NEW YORK – U.S. troops have killed 13 journalists since the war in Iraq began in March 2003. At least 40 more have died covering the conflict. According to an analysis published by the Committee to Protest Journalists, several of the 13 deaths suggest indifference by U.S. soldiers to the presence of civilians, including members of the press. It also charges that the military has failed to fully investigate or implement its own recommendations to improve media safety.
In most cases, the U.S. military has either failed to investigate journalists’ deaths or has not made its inquiries public, says the CPJ. The findings from the few investigations that have been released have not credibly addressed questions of accountability for shooting deaths, and whether U.S. forces are taking necessary measures to differentiate between combatants and civilians in conflict areas, the report charged.
"As far as we know, the military has conducted full investigations into only a handful of incidents and made public its reports on just two of them,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “With such a record, the Pentagon needs to address its own serious credibility problem by showing some accountability and by providing real answers to outstanding questions about these shocking deaths."
