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--- Begin Message ----Caveat Lector- http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9935432%5E7582 ,00.html Along for the ride with 501st Airborne By Rory Callinan June 24, 2004"DON'T be afraid to pick up a weapon. There are no non-combatants in this vehicle," says the US army sergeant. "Officially I can't tell you that, but I'm a man down in this vehicle." The offer is politely declined but it demonstrates the contradictions a journalist can face during a week-long embedding stint with the US 501st Airborne on missions hunting Taliban and al-Qa'ida in east Afghanistan. The sergeant, who later asked not to be named, said he felt concerned at having a journalist along for a ride - putting his own troops at risk. The embedding assignment had begun two weeks earlier with a visit to the US army's base in Kabul. Just to enter the base, journalists are required to present at least two forms of ID to obtain a pass. Once inside, the public affairs officer requires a signature on a waiver which abdicates the US military from any responsibility if a reporter is injured and also a guarantee about not photographing certain subjects. Taking pictures of detainees or those in US custody and anything which might compromise operational security is banned. A breach of the agreement would result in "exclusion from future media activity" or as one Kandahar captain growled: "I'll take you to the gate and just drop you out the front" - believing anything outside the front gate constitutes less-than-friendly territory. Then there is the more subtle background check. Journalists are required to provide a resume and a summary of their work to supposedly give "unit commanders a little information before your visit to their areas of operation". Once vetted, journalists are presented with the "embedded media packing requirements". These include providing a card including the name and address of next of kin and your blood type and religion. Body armour and a kevlar helmet are must-haves. Embeds are advised to wear "suitable clothing". Brightly coloured clothing or military uniforms are considered unsuitable - a rule some journalists appear to flout. One US journalist is seen about to depart for an embedding assignment dressed in full desert camouflage. At Bagram airbase - the jumping-off point for the US army bases around the country, journalists are under strict supervision. "Escort required," read their identification badges and permission has to be obtained to photograph almost anything military. Taking pictures of the "flightline" is out of bounds, much to the frustration of a television crew from Germany who had visited the base the previous year and been allowed to film almost anything. "It's got to do with the fact this is a new division, which has not been deployed anywhere for a long time," says one public affairs officer, who asked not to be named. "They are paranoid about everything." The paranoia, however, does not appear to extend to east Afghanistan. Once in the field, at Camp Salerno, a dusty tent city for the 501st about 130km southeast of Kabul, no escort is required. Journalists are given frequent opportunities to accompany soldiers on missions which could last from a morning to seven days. No special treatment is in store for reporters who are required to eat, sleep and ride alongside soldiers on flat-top trucks or humvees, open to the elements and any potential ambush or improvised bomb - a scenario which leads to comments such as, "don't be afraid to pick up a weapon". Thankfully, no such ambush occurs and most of the soldiers are happy to speak on the record, but the higher up the command chain, the less frank commanders seem to become about some aspects of their mission. Few would reveal details about the capture or killing of so-called key al-Qa'ida or Taliban leaders or query the role of Pakistan as a bolthole for many of the suspects. They are, instead, very keen to emphasise their role in providing security for the region, especially during the coming election. As for civilian casualties caused by the 501st, senior commanders allege they have only been responsible for one incident in their nearly 12-month deployment - the minor wounding of a local who had pointed a gun at a soldier - a statistic difficult to check without leaving the base sans escort. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -__ ___ _ ___ __ ___ _ _ _ __ /-_|-0-\-V-/-\|-|-__|-|-|-/-_| \_-\--_/\-/|-\\-|-_||-V-V-\_-\ |__/_|--//-|_|\_|___|\_A_/|__/ SPY NEWS is OSINT newsletter and discussion list associated to Mario's Cyberspace Station - The Global Intelligence News Portal http://mprofaca.cro.net ######## CAUTION! ######### Since you are receiving and reading documents, news stories, comments and opinions not only from so called (or self-proclaimed) "reliable sources", but also a lot of possible misinformation collected by Spy News moderator and subscribers and posted to Spy News for OSINT purposes - it should be a serious reason (particularly to journalists and web publishers) to think twice before using it for their story writing, further publishing or forwarding throughout Cyberspace. 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That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
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