Bob Woodruff and Stupidity

CNN'S CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: 'IRAQ WAR HAS BEEN A DISASTER'
Mon Jan 30 2006

CNN's top war correspondent Christiane Amanpour now says the Iraq war has been a disaster and has created a "black hole." Amanpour made the comments Monday evening on the all-news network.

"The Iraq war has been a disaster, and journalists have paid for it," Amanpour explains to Larry King, a day after ABC NEWS anchor Bob Woodruff was injured by a bomb.

"This is not acceptable what's going on there and it's a terrible situation."

AMANPOUR: "It's a spiraling security disaster... And by any indication whether you take the number of journalists killed or wounded, whether you take the number of Iraqi soldiers killed and wounded, contractors, people working there, it just gets worse and worse."
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Okay, let me get this straight, the Iraq war only becomes "real" to journalists like Christiane when a fellow journalist like Bob Woodruff is wounded? Huh? Not when US or Coalition soldiers are killed makes it real for them. Talk about self-centeredness.

I am no way lessening the tragedy of any civilian who gets hurt or killed in any conflict. Its a tragic thing. But its nothing new in War. Why the shock and outrage? If you read the specifics of what happened to Bob Woodruff, you learn he was traveling in a US & Iraqi military convoy and was in a cozy, by less news worthy, rear position in the convoy but then chose to get in the lead vehicle and ride exposed in the open turret. Anyone played "whack-a-mole"? The enemy is going to zero in right on you if you're sticking your head out like that. The soldiers were smart enough to know as they were all inside their vehicles NOT giving the enemy a target. But "stupid is as stupid does".

Which brings me to another point.
What is it with these journalists who takes every stupid opportunity to try re-enact their own version of Edward R. Murrow's famous broadcasts from the London rooftops during the blitzkrieg of WWII? You see these jacksasses all the time during every hurricane, standing outside in the torrential rain and wind, doing their best imitation of a mime "walking against the wind"? Haven't we had enough of this already?

But then again I guess if they weren't out in the field actually witnessing the story they'd have to do what the a lot of their colleagues do...make the stuff up.