FAIR ACTION ALERT: CNN to Al Jazeera: Why Report Civilian Deaths?

Apparently CNN had the opportunity to interview Al Jazeera's editor-in-chief, wherein he was asked about the relevance of the civilian deaths as compared to the story of the insurgents.

Why wouldn't innocent civilians being killed be a story? FAIR argues, "Especially in light of official U.S. denials of civilian deaths, video footage of women and children killed by the U.S. military is evidence that needs to be seen."

Here's the kicker:

"independent journalists reporting from Fallujah have described a scene consistent with the one broadcast by Al Jazeera. Rahul Mahajan, a U.S. journalist in Fallujah, estimated that of the 600 Iraqis killed in Fallujah, 200 were women and 100 young children, with many of the adult male casualties also non-combatants. He reported witnessing "a young woman, 18 years old, shot in the head" and "a young boy with massive internal bleeding" at a clinic (CommonDreams.org, 4/12/04). Mahajan recounted that during the "cease-fire," "Americans were attacking with heavy artillery but primarily with snipers"-- with ambulances among the targets. The sniper activity was also reported by U.S. journalist Dahr Jamail (NewStandardNews.net, 4/11/04): "Fallujah residents say Marines are opening fire randomly on unarmed civilians and have attacked clearly marked ambulances."

"When reports from the ground are describing hundreds of civilians being killed by U.S. forces, CNN should be looking to Al Jazeera's footage to see if it corroborates those accounts-- not badgering Al Jazeera's editor about why he doesn't suppress that footage."

Go to FAIR's alert page to let CNN know what you think.

FAIR is the group that works for Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting.