Hersh: Don't trust Washington on Iraq

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:07:05

Prominent journalist Seymour Hersh says the US is 'in real trouble' because news coverage on Iraq is anything but balanced and unbiased.


Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh

When the American government says the US is winning in Iraq and is not torturing prisoners, they are just words, Hersh told his audience of journalism students in Regina, Canada. "We are in real trouble [in Iraq]."

Pointing to the changes reporting has undergone since the Vietnam War, the award-winning journalist explained that reporters are now imbedded with troops who cloud their judgment and therefore do not touch the same kind of issues.

"It has led to a lot of lousy reporting," continued Hersh. "I don't think it is bad for a journalist to come back (from covering a war) and say it s***s."

Hersh said media outlets spread 'fake' news and suggested his audience resort to translations of local media sources when learning about issues concerning the Middle East.

Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Myron Hersh first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War.

MT/AA