Remember the Journalists

A January 4 Counterpunch article recalls the coalition attacks on three news source buildings all in one morning early in the Iraq invasion.

Journalists Under Fire: The Death of José Couso in Baghdad

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The family, friends and colleagues of José Couso, defying the pain and loss they have been forced to bear, have mounted a unrelenting campaign to demand justice for José, starting with a full investigation of the events of April 8, and a trial for the killers of José Couso and Tara Protsyuk. Dozens of Spanish towns and even regions have called for justice, and demonstrations are held every week in front of the headquarters of Aznar's ruling PP party, and on the eighth of every month in front of the US embassy in Madrid.

José Couso was an accomplished professional with immense personal dedication to what he saw as his mission: to tell the truth with his camera and pierce through the official line with the simplicity yet depth of images. Jon Sistiaga says: "He wanted to go beyond the sheer news event. He tried to make the images speak for themselves so that the journalist has to say as little as possible." In the days before the start of the [war] some reporters are nervous about staying in Baghdad, but Couso urges them to stay. Carlos Hernández: "Couso told us 'you've got to stay, we have to be here to tell people what's happening, we can't let there be a war without any witnesses.'"

José's testament is a 24-minute stretch of video wherein he captures the war crime that ended his own life.

In a public statement, the family of José Couso ask a question that not only exposes the masters of war, but also poses a challenge to us all: "If they're capable of murdering a journalist with credentials like our brother in the very center of Baghdad in full view of the international community, what won't they do to civilians or supposed enemies who get in their way?"

A listing of journalists who have been killed in Iraq is on my Bush Administration Fallout page (scroll down).