate for this year's Moral Idiocy Award in Journalism. He tells, with a mixture of pride and self-pity, how pained he was for having to deceive CNN's world-wide audience for twelve years about how bad the Saddam regime really was.

He tells of knowing about assassinations, inhuman brutality, pervasive terror on a par with Stalin's Soviet Union and Hitler's Germany, but not breathing a word about this to the world at large. He visited Baghdad thirteen times. "Each time I visited, I became more distressed by what I saw and heard -- awful things that could not be reported because doing so would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particularly those on our Baghdad staff."

Instead of closing down CNN's Baghdad Bureau, he and the rest of the journalists at CNN decided that it was better to go on broadcasting to the world a fairy tale about Iraq. Making us think that Iraq was just another misguided little Arab country that doesn't know any better.

I've heard Big Lies before but this makes Goebbels look like a rank amateur.

Jordan's ridiculous rationalization for not telling the truth about what kind of regime Iraq really was -- that he wanted to protect the staff safety -- wouldn't pass muster with anyone with a shred of journalistic responsibility. All he had to do to make his staff safe was to fire them and close the Bureau, then assign one or two individual reporters to keep their ears open for a couple of years, and then have them come home and write their story -- the true story of the regime.

What possible journalistic value could broadcasting half-truths, lies and varnished news have? The net result is that CNN succeeded not in informing its public but in dis-informing it. CNN's stupid policy of news access at all costs -- even if it's not news -- has dealt its own credibility a serious blow....

[MightyMouseToSaveThe Day]

duh. Of course--spin control! Thanks GeorgiaYankee for reminding me of what should have been obvious--i KNEW there had to be some self-interest in there somewhere. My problem is I can't think as deviously as these creeps do so i have problems recognizing hidden agendas...thanks

[MightyMouseToSaveThe Day]

Excellent point. In fact, it's more logical than even my idea of financial profit! Nothing is too illegal or unethical or immoral to protect the clintons and liberalism--gosh forbid that 8yrs of deceit under them should be exposed...

[ChadGore]

Judy Woodruff is Janet Reno

[Temple Owl]

Has anyone seen this story in their local papers? The Philadelphia Inquirer did not carry it, nor did the Delaware County Times. Was it picked up by the wire services?

[leprechaun9]

This would be a plausable explanation if Billy Clintoooon was president, but thank God he is NOT and we are grateful to have a Moral, Principled, and accountable President.

I vividly remember when President Bush went to Congress after the election to meet with the leaders of both parties. When little Tommy Dasshole said that he looked forward to working with the President on the needs of the country, Presdient Bush looked little Tommy in the eye and firmly said, "Just don't ever lie to me!"

Little Tommy was taken back and left speechless. President Bush makes decisions based on his deeply held principles and has a very long memory.

Former Mayor Ed Koch frequently said, "I always forgive, but I NEVER forget!" I believe that President Bush doesn't forget either.

[Wrigley]

Do you think FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC didn't know all this too? Or did CNN just have better reporters that they got the information that no one esle could?

[equus]

Bla bla bla bla bla bla.
Hope you never have to take action that will get your employees killed. Apparently it wouldn't weigh on your conscience either.
Bla bla bla bla glad your moral fiber is so fibrous.

[KingKongCobra]

Do you think FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC didn't know all this too? Or did CNN just have better reporters that they got the information that no one esle could?

None of those stations HAD an office in Iraq. Only CNN was allowed and this article makes it perfectly clear why that is. Only CNN would be the Iraqi mouthpiece.

[Risa]

>>No wonder Peter Arnett felt so at home at CNN.<<

Yes. And these revelations make Peter Arnett's recent cohorting with the Iraqi government a crime against the Iraqi people as well as American forces in Iraq.

[mewzilla]

Did the Beeb have an office in Iraq?

[zerosix]

Jordan's idea of morality was to inform the King of Jordan but not the two brothers-in-law - get real, Jordan's idea of morality is some lives are more important than others.

That the King laughed the threat off as the rantings of a madman but the other two saps were sent back to Iraq to certain death, is a sure sign of a total lack of morality on Jordan's part.

The good Lord may forgive him but the families of Saddam's daughters cannot.

Why not tell what he knew to those in danger, spill his guts to the governmnent, close down CNN's bureau and then go on CNN's top interview show, Larry King?

[lawdude]

"Just as we always suspected. No wonder Peter Arnett felt so at home at CNN."

All we have to do is ask Petahhhh just where the WMD are. Betcha he knows.

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

well for one thing I cannot find my new yellow tie

[KingKongCobra]

Only Arab stations and CNN were there, AFAIK.

[Matchett-PI]

Eason Jordan did another interview with NPR yesterday (4-11-03) according to what someone told me. I typed in his name on their search engine and sure enough the link to the interview was there. I didn't have time to listen to it on real audio and if one wants the transcript one must pay for it.

[lawdude]

"What benefit did Jordan expect to derive from this late-breaking confession? Enlighten me?"

My guess is he knew it would eventually come out and (wisely) decided to minimize the harm. Doesn't look like it is working quite as well as he would have liked. I believe CNN should close down or just stick to filming Bill C's trysts with loose stars!

[MightyMouseToSaveThe Day]

Are you saying that as a journalist, you're unfamiliar with the concept of tough moral dilemmas? Especially those you create yourself?

[Yeti]

What benefit did Jordan expect to derive from this late-breaking confession? Enlighten me?

He's trying to get to press with it before it is revealed by others, so he can control the way it comes out.

Were talking about treason, here -- aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war.

He wants to get it established in everyones mind as a "lesser of two evils" choice involving making journalistic compromises or some such. "My hands were tied!"

He wants it to have that momentum before the Administration starts talking about it.

He's confessing because it's about to come out. There is probably more involved than that to which he has confessed.

[lilylangtree]

Eason Jordan knew of the atrocities for 13 years and remained silent until a particular time, a few days ago. In other words CNN has lied to the world for 13 years about horrific conditions in Iraq, abusing the First Amendment. How many people died a horrible death because of his silence? How about the UN inspectors? Could they have done their job better if CNN had reported these godawful things? And Peter Arnett, an employee of CNN 13 years ago, won prestigious awards for his reporting during the '91 war had to have been an accomplice. What was his coverup? Indeed, to reiterate, what ELSE does CNN know?

[The_Media_never_lie]

What Cid CNN Know and When Did They Know It?