The Trouble with Civilian Casualty Stories

A controversy is raging between the US military and several Arab news outlets over their coverage of the siege of Fallujah. General John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command, criticized the Qatar-based Al Jazeera for portraying US military action "as purposely targeting civilians." "We absolutely do not do that, and I think everybody knows that," Abizaid said. "They have not been truthful in their reporting." Despite Abizaid's criticisms, a Washington Post analysis finds the substance of the reporting on most news sites, both US and international, is similar. Some Arab sites, such as Islam Online, have displayed pictures of wounded babies with stories on Fallujah. But the numbers of civilian casualties reported by Arab news outlets largely match those in Western reports. It may be that limited media access in Fallujah, not irresponsible journalism, leads to many of the alleged discrepancies in reporting. "Until journalists can get in and investigate on their own," said the Washington Post's correspondent in Baghdad, "I don't think we're going to get a fuller picture of what's going on." –YaleGlobal