Pentagon targeted journalists 6-5-2008

5, June 2008                           Pentagon targeted journalists

New testimony has recently emerged countering the official Pentagon version of the shelling of the Palestine Hotel in the early days of the Iraq war in 2003. The targeted attack killed two journalists, Reuter’s cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Jose Couso, a cameraman for the Spanish television network, Telecinco. The Pentagon brushed aside the killings as accidental, but this has been challenged by Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne (Ret.) who saw US military documents listing the Palestine Hotel as a possible target. During her service in military intelligence Kline was also ordered to eavesdrop on Americans working for news organizations and NGO’s in Iraq, in complete violation of US law. A documentary of the assassinations, ‘Hotel Palestine: Killing the Witness’, has been produced by Tecinco of Spain.

It appears the Pentagon has engaged in an ongoing effort to silence independent reporting which might turn world opinion against the illegal invasion of Iraq. First, Al Jazeera TV was ordered to shut down its operations. This was followed by attacks on the offices of Abu Dhabi TV, which in turn was followed by the shelling of the Palestine Hotel. It is an absolute outrage that these killings were planned by the top brass of the Pentagon with complete disregard to the lives of reporters and the devastating impact on their families. When will these serial killers be held accountable?