CNN Reporting Enemy Propaganda as News Again
Here we go again. CNN reporting enemy propaganda as news: U.S. forces battle militants in Sadr City. My BS alarm goes off whenever I see reports like this. Especially, when it involves a U.S.-led operation in Sadr City, Baghdad. Why?
Every report seems to focus on how many innocent civilians are either killed or wounded during the operation. Who supplied the news for that particular story?
It is well-known that the Iranian's are conducting operations against coalition interests in the Sadr City. Such operations would include military training and support for militias, psychological-warfare and propaganda aimed at Western media.
Isn't this what the Iranians did through their support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine? CNN's report sounds eerily familiar to news stories that have come out of Gaza in years past. You know the story, an aggressive "occupation" force steam-rolls through a neighborhood leaving dead and wounded civilians in its wake. With no apparent reason for being there in the first place. Then pictures of grieving, suffering civilians are shown. Sounds familiar.
Civilians are undoubtedly wounded or killed during military operations in a crowded urban setting and that is tragic. But there is no proof that U.S. forces engage in operations with the intent to cause civilian casualties. My question for CNN is: was a reporter on the ground in Sadr City during the fighting? If so, was he or she a "stringer" or Western journalist? And where is the context for this report?
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi officials expressed outrage early Sunday at what they say are civilian deaths in the wake of a massive military operation in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood.
The U.S. military said its ground forces are "unaware" of civilian deaths in the early morning raid that it said left 49 "criminals" dead.
An Iraqi Interior Ministry source told CNN that 15 civilians were killed — all men — and 52 other civilians were wounded, including women and children.
Sadr City's mayor, Hassan Adhab, told Iraqi state TV there were 10 "martyrs" — including a mother and her three children — and 42 others were wounded.
Coalition forces were targeting a man they said was a leader in an Iranian-funded kidnapping operation. U.S. military spokeswoman Sgt. Nicole Dykstra told CNN the target was "neither apprehended nor killed today."
Adhab described a bloody scene, saying dozens of sheep were killed in the melee, and military aircraft still hovered over the neighborhood hours after the raid.
He blamed American forces for targeting cars carrying people who were heading to work early Sunday.
"We call upon Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to stop such immoral acts in Sadr City," Adhab said.
When asked about the Sadr City raid, the spokesman for the Baghdad Security Plan said Iraqi forces take every measure to avoid civilian casualties.
"If there are innocent civilian casualties in Sadr City or anywhere else then that is unfortunate," Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta said. "We hope both the Multi-National Forces and the Iraqi Security Forces demonstrate military restraint and respect human rights."
He said al-Maliki will be briefed on the details of the Sadr City raid by the Multi-National Forces.
The U.S. military said the joint ground forces were fired upon as they were clearing several buildings in the "target area."
"Supporting aircraft was called in to suppress the enemy fire, killing an estimated six criminals," a military news release stated.
"The operation's objective was an individual reported to be a longtime Special Groups member specializing in kidnapping operations," the military said. "Intelligence indicates he is a well-known cell leader and has previously sought funding from Iran to carry out high profile kidnappings."
The military said its forces were hit by a roadside bomb as they left the area, but the blast did not cause any casualties among coalition forces.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said many cars and many homes were damaged in the battle.
The ministry spokesman said the firefight took place between 1:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. ET) and 6 a.m. (11 p.m. ET) in Sadr City, a densely populated Shiite slum where there is much grass-roots support for Iran and anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"Special Groups are Shia extremist militant groups trained, funded and supplied primarily by Iran through the Islamic Revolutionary Guards — Quds Force," said U.S. Army Lt. Justin Cole.
"Special Groups have evolved over the past three years into insurgent elements using a cellular structure and operating independently."
"Special Groups operate throughout Iraq," Cole said. "They plan and execute bombings, kidnappings, sectarian murders and more against Iraqi citizens, Iraqi forces and coalition personnel."