First of all, I want to say that I am relieved that Rory Carroll was released unharmed. However, an awful lot of the coverage gives me the feeling that if Carroll had been an American (or Briton) working for the Wall Street Journal (or Daily Telegraph or whatever) then that would have been all right. This is not only immoral, but also undermines the coverage provided in the Guardian, Irish Times, whatever.
How are we supposed to believe what we read in the Irish Times or Guardian or Independent if we first have to acknowledge that their reporters have been passed as 'acceptable' by those who are opposed to the
Iraqi government and the presence of the MNF? This is almost a mirror image of how the press functioned in Iraq before April 2003. If you're perceived to be against the US, then you can continue to write and file reports freely from Iraq, but if not we'll make sure you stop filing those reports.
