Feedback 3 - Tell Us: How Can This Be Liberation?

Tuesday, 8 April 2003, 11:08 am
Opinion: Scoop Feedback

Letters To The Editor

Scoop Feedback 3 - Tell Us: How Can This Be Liberation?

The following feedback has been received from Scoop readers in response to our decision to publish graphic pictures from Al Jazeera, ArabNews.com and other sources showing the true horror of war.

Scoop Editorial - Scoop Continues To Publish Reality Of War Images.

Photos - War Images Feature Page (WARNING. GRAPHIC IMAGES MAY DISTURB).

Scoop welcomes reader feedback. Please send your news and views to editor@scoop.co.nz or via Scoops ‘mail the editors’ form…

Iraq war photos

Thank you for publishing these. The brainwashed American people need to see the casualties of Bush's war. All we get here is flag-waving, and hatred and threats toward those who don't want war.

David Lenderts

Thanks for showing the truth

I knew it was horrible. Now I can see exactly how horrible. Thanks for showing the truth. The american media tries to make the war coverage like the superbowl. Thank god for the internet....

Thatcher Wright - USA

WE bombed the market?

How incredibly idiotic of you and your site to continue to state that the market was bombed by the US when it has already been proven that this was an Iraqi missle that had been fired on our planes and fell back into their own streets!! If you hate the US so much, then go live in fucking Palestine in the dirt with the rest of your US hating friends! DID YOU KNOW that Saddam has killed more of his own civilians since the war started than the Coalition forces? What a great guy! You should be proud to be his supporter. Just think....perhaps the rest of the world should follow his lead and start killing our own people....THAT would go over real well with you and your site!!

Hope you die a horribly painful death and soon! Love and kisses...

R

if only others would see...

It hurts my heart to see so many of my fellow Americans swallowing the sugar coated war pill that our government and media machines are handing out. I do not watch television and am thankful to have this site to show me the true casualties of this war. I do not claim to know much about this war, why it is waged, or why it is wrong, but I do know that young innocent people, American and Iraqi are dying in horrible numbers for reasons that no one really knows. This war is unjust and miserable for everyone. I feel sorry for the karmic retribution that will take hold of Mr. Bush and his cabinet. I think of and pray that these innocent Iraqi children and young uninformed American soliders are not too terribly scarred by these aweful events. Thank you again for showing some truth.

Sincerely,

Lin Lemley

Not so sure

I don't like war. Nobody does. But what I don't like most is Saddam. Why don't you put some of the pics of people that Saddam killed for people to see or do you like what he did!!! Fou all we know you are probably working for Saddam. What Pres. Bush doing is not the best thing but he has no other choice. You should be thanking him for trying to set people free from "SADDAM".

Lynn

?SCOOP?

War is hell. You show the same few photos over and over again. Yes, there have been accidents, they happen all the time. They are unfortunate. Considering the amount of ordinance sent into Baghdad, we are not doing too bad. We could have carpet bombed the place and rid this world of these brainless people. We didn't.

Your worst enemy

salesmanship

I have been writing relentlessly to U.S. media and anyone else that I thought might have an ear since rumors of war began. I have always been amazed at how such a mass of people can be sold such a big lie when there are so many obvious holes in it. We talk about "free press", but all that makes its way to the front here is the administrations policy line. We don't have free press, we have talented, highly paid salespeople. I appreciate your willingness to show these images, and to be truthful, wonder why your website hasn't been blocked like so many others in this country. I tried several European newspaper links and most of them would not connect. Curious.

Marc Moore

My idea about posting realistic pictures

Although I hate violence,I hope you could publish this distracting pictures in all news papers. It will help more people to be able to wlak in Iraqi people's shoes and to feel what they are going through. It will help more people to understand this is not a video game this is very painful reality.

Simin Memarzadeh

consequence of american colonialist operation

This kind of fact never been light up in american politicians and some of american people.

They wanna build american empire on this earth.

Next... might be my conuntry or yours!

Rody - Thailand

Human shields

Yes, the face of war is awful. Sense the beginning of time there have been wars. I'm glad that in this world, some nations give some people the right to exercise their beliefs. Maybe some should be held as unpatrotic and imprisoned. Do your thing, it's your right. As a vertran I am for the liberation of Iraq. And the instillation of a Democratic government. Hang around and run for President.You might be the next target of the free world.

I've seen the face of war and it still disturbs me. Never the less I approve of our present confict.

By the way. I would like your resume. Have a job for you in the World trade center buildings. Sorry, opening closed after 9-11.

Keep up the good work. We need more people like you. But, in the future shield something important. How about a military base or travel with the Iraq military. At 30,000 feet I'm sure a pilot will see you and not release a smart bomb.

You should be ashamed of your self. People are dieing to protect your rights.

If you are still alive from the present conflict that means you were hiding with the women and children.

Come on give me a break. Your liberal attitude will get you killed, maybe by an American hero.

Simpre Fi.

Jerry Adams

Thanks

Thanks for showing the true pictures of war. Although they are disgusting and revolting, they are nevertheless the key to the heart. And that is where peace will come from.

