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It took Nixon to go to China and it took Greyhawk to defend Kevin Sites and make it stick.

A lot of bloggers have devoted a lot of effort recently to doing what we can to keep a young Marine in Fallujah from being convicted by the press for what may well have been a perfectly justifiable killing. I've posted on the subject, at least tangentially, here, here, here, here, here, and here. While I haven't come out and said as much on my blog, there may have been undertones to comments I've made in more private surroundings that  indicated some degree of distaste for Kevin Sites, the reporter whose film and comments ignited the whole controversy. I know I certainly haven't expressed any admiration for the gentleman. Other's have gone actively in the other direction. Charles Johnson, whom I consider to be a pretty clear thinker for the most part, wrote this for instance:

The importance of journalists in war can be debated. But if the ultimate objective of any war is to win, then having people like Sites accompany soldiers on life-and-death missions, when his objective is not to win but to record and publicize and play everything “straight down the middle,” is a very dangerous situation. The immediate and ongoing exploitation of the video by Arab news services and internet jihadis for incitement against Americans can in no way be seen as a positive development for the overall war effort. It’s a defeat. It gives ammunition to the enemy on the field of ideas, and it hurts us both here in the US and overseas.

And it’s an almost inevitable consequence when the person operating the camera doesn’t share the goals of the people operating the weapons.

I can’t really blame Sites for releasing the video to the pool. Once it was on tape and others knew about it, what else could he do? But the bigger, entirely pragmatic issue is: if winning is important, why was he even there in the first place?

Others have said worse, which I won't repeat here. Enter Greyhawk, a military officer currently serving in Iraq:

[...]

Now I'll dispense with subtleties and add this: I've seen a number of people claim that Sites "wasn't fit to accompany those Marines" yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah but the one inescapable fact is this: He was accompanying those Marines, he did go through that door, and I'm not sure the loudest whiners in this entire episode would have the guts to do so.

Now go back and read this entry, from even earlier then those others linked above. Never mind, I'll excerpt:

“Since January this year, anti-Iraqi forces have abducted at least 20 journalists,” pointed out Lt Cmdr Balice, quoting the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

There is a widespread perception among Iraqis that foreign journalists are “spies” or collaborators with coalition forces, the CPJ had stated in a recent report.

Reporters Without Borders, an international media watchdog with its headquarters in Paris, has listed Iraq as the most dangerous country for journalists.

The 19-month Iraq conflict has now claimed the lives of 57 news media personnel - journalists and critical support staff - and one is missing, according to records kept by the International News Safety Institute.

At the onset of the invasion in 2003, Sites virtually walked into this country without the relative safety of being embedded with U.S. forces, and has been here off and on ever since. Knowing the sort of cojones that took I expected throughout the whole latest series of events that Sites would post his own thoughts on the issue on his blog, where as I noted originally no editor (or anchorman or pundit, I now add) would stand between him and the public.

Now he has done so, in the form of a letter to the only people he feels (rightfully) he owes an explanation.

[...]

I'm not going to excerpt any of Mr. Sites' blog post, lest I tempt you to settle for my excerpt instead of reading the whole thing.

Thank you, Greyhawk (I find myself saying that frequently) for bringing me to my senses about this.  Bottom line, people? Bottom line: Walking into that mosque took a pair of great big brass ones, just as much or more so for a reporter with a camera as for a Marine with a rifle. They both deserve our respect. Kevin Sites did his job. He saw news and he reported it, in a reasonably unbiased manner. What a bunch of talking heads and Monday morning generals who weren't there tried to do with his story isn't his fault. We have no more right to condemn him from thousands of miles away than we do to condemn that young Marine. Mr. Sites, for whatever negative comments I've made about you in private conversations, I hereby apologize publicly.

Update: Dr. Rusty Shackleford  really disagrees with my conclusion.  I have  a great deal of respect for Rusty; I guess this just goes to prove it's possible for two intelligent people to analyze the same facts and reach different conclusions.

Posted by Bill Faith on November 23, 2004 at 04:13 PM | Permalink

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» The Marine in Fallujah. from Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys..
You know which one. The only one the MSM or Euros, or other whingers seem interested in. The one Kevin Sites (who I'm not yet convinced deserves a lot of the opprobrium he's received on the subject) recorded and reported.... [Read More]

Tracked on Nov 24, 2004 7:10:48 AM

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Note: I hate to have to do it but I'm turning on comment and trackback moderation. If you post a legitimate trackback or comment I'll do my best not to be too slow about approving it. If the only reason you're here is to advertise your porn, music, or penis enhancement site you can kiss my sweet ass.

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Posted by: jordan | Nov 26, 2004 11:47:30 AM

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