BBC may be source of Eason story

Followers of US blogs will know of the scandal raging after CNN's Eason Jordan claim that the US military deliberately targeted journalists in Iraq.

Tonight it has emerged that one source (and to date, the only source) for this claim appears to be our very own BBC. Kate Adie, the BBC journalist, claimed in an interview in 2003:

" I was told by a senior officer in the Pentagon, that if uplinks --that is the television signals out of... Bhagdad, for example-- were detected by any planes ...electronic media... mediums, of the military above Bhagdad... they'd be fired down on. Even if they were journalists ..' Who cares! ' said.. [inaudible] .."

This was reported on the internet as

PENTAGON THREATENS TO KILL INDEPENDENT REPORTERS IN IRAQ

So what appears to have been a warning to journalists to keep them from danger is transformed into deliberate targeting of them by the US military. It is obvious from Kate Adie's words that she understands what she is being told by the military and why, but that she expects the war to stop for her benefit. And because that is not going to happen she distorts the whole story into a some sort of a scandal, enabling others to turn this into targeting of journalists.

The BBC is the world's most trusted news organisation.

(Hat tip National Review)