Remember the video that hit the airwaves in mid-November about the shooting of a wounded insurgent at a mosque in Fallujah by a Marine? I thought, at the time the story aired, that it must be a bad situation for all involved. I mean, this journalist had been living among the Marines and following them through Fallujah, relying on them for his own safety. Then, he happens to catch a questionable situation on video... where do his loyalties lie in that situation? Tough spot to be in!
So, I was browsing the internet tonight looking for any updates. When I checked Kevin Sites's blog, I had my thoughts validated. Apparently he has been having a conflict of conscience as this paragraph from an entry on November 21st makes clear:
"To Devil Dogs of the 3.1: Since the shooting in the Mosque, I've been haunted that I have not been able to tell you directly what I saw or explain the process by which the world came to see it as well. As you know, I'm not some war zone tourist with a camera who doesn't understand that ugly things happen in combat. I've spent most of the last five years covering global conflict. But I have never in my career been a 'gotcha' reporter -- hoping for people to commit wrongdoings so I can catch them at it. "
The entry on Kevin's blog is quite lengthy but worth a read if you want to get into the head of a man struggling with his own conscience. I really do feel badly for Kevin and the Marine involved in this particular story -- I'm sure both were doing what they thought right at the time. The journalist wants to report what he witnessed without attaching judgement; however, the reality is that some media organizations are going to misuse the video, misreport the story, and judge the Marine. Kevin Sites ought to know that better than anyone.
You know my position on this -- shoot first and let Allah sort them out. Maybe Kevin Sites will follow a similar policy in the future, "shoot video first, then use your field experience to know when to let the shredder sort it out."
So, I was browsing the internet tonight looking for any updates. When I checked Kevin Sites's blog, I had my thoughts validated. Apparently he has been having a conflict of conscience as this paragraph from an entry on November 21st makes clear:
"To Devil Dogs of the 3.1: Since the shooting in the Mosque, I've been haunted that I have not been able to tell you directly what I saw or explain the process by which the world came to see it as well. As you know, I'm not some war zone tourist with a camera who doesn't understand that ugly things happen in combat. I've spent most of the last five years covering global conflict. But I have never in my career been a 'gotcha' reporter -- hoping for people to commit wrongdoings so I can catch them at it. "
The entry on Kevin's blog is quite lengthy but worth a read if you want to get into the head of a man struggling with his own conscience. I really do feel badly for Kevin and the Marine involved in this particular story -- I'm sure both were doing what they thought right at the time. The journalist wants to report what he witnessed without attaching judgement; however, the reality is that some media organizations are going to misuse the video, misreport the story, and judge the Marine. Kevin Sites ought to know that better than anyone.
You know my position on this -- shoot first and let Allah sort them out. Maybe Kevin Sites will follow a similar policy in the future, "shoot video first, then use your field experience to know when to let the shredder sort it out."
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