I just received the following email from [email protected], which I assume to be an official response from CNN:
Many blogs have taken Mr. Jordan’s remarks out of context. Eason Jordan does not believe the U.S. military is trying to kill journalists. Mr. Jordan simply pointed out the facts: While the majority of journalists killed in Iraq have been slain at the hands of insurgents, the Pentagon has also noted that the U.S. military on occasion has killed people who turned out to be journalists. The Pentagon has apologized for those actions.
Mr. Jordan was responding to an assertion by Cong. Frank that all 63
journalist victims had been the result of “collateral damage.”
I don’t know what kind of “assertion” Barney Frank made, but evidently a number of people at the conference, including Cong. Frank, were confused by Mr. Jordan’s original remarks. Although I appreciate the effort, this statement by a public relations arm of CNN seems like boiler-plate to me. A full and direct explanation from Mr. Jordan himself is needed here, not corporate spin, especially given the rather different accounts from eyewitnesses.
