Is This Treason?

Yesterday, in a link to GayPatriot, I blogged about some extraordinary statements made by Eason Jordan of CNN at the World Economic Forum in which he allegedly said that US forces had been deliberately killing journalists in Iraq, but only today (via HH) did I read this full coverage of Mr. Jordan’s remarks The World Economic Forum Weblog: Do US Troops Target Journalists in Iraq?. Here is an excerpt:

Due to the nature of the forum, I was able to directly challenge Eason, asking if he had any objective and clear evidence to backup these claims, because if what he said was true, it would make Abu Ghraib look like a walk in the park. David Gergen was also clearly disturbed and shocked by the allegation that the U.S. would target journalists, foreign or U.S. He had always seen the U.S. military as the providers of safety and rescue for all reporters.

Eason seemed to backpedal quickly, but his initial statements were backed by other members of the audience (one in particular who represented a worldwide journalist group). The ensuing debate was (for lack of better words) a real “sh–storm”. What intensified the problem was the fact that the session was a public forum being taped on camera, in front of an international crowd. The other looming shadow on what was going on was the presence of a U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Senator in the middle of some very serious accusations about the U.S. military.

To be fair (and balanced), Eason did backpedal and make a number of statements claiming that he really did not know if what he said was true, and that he did not himself believe it. But when pressed by others, he seemed to waver back and forth between what might have been his beliefs and the realization that he had created a kind of public mess. His statements, his reaction, and the reaction of all in attendance left me perplexed and confused. Many in the crowd, especially those from Arab nations, applauded what he said and called him a “very brave man” for speaking up against the U.S. in a public way amongst a crowd ready to hear anti-US sentiments. I am quite sure that somewhere in the Middle East, right now, his remarks are being printed up in Arab language newspapers as proof that the U.S. is an evil and corrupt nation. That is a real nightmare, because the Arab world is taking something said by a credible leader of the media (CNN!) as the gospel, or koranic truth. What is worse is that I am not really sure what Eason really meant to communicate to us, but I do know that he was quite passionate about it. Members of the audience took away what they wanted to hear, and now they will use it in every vile and twisted way imaginable.

Well, I guess he stopped short of treason by backpedaling (at least as far as I understand the law), but I wonder what CNN’s advertisers will think of their continued sponsorship of this network with its bizarre Chief News Executive and his vicious and obviously unsubstantiated allegations. If I were they, I’d be running for the hills.

UPDATE: Charles is already on the case. This was not good news for Dan Rather. Of course, unlike Rather, there is nothing to be uncovered here. Jordan said it all by himself. And what he said is yet more disturbing, if you think about it. He was accusing or at least implying that US military forces deliberated targeted journalists — in other words murdered them. Wow. That is not to be taken lightly, even if, as one of LGF’s commenter’s pointed out, CNN no longer gets much of its business here in the USA, where it has been in steep decline for some time, but in Europe. That makes it even more dangerous that they are slandering this country.