NPR Reports on Mosul
Ken A. Bode
April 26, 2005
On April 21, All Things Considered devoted 12-minutes to a two-part examination of the security situation in Mosul.
The first report was by Philip Reeves who is embedded with US forces.
Listeners heard from a lieutenant colonel whose troops have been hit by eight car bombs in ten days and from a staff sergeant who was on the receiving end of one of those bombs. We heard military vehicles moving out for the daily mission and heard described the force of the insurgents' weapons: "blasts sending flames fifty feet in the air."
Reeves provided an excellent picture of the intelligence and security situations in Mosul from the American point of view. He allowed those on the ground describe where the funds and recruits are coming from that support the insurgency.
The second report by Ivan Watson, who was described as "under the protection" of Kurdish militiamen, was a companion piece with a different viewpoint. The Kurds obviously have far less patience with possible insurgents than do the American forces. The commander said directly: "If someone is acting suspiciously or looking at us suspiciously, I kill him."
After accompanying the American forces on their duties in Mosul, it was informative to hear the Kurdish soldiers describe the mistakes they believe were made by the US occupying forces, among them putting Sunni Arabs in charge of the police. The Kurds, our partners in trying to secure the city, expressed fear that they are targets for assassination by the police.
If it is true that security in Mosul is the key to security in Iraq, these two reports gave a nuanced and balanced view of the situation.
Kudos to the reporters, producers and editors.
Then came Adam Hochberg's Morning Edition report on the Marine who faces court martial on two charges of premeditated murder of suspected Iraqi insurgents. Listening to this the morning of April 22, I could not help but remember the soldier who spoke in the Reeves story the night before. The young California private serving in Mosul said: "It feels great to kill the bad guys. There is no other feeling like that."
Hochberg's report was an excellent curtain raiser for the upcoming trial. My only problem was the reporter's close in which he said this would be the Marine's "first opportunity to defend himself publicly against charges he overreacted in the heat of battle." The Marine is charged with premeditated murder, not overreaction in combat.
