The White House insists that -democracy is taking root- in Iraq and promises not to turn back from that effort. But yesterday-s ghastly episode in Fallujah raises challenging questions about how well the effort is going. Although Ambassador Paul Bremer says the barbaric treatment of four American contractors -will not go unpunished,- it-s not yet clear who-s to blame. Were they foreign agents or indigenous Iraqis? How widespread is the outrage over US occupation? Will the transfer of political power, now planned for July, have to be reconsidered? How will images of brutalized Americans impact US support for the war in this presidential election year? Warren Olney speaks with journalists in Baghdad, veteran diplomats, officials from the Defense Department and US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and a senior advisor to the Iraqi Governing Council.
- Reporter's Notebook: Media Ethics on Showing Gruesome Footage Yesterday-s incident in Fallujah produced film and videotape of charred American bodies being dragged through city streets and hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River. Different media outlets covered the story differently. Former reporter Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, reports on how the media makes decisions about the images it displays.
Murphy's recent article on US pursuit of Iraqi insurgents
Burns article on US optimism after recent attacks in Fallujah
