Who saw the Iraqi POW video?

bradbower

It's gruesome and vile, I'm sure, but then I haven't seen it so I don't know how well I would be able to handle it.. at this point it is up in the air whether or not Americans will ever be able to see the footage shot/aired by Iraqi TV Al-Jazeera of American POWs, some wounded, and some dead (said to be shot squarely in the head).



Has anyone seen it? What else is everyone feeling about this?



I'm somewhat detached, as I can't even imagine what this video would be like.

audiopollution

Quote:

Originally posted by bradbower

It's gruesome and vile, I'm sure, but then I haven't seen it so I don't know how well I would be able to handle it.. at this point it is up in the air whether or not Americans will ever be able to see the footage shot/aired by Iraqi TV Al-Jazeera of American POWs, some wounded, and some dead (said to be shot squarely in the head).



Has anyone seen it? What else is everyone feeling about this?



I'm somewhat detached, as I can't even imagine what this video would be like.

Al-Jazeera is not based in Iraq, it's in Qatar. Just a clarification, as your post doesn't make it clear.



Here's a link with some info about the station.



Al-Jazeera Info

bradbower

A good point, though not exactly what I was interested in discussing. I might as well not edit my original post because you've quoted it, but I do agree that they are not necessarily Iraqi, but they do represent the region, and seem to be on the side of Iraq, if only partially as journalists.



I just finished watching a segment on CNN with one of their correspondents in a clearly jarring argument about whether or not al-Jazeera should have shown the tapes or not. The man representating aJTV was quite rude, and didn't make his point well at all, but I think I would have to agree: it is their right, even their responsibility, to post these images, because this war is really happening and happening to real people. It was a bit embarrassing to have an American news correspondent arguing against freedom of press while admitting that war is so vile, but that's just my opinion.

scott

Freedom of the press also means the freedom to have good taste and compassion.





In the end Jihad TV, aka Al-Jazeera, can show whatever they want.

ibrowse

I haven't watched it yet, don't know if I am going to, I'm not sure I want to see it. But I did download it in .asf format, from some site, I think it was ogrish.com I don't know if it was the same/real because I don't have Windows media player anymore.

randycat99

I think that news media stations aren't showing it to avoid later being accused of sensationalizing the topic. It's a wise choice, IMO. There's always the damned if you do, damned if you don't situation, though. I think they realize that if you really want to see it, you won't have trouble getting it through your own sources. If you want to take a perverse sense of it, you could also reason that the news stations want you to imagine your own version of attrocity that could be on the tape. So in not showing it, but frequently pointing to it, they still get much of the "impact" of "impending attrocity" just by relying on people's imaginations.

ibrowse

I don't know. I really hope it doesn't pollute the news, I already feel that this war coverage is being handled way too much like a sporting event. They're treating it like the Olympics, they have a reporter at every event and I'm sick of seeing it.

eugene

I guess I've really been desensitized to violence and blood because I did see the images on Al-Jazeera and it didn't really faze me. Yes, it showed limp bodies strewn on a floor, with GSWs to their heads. I watched the Baghdad search along the river bank for 3 hours straight without really thinking about the possibility of seeing some gruesome footage (which never came.)

ibrowse

Ok, I got WMP and watched it. I don't think it's in any way a full copy of what you are talking about, but it shouldn't be on TV. Half of it was just interrogations about why they had come to Iraq, but the other half was showing some soldier laying on a cot type bed. He had some injury on his side and you can see blood coming through his shirt. They get him to sit up and his face is beaten and cut up a bit. The only part that was really disgusting was when they got him to talk a little you see a bug crawling on his face and it looked like it went in his eye. What I watched came from http://www.apple.com/. And now that I checked it to see if that was the address it looks like they have a few more of these videos.



(Removed inappropriate link. Feel free to PM me if you disagree with my action. - groverat)

brussell

WTF groverat? Do you work for the Pentagon or something? I'm interested in seeing how our troops are being treated, and this is news. The only reason they're not releasing these videos in the US is that they want the families to be informed first. What is wrong with providing a link to this - they've shown still photos of it on TV, not to mention much worse.



And you can feel free to PM me if you have any problems with this post.

new

I saw the videos.



Two comments: Al-jazeera operates with a bit of a different standard on what is considered "offensive" than most western media. Some of this can be attributed to cultural (or regional) differences I guess, since they also show quite harsh pictures of other victims.



Al-Jazeera is based in Qatar. The same small, wealthy gulf state that the American military HQ is located. 60 minutes recently made a special on Qatar, that was quite interesting.



Al-Jazeera is has been playing with the idea of launching an english speaking service. Since there seem to be a huge market for non-western, on-the-spot reporting.



Brussel, you might be able to find what your looking for within this general link to AJs special coverage on iraq.

digitalmonkeyboy

Making the tapes was a clear violation of the Geneva Convention and Al-Jazeera needs to be made reponsible for this.

They were disturbing but so were Al-Js pics of the boyu with his head healf blown off...



However, Al-Jazeera is one of the best things that has ever happened politically in recent history to the region!!!!



They show things as they are, no edit, no cesnor which means big problems for dictators. Can't say the same for BBC Arabic...that shut down because the friggin Saudi gov would censor a report on executions there.



This is a BIG move and I am ecstatic about the potential that Al-Jazeera brings to many oppressed peoples. It needs to expand and also evolve hopefully to have a little more integrity but in that region it is doing its job (but on that note of integrity it is quite clear that they should not be helping Osama Bin Laden to get his message across)

new

for automatic translation of arabic, try this site.

new

Quote:

Originally posted by DigitalMonkeyBoy

Making the tapes was a clear violation of the Geneva Convention and Al-Jazeera needs to be made reponsible for this.

It might be a violation. But its certainly not clear at the present. Let the legal experts at it. Let them at X-ray camp as well.

digitalmonkeyboy

Actually never mind, we're even. Reuters has some gruesome pictures of dead Iraqis....screw the condemnation of Al-Jazeera after all.