Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Some of our best at war

Tuesday, April 1, 2003 | 9:08 a.m.

TEL AVIV, Israel -- The quality of news from reporters embedded with American and British combat units has been exceptional. These accomplishments are those of reporters in both electronic and printed press. The same praise can't be heaped on many of the anchors and editorial commentators coming across BBC, CNN and Sky News television.

Critics of news reporters assigned to combat units in action have shown their own ignorance about the realities of war. Yes, only a small slice of the war is seen and reported by each embedded reporter. This is exactly the picture viewers should be seeing because ground combat is a personal experience of soldiers and their comrades in a squad, platoon and company. This is their small slice of deadly combat that too often has been ignored as reporters sat around command centers and the Pentagon being fed war stories and hot coffee.

Walter Rodgers and Martin Savidge of CNN are fine examples of reporters telling the stories of fighting units. Also, south of them, Christiane Amanpour continues her years of clear and concise reporting during times of stress and excitement. When CNN leaves these reporters and goes to its desk in London, the viewers may believe that they then are receiving Al-Jazeera television in English or a slanted BBC commentary.

Reading at least three newspapers and having a fourth translated from Arabic usually wraps up my day. Here again I find the most interesting and complete stories are written by reporters living with combat troops. Also the past personal experiences of the reporters gives additional value to the product.

Yigal Tzur writes for the Jerusalem Post and Ma'ariv. He has had past combat experience as both a gunner and a reporter. The reader can feel his intensity and personal contact with individual soldiers. A good example of Tzur's salty opening paragraphs follows:

" 'Tell me,' said a tank commander who had lost his way while getting more fuel, 'where am I? This f---ing sand storm screwed up my GPS (Global Positioning System).' "

Later in the same story, Tzur points out that the soldiers in Gulf War II are a bit older than those serving in 1991. He writes, "This one has a son, the other one's wife has a birthday. On the way from Kuwait to Baghdad, suddenly they remember their car insurance ran out ..."

Caroline B. Glick also writes for the Jerusalem Post and is embedded with American troops. She goes into depth when writing about combat and the use of suicide bombers. She is an experienced writer who has covered the acts of terror visited upon the people of Israel.

Glick not only understands war, she also takes time to interview and quote individual soldiers. A recent interview with David Faulkner of Virginia, a 19-year-old infantryman assigned to a Bradley Fighting Vehicle crew, also included interviews with other crew members. The additional crew members included David Youngston, 20, from South Carolina, Jason Shawn, 18, from Houston, Doug Glazer, 24, from Brooklyn, N.Y., Rickey Lewis, 23, and Ryan Bigley, 20, both from Virginia. It was a wide-ranging interview that included questions about their feelings toward anti-war protestors and their understanding of the minds of Iraqi soldiers and civilians.

The coalition soldiers and the public are most fortunate to have reports made by experienced men and women who are willing to give up personal comforts and safety to see the truth. The files of these reporters will be invaluable as historians, during the next couple of years, sort out the parts that can make a whole story for further evaluation by students.

As a former combat platoon sergeant, it took me several years of reading and weeks of searching archives to learn what happened in the Korean War. My personal war was confined to a squad, platoon, company, regiment and the North Korean and Chinese soldiers we engaged night after night. Today, in comfort, I can learn what's happening in many small units spread over Iraq because of several outstanding reporters.