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American Morning

U.S. Troops Not Only Ones at Risk from Dangers Posed by Attacks

Aired December 12, 2003 - 08:13   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. troops are not the only ones at risk from the dangers posed by attacks from insurgents in Iraq. "Time" magazine's senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf was severely hurt yesterday in Baghdad. A grenade landed in the Humvee that he was riding in. It exploded as he tossed it back out, leaving him with serious injuries to his arm. James Nachtwey, a photographer for "Time," and two other soldiers, were wounded by shrapnel in that explosion.
Joining us this morning, Ann Cooper is the executive director of the Committee To Protect Journalists.

Good morning.

ANN COOPER, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for joining us.

This story is so shocking. Many of us here certainly have worked with Michael Weisskopf over the many years on all sorts of stories. So it really was a shock to come into that news this morning.

Nineteen journalists killed. Give me a sense of how that number compares to other conflicts. How dangerous has this war been for journalists?

COOPER: Well, you know, many of the very seasoned war correspondents that we've talked with who are covering this conflict in Iraq say this is the most dangerous assignment I've ever had. The numbers are terrible. Nineteen journalists have died. A few of those died in accidents or for health reasons. Thirteen of them really have died in conflict type situations.

It is, I would say, not the worst situation ever. In Algeria in the early 1990s we had almost 60 journalists killed over a period of three years, very much targeted by Islamic fundamentalists and assassinated. But what journalists are telling us about Iraq is that it's dangerous all the time. It's, there are unexpected dangers. There's widespread banditry, the suicide bombers that threaten everyone in Iraq. It's definitely an extremely jittery situation, beyond what the numbers would tell you, I believe.

O'BRIEN: You talked about Algeria, where journalists were being targeted.

COOPER: Right.

O'BRIEN: We're looking at shots of the Al-Rasheed Hotel, where some journalists are being specifically targeted. But as others we've talked to this morning have said, it would be very -- the numbers would be much higher if the Iraqis wanted to take out journalists each and every day.

COOPER: That's right. Journalists are telling us they are not being systematically targeted as journalists. There was an incident where a bomb exploded outside a hotel that was -- where NBC was staying some weeks back. But, look, it's a dangerous place for everybody. Hundreds of U.S. troops have died. Iraqi civilians are dying or injured in the suicide bombers. You know, foreigners are being targeted and there are many foreign correspondents there and I think that they feel targeted in that sense. They're carrying expensive television equipment. They're the targets of bandits. They're very obvious when they're out there reporting, say, after a suicide bombing attack and sometimes the crowd turns hostile. They're quite visible and therefore they feel extremely vulnerable.

O'BRIEN: You published a safety manual which highlighted the safety precautions to take. What was the primary precaution that was possible to take and to what degree is it really a crap shoot that you're going to return from your assignment in one piece?

COOPER: Well, there are definitely some very specific things that can be done to increase your security as a journalist covering a conflict. One is that we believe any journalist going to cover a war situation or any conflict should go through hot -- what's called hostile environment training. It's usually about a week long course. You learn how to recognize a land mine, how to react when there's incoming fire, that sort of thing.

Equipment, you know, flak jackets, sometimes helmets, sometimes armored vehicles. There's equipment that you can get. You need to be properly insured. And editors, we published this handbook for journalists. It's called "On Assignment." But it's, you know, not just for the correspondents in the field. It's also for their editors, who need to think about all of these issues when they're sending people out to cover these stories.

O'BRIEN: Ann Cooper is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Thanks for coming in to talk to us again.

This story is so disturbing when you have a colleague who's over there and who is lost. It really sort of, you know, makes you stop for another moment.

COOPER: Yes, it does.

O'BRIEN: Thanks a lot for your time this morning.

COOPER: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Attacks>


Aired December 12, 2003 - 08:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. troops are not the only ones at risk from the dangers posed by attacks from insurgents in Iraq. "Time" magazine's senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf was severely hurt yesterday in Baghdad. A grenade landed in the Humvee that he was riding in. It exploded as he tossed it back out, leaving him with serious injuries to his arm. James Nachtwey, a photographer for "Time," and two other soldiers, were wounded by shrapnel in that explosion.
Joining us this morning, Ann Cooper is the executive director of the Committee To Protect Journalists.

Good morning.

ANN COOPER, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for joining us.

This story is so shocking. Many of us here certainly have worked with Michael Weisskopf over the many years on all sorts of stories. So it really was a shock to come into that news this morning.

Nineteen journalists killed. Give me a sense of how that number compares to other conflicts. How dangerous has this war been for journalists?

COOPER: Well, you know, many of the very seasoned war correspondents that we've talked with who are covering this conflict in Iraq say this is the most dangerous assignment I've ever had. The numbers are terrible. Nineteen journalists have died. A few of those died in accidents or for health reasons. Thirteen of them really have died in conflict type situations.

It is, I would say, not the worst situation ever. In Algeria in the early 1990s we had almost 60 journalists killed over a period of three years, very much targeted by Islamic fundamentalists and assassinated. But what journalists are telling us about Iraq is that it's dangerous all the time. It's, there are unexpected dangers. There's widespread banditry, the suicide bombers that threaten everyone in Iraq. It's definitely an extremely jittery situation, beyond what the numbers would tell you, I believe.

O'BRIEN: You talked about Algeria, where journalists were being targeted.

COOPER: Right.

O'BRIEN: We're looking at shots of the Al-Rasheed Hotel, where some journalists are being specifically targeted. But as others we've talked to this morning have said, it would be very -- the numbers would be much higher if the Iraqis wanted to take out journalists each and every day.

COOPER: That's right. Journalists are telling us they are not being systematically targeted as journalists. There was an incident where a bomb exploded outside a hotel that was -- where NBC was staying some weeks back. But, look, it's a dangerous place for everybody. Hundreds of U.S. troops have died. Iraqi civilians are dying or injured in the suicide bombers. You know, foreigners are being targeted and there are many foreign correspondents there and I think that they feel targeted in that sense. They're carrying expensive television equipment. They're the targets of bandits. They're very obvious when they're out there reporting, say, after a suicide bombing attack and sometimes the crowd turns hostile. They're quite visible and therefore they feel extremely vulnerable.

O'BRIEN: You published a safety manual which highlighted the safety precautions to take. What was the primary precaution that was possible to take and to what degree is it really a crap shoot that you're going to return from your assignment in one piece?

COOPER: Well, there are definitely some very specific things that can be done to increase your security as a journalist covering a conflict. One is that we believe any journalist going to cover a war situation or any conflict should go through hot -- what's called hostile environment training. It's usually about a week long course. You learn how to recognize a land mine, how to react when there's incoming fire, that sort of thing.

Equipment, you know, flak jackets, sometimes helmets, sometimes armored vehicles. There's equipment that you can get. You need to be properly insured. And editors, we published this handbook for journalists. It's called "On Assignment." But it's, you know, not just for the correspondents in the field. It's also for their editors, who need to think about all of these issues when they're sending people out to cover these stories.

O'BRIEN: Ann Cooper is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Thanks for coming in to talk to us again.

This story is so disturbing when you have a colleague who's over there and who is lost. It really sort of, you know, makes you stop for another moment.

COOPER: Yes, it does.

O'BRIEN: Thanks a lot for your time this morning.

COOPER: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Attacks>