U.S. Military moves reporter Geraldo Rivera from Iraq

Reuters | Monday, March 31, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Veteran reporter Geraldo Rivera, a correspondent for Fox News, is being removed from Iraq by the U.S. military for reporting Western troop movements in the war, the Pentagon said Monday. "He was with a (U.S.) military unit in the field and the commander felt that he had compromised operational information by reporting the position and movements of troops," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters. "The commander thought it best to get the reporter out of his battle space and we understand he is being removed from Iraq," Whitman said. Fox News in New York had no immediate comment, and Whitman said he did not have details of the incident. But media reports said 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 with a unit of the 101st Airborne Division when the incident occurred. Whitman said Rivera was not officially "embedded," or assigned to the unit by the military, but was covering the troops at the time. Hundreds of reporters from around the world are currently assigned to U.S. and British military units to report the war in Iraq under ground rules that allow them freedom to report without compromising the security of the troops.

[finnman69]

This is funny, now several media outlets are out ona limb on this story about a reporter.

[mrsmith]

Shouldn't this be posted in the "Geraldo" topic?

(Just kidding: reading the threads on this saga is a hoot LOL!)

[BluH2o]

Now we find out that Geraldo was not an embedded reporter either -- he just hooked up with them.

The military wouldn't give Geraldo the time of day in Afganistan ... not appreciating his years of cheerleading the Clintonistas. So I found it a trifle odd he's reporting from the front in Iraq as an embedded correspondent ... which, it appears, he isn't ... interesting.

[basil]

I was appalled and stunned to watch Geraldo late in the night last night, draw a map in the sand showing Coalition forces positions, and mouthing off about them needing to wait for supplies, talking in detail about far too many things, etc. I hope to goodness that he has been expelled.

[Keeper of the Turf]

If the Pentagon wanted Geraldo gone, then the 101st would have been informed immediately. It's not like they have to wait for the carrier pigeon to arrive with the information.

[aristeides]

If Geraldo's original report was disinformation, expect to hear further disinformation supporting the original report.

[Arkinsaw]

I think perhaps Geraldo hasn't been informed of his own demise yet.

[XJarhead]

I think Geraldo is mistaken, I mean, supposedly this comes from the Pentagon?! I guess the official word just hasn't gotten out to the troops...

That's entirely possible. The decision may have been made at the theater level, and the word just hasn't gotten down to the unit yet. Geraldo still may find himself being yanked later today.

[cynicom]

I would hope our military has better communications than some subscribe to them.

[alnick]

This is an interesting twist. If Reuters had not named their source, I would tend not to believe them. Could the denial by Geraldo be premature? Not embedded, huh? I'll have to sit back and watch this one shake out.

[Semper Paratus]

The art of reporting is gone. Nobody checks anything out. Just repeat what somebody else says.

That's why Rumsfeld was able to snooker the press this weekend with rumors of standdown and operational pause while we haul ass north.

[Digger]

Don't tell me you're still pissed at FOXNEWS for Major Garrett's unflattering story about Frist and his lame efforts on Estrada! Geraldo says he's staying. And, he should stay. BTW, if this war weren't front and center, the top story would be how inept Bill Frist has been at keeping the GOP Senate onboard for Bush's domestic agenda. His inexperience is certainly showing

So we are blaming the war now for the continuing lack of conservative agendas being passed. Again I say this "Two-Party Cartel" has no desire to push in that direction, just the good cop-bad cop routine. We will see after 4 yrs of pubbies controlling Congress just where the conservative agenda went & then these same people will fall for it again & vote them back in so as to get the same treatment. Unbelievable.

[Darkshadow]

Maybe giving out troop locations could help draw Iraqi forces out of the cities so they can be killed easier with less civilian casualties?

[BunnySlippers]

*

[Protagoras]

I saw him live a half hour ago, it's BS.

[Neets]

With the technological advances of the military today, I find it hard to believe that a story that broke about 3-4 hours ago has yet to hit Rivera and/or the CDR...

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Bryan Whitman is the civilian we see on the Qataar briefings dressed in Desert Cammies.

[Howlin]

I agree.

[Howlin]

I will say to you again, MSNBC reported this at 4 a.m. EST this very day.

What is your beef with Geraldo and Fox?

[sinkspur]

Two-Party Cartel"

Blah, blah, blah. What, exactly, is the position of the Reform Party or the Conservative Party, or the Independent Party, on the war?

[k2blader]

I saw Geraldo MYSELF, live on Fox not 30 minutes ago. He is most definitely NOT removed.

And he said he is going all the way to Baghdad.

Okay, so Geraldo is still reporting from Iraq and has not been removed after all.

Thanks for the info! Saves me from having to scroll through all the rumor posts...