It has long been standard counter-propaganda practice--especially by those in power-- to claim that some very damning video exposé was "taken out of context." That line was used throughout the war in Vietnam, then Desert Storm, and then Bush/Cheney's new war on Iraq. Remember Rumsfeld jeering that the lethal post-invasion anarchy throughout Baghdad had been exaggerated by the press? He noted that the news included countless shots of vases in distress: "Is it possible that there were that many vases in the whole country?" he asked rhetorically (and, it must be said, moronically).
That defensive line has been deployed not just in wartime but in other controversial cases here at home. The footage of the LAPD stomping Rodney King, for instance, met with fierce howls of denial from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, who claimed, predictably, that that sensational footage was a mere misleading fragment of the whole encounter. See it all, they said, and you will see that King had really asked for it, and that the cops had acted with heroic restraint, etc. But what the entire video showed was quite the opposite, as all it showed was members of the LAPD stomping Rodney King. And so it is with Al Jazeera's video of the military's top chaplain in Afghanistan instructing US troops to "hunt people for Jesus" in that Muslim land. The Pentagon's spokesman quickly charged that that explosive moment "grossly misrepresent[ed] the truth," as it was mostly "taken out of context." To which denial Al Jazeera, and American filmmaker Brian Hughes, who shot that film, have come out with a devastating answer, as Jeremy Scahill reports below. Specifically, they released the raw footage shot by Hughes, who also offers a detailed account of his experience shooting it. It's a response that cannot be denied; and so the military's only option is to drop the subject. We, meanwhile, have a civic obligation not to drop it, since our crusading armies are a danger to the world, and a gross betrayal of our Constitution. MCM Al Jazeera Strikes Back at Pentagon, Releases Unedited Footage of U.S. Soldiers' 'Bible Study' in Afghanistan By Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports Posted on May 5, 2009, Printed on May 6, 2009 http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://rebelreports.com//139824/ Hours after Al Jazeera first broadcast a video showing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan being instructed by the military's top chaplain in the country to "hunt people for Jesus" as they spread Christianity to the overwhelmingly Muslim population, the Pentagon shot back. It charged that Al Jazeera had "grossly misrepresent[ed] the truth." Col. Greg Julian, told Al Jazeera: "Most of this is taken out of context Š this is irresponsible and inappropriate journalism." Now, Al Jazeera and the man who filmed the controversial material are striking back. The network has just released unedited and unaltered footage of U.S. soldiers in 'bible study' in Afghanistan. Jazeera describes it as "Extended footage shot by Brian Hughes, a U.S. documentary maker and former member of the U.S. military who spent several days in Bagram near Kabul." In Al Jazeera's original report, Hughes addressed the fact that soldiers had imported bibles translated into Pashto and Dari. "[U.S. soldiers] weren't talking about learning how to speak Dari or Pashto, by reading the Bible and using that as the tool for language lessons," Hughes told Al Jazeera. "The only reason they would have these documents there was to distribute them to the Afghan people. And I knew it was wrong, and I knew that filming it Š documenting it would be important." Regarding allegations that the sermon of the military's top chaplain in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, where he instructs soldiers to "hunt people for Jesus" was taken out of context, Hughes said in a statment, "Any contention by the military that his words are purposefully taken out of context to alter the tone or meaning of his sermon is absolutely false." Hughes is completely standing by the accuracy of Al Jazeera's report. Here is Hughes's statement: "On Sunday, May 3, the Al Jazeera English network and I made an agreement to produce a broadcast segment from a rough cut of my documentary film. This opportunity came after a May 2009 Harper's magazine cover story called "Jesus Killed Mohammed." While he researched and prepared that article, I allowed the author Jeff Sharlet to view the work-in-progress documentary. Sharlet's article brought the film to Al Jazeera English's attention. "My documentary, titled The Word and the Warriors, is inspired by a personal experience I had while serving as a combat flight crew member during the first Gulf War. During a very difficult and emotional time at war, an Army chaplain provided me comfort and counsel. I will never forget the important advice or the man who - without questioning my own faith - helped me at a time of need. For two-and-a-half years, I have been researching and producing this film. I have traveled the world, interviewing both military servicemembers and civilians about the important role of these religious leaders/military officers. "During April/May 2008, I went to Afghanistan. With the assistance and full cooperation of the U.S. Army, I was allowed to film at Bagram Air Field. During that time, I was always wearing press credentials, and I was always accompanied by a media liaison while filming. The media liaison staff knew everything I filmed and - as I was told by them - they filed reports every evening about what I had filmed. It was my primary media liaison, an Army NCO, who - on my first day - invited me to meet LTC Gary Hensley. Hensley, the ranking chaplain in Afghanistan talked to me off camera expressing a concern he had about allowing me to film his chaplains. At the conclusion of the discussion, he agreed that I would be allowed to embed with his chaplains and invited me to film several hours of religious services. "Those hours at the Enduring Faith Chapel included his own sermon at a service called Chapel Next. "With the exception of a few minutes I could not film because I was reloading my camera or moving to position for another shot, I videotaped Hensley's entire sermon. "Any contention by the military that his words are purposefully taken out of context to alter the tone or meaning of his sermon is absolutely false. "In recent press statements, the military also contends that - in the footage depicting the Afghan-language (Dari and Pashto) bibles - a cut was made before "it would have shown that the chaplain instructed that the Bibles not be distributed." This is a false statement. The chaplain - as seen in the footage before the cut - instructs the group to be careful and reiterates the definition of General Order #1. After this cut he begins to organize the group for the evening's bible study lessons. "Finally, and in my opinion most important, is the fact that EVERY FRAME of the rough cut from Bagram was provided to the U.S. Army Public Affairs Office in advance of this release. On Thursday, April 30 at approximately 1 pm EST, the Army took possession of a DVD with this footage by accepting a FedEx from me. Since Al Jazeera English first aired the piece Sunday, May 3 at 10pm EST, the Army had every frame of this rough cut for more than 80 hours." Jeremy Scahill is the author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. © 2009 Rebel Reports All rights reserved. View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://rebelreports.com//139824/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [email protected] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
