From a report on news.com.au
"The Iraqis could use Western journalists as hostages, Defence force spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan has said. "
Doesn't that sound as though the Brigadier is giving permission to use Western journalists as hostages? "Well, they could use the journalists, or we could let them use the supply seargants. Either way, we think that these populations make good hostages."
Journalists really have been getting themselves in harm's way which is either extremely admirable or quite stupid. 21 journalists have died in this conflict. I don't know how many are out there overall, but it can't be that many can it?
Dying so they can feed our insatiable appetite for instant news. I have stopped watching the blow-by-blow's with my popcorn on the sofa and am reading the newspaper or the net.
If I remember correctly, there's close to 300 in Iraq proper, both embedded and independent. Given that many of the independents have placed themselves in the middle of combat situations even though they don't have combat training (or the extra protection of being embedded in a military unit), I'm not really surprised that several have been killed or injured.
As for the Brigadier's statement, I interpreted it more as a suggestion that Iraq might be willing to use the Western journalists as human shields rather than giving permission. In other words, and observation as opposed to a suggestion. In fact, I suspect Iraq was doing some of that to begin with, amassing the whole lot in one location in Baghdad, surrounded by legitimate military targets. The shelling of the Palestine Hotel and subsequent death of a few journalists is indeed unfortunate, but they really were in a bad location.
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Well, this being a war and all, it seems unlikely that either side will wait for a suggestion or permission from the other before using a certain tactic.
As for admirable vs. stupid, I'd vote for admirable -- journalists in a war zone serve a vital function, far beyond entertainment, in providing independent information about what is going on. You wouldn't want all your war news to come from the Pentagon, would you?
According to the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59837-2003Apr8.html), the three reporters killed in the US attack on the Palestine Hotel brought the total to 12 out of the 300 reporting from Iraq.