Eason Has Always Been Targeted

The blogosphere is correctly buzzing with outrage at Eason Jordan's outrageous statements accusing US Forces of deliberately targeting journalists in Iraq.

But Eason has a history of hyping risks to journalists. It's a self-affirmation thing, and a form of marketing. Remember, bloggers are depicted by the mainstream media as shlubs in pajamas (for the record, The Dread Pundit Bluto does not wear pajamas, ever).

In a 2002 interview for TBS Jordan had this to say:

"...we've seen something in both places that I thank God happens very rarely, and that is that in both places journalists are not only being killed but they're being targeted."

From a 2003 article, this

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Iraqi intelligence agents planned to attack CNN journalists working in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq in March, three months after Iraq's information minister warned of the "severest possible consequences" if CNN were to send reporters to the region, said CNN's chief news executive, Eason Jordan.

And, from an interview for Newshour in 2004:

But I do have to take issue with John's point in the beginning. He believes that journalists are not targeted. I do believe that journalists are targeted. There are very specific examples of that.

Here's the real point, from another Newshour interview in 2003

We did it under the threat of death. And we had people come forward later and confess on videotape that they tried to kill our people in northern Iraq, but we were there anyway. We were courageous in doing so.

Self-promotion, self-aggrandizement; fine, but don't slander American troops.