'Understanding' is a two-way street

The British-based news service Reuters has no doubt about why three staff members have been killed in Iraq: it's the fault of the U.S. military

."All of them were killed by the American army," Reuters chief David Schlesinger told reporters on the sidelines of a media conference in the southern Portuguese resort of Vilamoura, Portuguese national news agency Lusa reported.

"There is no understanding on the part of the US military regarding the the exercise of journalism."

Newsflash to Mr. Schlesinger: "Dateline Planet Earth -- There is no understanding on the part of Reuters regarding the exercise of war."

War reporting is dangerous work, always has been. In the past people like Ed Murrow and Ernie Pyle won public accolades (and respect from military men) because they reported the facts from the thick of things. Brave men and women who did not complain, at least not publicly. They sought access to danger, not guarantee of safe passage. Despite technological advances in war-making, chaos is still no stranger to the field of battle. Sensors fail, mistakes occur, positions can still be misidentified or reported, and the enemy in Iraq has a nasty habit of hiding behind or among civilians. There is no hesitation about taking the adjacent hotel room to set up a sniper nest. If the Americans hesitate to fire back because of the reporters next door, good. If the Americans return fire and kill the western reporters next door, even better. The propaganda value is a military consideration for an outgunned and morally challenged enemy.

American soldiers have more important tasks than to wet-nurse journalists, no matter what country they represent, and most journalists can figure this out. This leads us to suspect that Reuters is more interested in their own psychological spin against the war, evidenced in most of their reporting since it began.

But if they really are unable to stand the heat of the battle, then they should get the hell out of the war zone. The Islamo-terrorists might be sad but it's a cinch the American military will not miss them.