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Who killed the journalists? Maybe not us

3 comments on Who killed the journalists? Maybe not us

Who killed the journalists? Maybe not us
: The BBC’s defense correspondent, Andrew Gilligan, says in a radio interview that he doubts a U.S. tank fired the shot that killed two journalists in Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel; he thinks Iraqi soldiers launched the attack As the Guardian reports:

“I may be right in saying we’re hearing from central command that they’re starting to retract their apology for this incident,” Gilligan told Radio 5 Live’s drivetime show.

He added that after examining the scene he concluded it was virtually impossible for the US tank to have fired on the 15th floor room.

“I have to say I rather doubt it and, having been underneath it and looking up now just before it got dark at the hole again in the side of the hotel, I still doubt it.

“For a start the damage to the hotel is superficial, it’s only the masonry that’s been torn off in a very small area, a tank shell would have done more damage I feel.

“Secondly the angle that the tank would have to have reached to hit that roof, it would more or less have had to have shot just round the corner and I don’t think even the Americans have got those kinds of weapons.”…

“This might have been the responsibility of someone else, maybe some Saddam Fedayeen with a rocket-propelled grenade, who did not like the fact the Reuters guy was shooting footage from his balcony at the time of the attack.

“That is pure speculation. I just think there must still be some doubt over this area.”

3 responses to “Who killed the journalists? Maybe not us”

  1. Jackie D Avatar
    Jackie D

    I’ll be watching this one with interest. The journalists on British TV tonight disgusted me with their coverage of this one. They all but accused the US of deliberately targeting journalists in order to shut them up. Not being funny, but if they’d wanted to shut journalists up at some point, it would have been last week when they were all declaring this war “another Vietnam”. Lately, the media has been a lot better about getting to grips with reality and reporting the stunning progress of this conflict. What’s to shut up? And how bloody stupid would it be to go after journalists so blatantly, for no good reason?
    Answer: about as stupid as suggesting that the US would do such a thing.

  2. Ben Hammersley Avatar
    Ben Hammersley

    Interesting. The BBC has footage of the shot being fired – taken from by a French channel – with the tank barrel pointing directly at the camera, and the muzzle flash. A second or so later, the shell hits. The gash in the building above the balcony may have been caused by something else, but close to a hundred of the world’s best journalists were in the building at the time and many were on the lower-roof and saw the shot being fired and the round hit. Not a single one saw or heard any outgoing fire from the building.

  3. Myles Avatar
    Myles

    I would have thought there would have been more comments on this one. The US Defense Department said US forces acted after coming under small arms fire from the hotel. Now THAT’S as stupid as suggesting that the US would do such a thing.