General David Petraeus
Commander, Coalition Task Force 7
Baghdad
Iraq
APO AE 09316
Fax: (703) 270-0270
Dear General Petraeus:
The Overseas Press Club of America joins Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other press freedom groups in calling on your command and Iraqi police to launch immediate and thorough investigations into the killing of two Iraqi employees of the Reuters news agency assigned to cover fighting in eastern Baghdad on July 12.
While some reports say it was a mortar shell fired by Iraqi militia members that killed photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40, others blame a rocket fired from a U.S. helicopter. We think it urgent to discover the facts — especially if U.S. forces were responsible and aware that the two men were journalists trying to do their jobs for a world-wide audience whose view of the war has become increasingly important in future arrangements to assure a lasting peace.
We agree with RSF that â??if the circumstances and responsibilities are not clearly established, suspicion will persists about the U.S. Armyâ??s involvement.â? As you well know, U.S. operations that kill innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan have become a major source of animosity towards U.S. forces in both countries, and have cast a cloud over Washingtonâ??s stated aims of providing more security to people threatened by ethnic violence and terrorist insurgency.
When the slain civilians involved are journalists, the incidents raise even more questions about U.S. and Iraqi commitment to press freedom in practice as well as in principle. There are already enough such questions stemming from severe restrictions and harsh treatment of journalists in Iraq since the war began.
As we wrote last year to then Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, we understand the need for effective anti-terrorist operations in Iraq. But as we have pointed out previously, the current rationale for the U.S.-led Coalition@quot;s presence in Iraq is in no small part to establish a model for democracy in the Middle East. Mistreatment of journalists in Iraq suggests that our forces need to be reminded that democracy depends heavily on freedom of speech and of the press, however inconvenient a free media may at times seem to those in authority.
We urge you to repeat in the strongest terms your own commitment to press freedom, and that of the White House, and to encourage U.S. commanders and Iraqi officials to ensure the safety of those journalists risking their lives daily to provide the full and fair account of a crucial conflict that Americans, Iraqis and a watching world demand and deserve.
Thank you for your attention. We would appreciate a reply.
Very truly yours,
David M. Alpern
Kevin McDermott
Freedom of the Press Committee
cc:
H.E. Nouri Kamal al-Maliki
Prime Minister
Republic of Iraq
c/o Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
1801 P Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Fax: (202)462-5066
Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301
Fax: (703)695-4299
H.E. Jalal Talabani
President
Republic of Iraq
c/o Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
1801 P Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Fax: (202)462-5066
H.E. Ryan C. Crocker
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
Embassy of the Unites States of America
Baghdad
Iraq
BaghdadPressOffice@state.gov
Ambassador Hamid Al Bayti
Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations
14 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021
Fax: (212)772-1794
David Schlesinger
Editor-in-Chief
Reuters
David.Schlesinger@Reuters.com
News Editor
Al-Jazeera
Qatar
newseditor@aljazeera.net
Hassan Fatah Pasha
Editor
Iraq Today
hassan@iraq-today.net