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

[Keeper of the Turf]

Do you honestly believe that Geraldo is involved in military briefings where classified information is discussed?

[k2blader]

Geroldo's map was using real (and classified) information revealed in a military briefing.

Might you have a source on that?

[capitan_refugio]

What G.R. said on his live report from the 101st last night was that he "used to think Arnett and Ritter were good guys." That's a paraphrase, but to me, it sounded like he was disavowing these guys - as well he should.

[js1138]

Freepers used to think Ritter ewas a good guy, back in 1998 when he said the inspections weren't working. Arnet was apparently a good guy in Vietnam. I heard he once took charge of a firefight when the officer was shot. Heard this in the last week on hannity's show.

[Political Junkie Too]

Might you have a source on that?

I heard him say that himself as he was kneeling down to draw the map.

-PJ

[Ann Archy]

It was like watching a Phil Donahue show....ick.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Oh brother!

[Mamzelle]

Ritter is so bizarre that you could almost imagine his loved ones being held hostage...Stockholm Syndrome?

[octobersky]

bttt

[fight_truth_decay]

"Hallowed Ground" story

You might just want to read further:

Geraldo Rivera Letters and Statements of Intent

[MediaMole]

I don't think it was the map in the sand...

He named the units that would be advancing and the Iraqi units they expected to confront. That says a lot about our intelligence and is the kind of info the Iraqis can use.

[GOPrincess]

Fascinating stuff. Thanks much for sharing that Geraldo info.

[michaelt]

Did I need a sarcasm tag? ;-)

[k2blader]

Really? Wow, maybe he is going to be removed then.

Also, it doesn't make sense to me that a Pentagon spokesman would lie about Fox saying Geraldo would be removed.

[fight_truth_decay]

For the last six months the Baltimore Sun could stand by its slash and burn story, insisting essentially that we prove our innocence. We have. This is not to fault our airmen and women who did such a superb job on this front and elsewhere in Afghanistan to minimize collateral damage. But in the insanity of battle, stuff happens and maybe as the official bomb damage assessments are completed the Pentagon will agree with these eyewitnesses.

What is clear is what we have consistently maintained; that I made an honest mistake, confusing one incident of friendly fire in Tora Bora with another in far-off Kandahar. I again apologize for the error. To judge how grave a mistake it was, ask yourselves, to what extent would it have been commented on if it concerned any other correspondent?

And why did CNN jump on this story? It was December 2001, the month that network was losing its ratings preeminence. Was our cable news competitor attempting to hype reaction to this battlefield error in a failed attempt to stop our ratings momentum? Even if the timing was fortuitous, Aaron Brown and his fellow stay-at-home armchair travelers at the Baltimore Sun now stand accused of being unfair and inaccurate to rival reporters who risked far more than they did in the Afghanistan war.

Rough PointTV Geraldo Speaks Out

[Taco Consumer]

There was nothing in Al Capone's vault,
But it wasn't Geraldo's fault.

There may have been sniper assualt,
But it wasn't Geraldo's fault.

Airborne has ground to a halt,
But it wasn't Geraldo's fault.

[fight_truth_decay]

$10,000 was a nice little purse for that story. ;)

Saddam likes to watch TV, monitoring the Iraqi stations he controls and also CNN, Sky, al Jazeera, and the BBC.

FR

Guess he doesn't watch FOX. ;)

[Political Junkie Too]

Geraldo was running around like a Prima Donna (or whatever the male version is) since he was late getting into the game. Maybe he was showing off for the troops, but he kept talking about being at the briefing, that he just came from a briefing, yada yada yada. He said the same thing the other night when rumors of a 4-6 day slowdown were floated.

He's been acting like he's something special, and maybe this time he went too far.

-PJ

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Confusion over status of Geraldo Rivera in Iraq

There should never be any confusion about his status. Wherever he is, he's a self-centered jerk.

[Semper911]

Bump -- I need to know what the hell happened! Fox isn't saying anything about him, and there is nothing on their website.