Stolen Iraqi paintings nabbed in U.S. (Fox News Satellite Truck Engineer - now Fired!)

MSNBC ^ | 4/23/03

[areafiftyone]

WASHINGTON, April 23 — A television news engineer faces smuggling charges after attempting to bring into the United States 12 stolen Iraqi paintings, monetary bonds and other items, federal officials said Wednesday. A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., charges that Benjamin James Johnson, 27, tried to bring the paintings into this country last Thursday.

THEY WERE CONTAINED in a large cardboard box that was examined by Customs agents at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint says that Johnson, who accompanied U.S. troops in Baghdad, gathered up the paintings at a palace that belonged to Uday Hussein, one of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s sons. The paintings depict Saddam and Uday. Johnson, who initially told Customs officials he was given the paintings by Iraqi citizens, said he had planned to keep them “for decoration” and to provide one to his employer, the affidavit says. It is U.S. policy that all such items belong to the Iraqi people.

FIRED BY FOX NEWS Johnson worked for six years as a satellite truck engineer for Fox News Channel, which fired him after learning he had admitted to taking the paintings, a network statement said. “This is an unfortunate incident and his supervisor took the appropriate action for this transgression,” the statement added.

[ElectricStrawberry]

Bag 'im an' tag 'im.

[Future Useless Eater]

One good example why we can't let the French into Iraq for ANY REASON.

We have one bad apple in 100

They have one bad apple in 2

[Tai_Chung]

Is this the top story on CNN?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Too much temptation for some people, I see.

[areafiftyone]

I would say "Stupid is as Stupid does"! This guy was an idiot to think that he would get away with this.

[Born to Conserve]

I feel bad for this guy. He saw worthless art work being ripped and burned and thought it would have some value back home.

If they had value in Iraq, that would be a different matter -- but cheap portraits of Uday and pop?

[Destro]

First Geraldo's stupidity now this! Watch Peter Arnett and MSNBC attack FOX for this.

[shadowman99]

I expect the dead racoon will be grinning from ear to ear this evening on CNN.

[newcats]

One good example why we can't let the French into Iraq for ANY REASON.

Please explain the relevence of your statement to the article.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

cheap portraits of Uday and pop?

Cheap? Just because they were painted on black velvet with Saddam and Uday playing poker with Elvis and some dogs doesn't mean they're cheap. :)

[freedomlover]

Don't watch CNN but I have to know who the DR is.

[Arkinsaw]

If they had value in Iraq, that would be a different matter -- but cheap portraits of Uday and pop?

They were taking battlefield souvenirs from the Marines and saying that they were seized because they were the property of the Iraqi people. They then promptly piled them up and ran over them with tanks. Makes sense eh?

[EternalVigilance]

I'm not defending the idjut who tried to pull this off, but the headline is intentionally deceiving. The intent is to cast the impression that these were actually paintings of value--perhaps even some of the looted artwork. This stuff is worthless crap.

Having said that, Fox did the right thing in firing him.

[Neets]

Oh jeesh...I did not read the article carefully enough....

I just now noticed from your post what the "Paintings" were...hardly "works of Art"...but stupid move on Camera Guy's part for sure.

[ewing]

You mean this wasn't Geraldo, I looked at the title and assumed it was him..

[george wythe]

The paintings depict Saddam and Uday

The "paintings" were just cheap propaganda portraits of Saddam and his son, similar to the many Castro portraits found in Cuba and the many Kim portraits found in North Korea.

The main value of the paintings is as a war trophy, similar to a T-shirt "I survived the Baghdad war."

A small fine will be the appropriate punishment.

[nicmarlo]

Notice, however, that Fox didn't wait for public outcry, opinion polls before firing the engineer; unlike NBC, which first defended Arnett, then fired him the next day after the heat got too hot.

[Lokibob]

On this thread:

 

FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"

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Baghad - Second of Saddam's Palaces Falls In As Many Days (Mother of All Palace Raids)
AP | 8 April, 2003

Posted on 04/08/2003 2:09 PM MDT by Happy2BMe

Tue Apr 8, 2:39 PM ET

U.S. Army PFC Derek Whitehead, from Moore Haven, Fla., takes down an piece of anti-American artwork from the wall of a presidential palace in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites) Tuesday, April 8, 2003. The palace was the second that soldiers from A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment had secured in as many days, both lavish buildings heavily damaged by previous Air Force bombing. (AP Photo/John Moore)

 

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I said:

 

To: Happy2BMe

I sincerely hope that the top picture isn't one of our troops looting the palaces.

The trooper in the background rolling up a picture really bothers me.

10 posted on 04/08/2003 2:41 PM MDT by Lokibob
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and was roundly critized:

 

To: Lokibob

Worried 'bout what the Frenchies will say are yaz?

12 posted on 04/08/2003 2:45 PM MDT by Happy2BMe (HOLLYWOOD:Ask not what U can do for your country, ask what U can do for Iraq!)
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Now I feel vindicated!!!!!

[deport]

Seems there were others doing the same..........

Reporter's souvenirs seized

By Globe Staff, 4/23/2003

S Customs officials confiscated a large painting that a Boston Herald reporter, Jules Crittenden, brought back as a souvenir from the war in Iraq, but the artwork is not valuable enough to merit prosecution, a law enforcement official said yesterday. ..... [snip]

''He didn't think it was a big deal,'' the official said of Crittenden. ''He said all the embedded reporters were doing it.''