Anita Roy

the humanity shame

Could you please send this pictures also at mr Bush/Blair Alfredo Denzio Milan Italy

Alfredo Denzio – Italy

Iraq

Yeah of course war is horrific, No one could deny that! Of course there is going to be civilian casualties. What strikes me as just a bit hypocritical on your behalf is how right next to these 'terrible' and 'Shocking' pictures of children with their heads blown apart is an advert telling people how to advertise on your site, lets face it, thats all 'Scoop' is about really isnt it, Fucking Money, Yeah great, lets all jump on the bandwaggon lets all be anti-war anti-US anti-British, lets show pictures of dead kids, lets just do anything that will increase the money in your fucking pockets, you dont give a shit about the people of iraq. If you did care about them you would support the fact that the US and UK are trying to help them get rid of on evil man who has murderd hundreds of thousands of them over the last 20 or 30 years he has held power. You Stupid Prick.

Paul Kristen

Feedback - Good job!

Keep showing the reality of war. It's better to have access to complete unadulterated war coverage, than have a cosmetically polished Hollywood version which is what the U.S. media wants it's citizens to believe. The war is just another "Reality Show" that the media often hides from U.S. citizens.

I appreciate your news coverage providing just raw news, that users can make their own opinions about.

Eugene – USA

Iraq photos

When such suffering is being inflicted on the people of Iraq in the name of the people of the US, then it is time that the US public be "shocked and awed" by these photographs. For the sake of the world's conscience, please continue to present the reality we in the US are otherwise not shown by our sanitized media.

D. Robins

Tell us is this liberation?

The title of your photo essay is weak.

I believe you are suggesting that the images contradict the idea that the US is seeking to liberate the Iraqis. My answer to your proposed question is; yes, colateral damage is an aspect during the process of liberation in this case unfortunately.These pictures are very sad on their own but the one sided context you are putting them in is disturbing. Where are all the pictures of Saddam's victims from over the term of his dictatorship? Let me drag some of those out and then we can have a whole debate based around who can come up with the more tragic images.

Agreed, there are more motives here than the liberation of the Iraqi people but that doesn't mean those other motives are sinister.

Maybe you don't trust Bush but perhaps you're letting that blind you.Do you really think there was a way to contain Saddam and his sons and their sons etc. How many years could we keep that up effectivley while being challenged at every turn? Do you think a regime that celebrates something like 9/11 can be considered as non threatening in this day and age? Do you understand how people like Saddam help perpetuate the rift between western and Islamic culture? Are you aware of how many people have yet to die even as a result of that rift?

There's alot of perspectives that can be drawn from these events, hopefully most people will stay focused on the true positive aspects while doing so.

Thank you for allowing me to leave my feedback with you and I look foward to the opportunity of discussing this further if you would like.

Jones

Savagery of War against Iraqi

The world will never be the same again. What did the innocent Iraqi children do to deserve this savagery??

Ummsarah

truth rules

great show guys, in these days where you get to hear or read what a particular government wants you to see or read, THERE IS A MESIAH SITE where you get to see and read the truth. way to go guys, TRUTH RULES. at last you can trust a website when reading about any news.

Saif – Bangalore – INDIA

Thanks Thanks for your work against the Iraquian war

Santiago

fotos de war

Es esto Liberacion?

Jesus Omar

editorials and photos

thank you

Pablo

This is totally unacceptable

Killing innocent people is not tolerable

no one in the world accepts this

Nag

war

The current war against Iraq is justified only by the greed for oil and the lust for power. Ever since the warmonger Bush Jr. entered the white house we have been a country at war. I think it is about time we quit sticking our noses in every other countries business and focus on our own problems, such as unemployment and the homeless. The United states is too caught up in world affairs and "helping" everyone else while the american people suffer in their own country. Your news service is refreshing in showing the reality in war; death and destruction. It is much better than listening to the propaganda bullshit on CNN (Communist News Network)Sooner or later the world is going to get fed up with power hungry rapists like George Bush and they're going to invade us and bring about the end of the United States.

Dean Anderson

Iraq coverage

No problems with you showing the "censored" photos you have of the Iraqi war - that's news and so should be shown - albeit without the glee you seemed to derive. But unless Scoop wants to become irrelevant as an alternative news source, please try and keep the anti US/UK bias out of your reporting. I can get plenty of that from the Iraqi Ministry of Information. What I'm missing is balanced reporting on both sides of the war. So tear up that "America, the Great Satan" editorial you were working on and start again - this time, just the facts please. I'll make up my own mind.

D Robertson

pictures

I do agree that these are very disturbing images. However, the people who were injured and killed in these photos were not intentional by our army unlike the killings of our civilians by the terrorists. War is not a pretty thing, nor is sitting by and watching our people die while we are not in the act of war.

shelly

Thank You

Thank you for showing how real people looks like when somebody drops bombs over them.

To those who still mentioned Saddam's massive destruction weapons. Take a look at the Riegle report and pay attention to the 3rd point. http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/medsearch/FocusAreas/riegle_report/report/report_s00.htm Or maybe take a look at this article: http://www.sundayherald.com/27572 and you'll get a bigger picture.

I wish you all peace.

Diego Lima

image war

I was crying while I saw those terrific picture. We are father or mother of the children where ever they are. I migrate here to NZ to find a better place and peace. I hope NZ could be pioneer to create the peace across the world.

agam

Misprint..........help :-)

Please Sir,

Re my letter to your paper the other day 'Dirty Pool in Iraq' 'I continue to be amazed' Unfortunately there was a misprint, e.g. "It turned out that 56 people were killed....." I'm sorry about that, the mistake could humour some due to the thrust of the letter but was unfortunate as it undermined the whole letter I feel. I hope you can see yourself clear to rectify my blunder. Yours faithfully PParr

COPY: Exaggerating the number of their civilians killed? (By their enemy) Remember Jenin where the PLO claimed 3,000 civilians were killed? When investigated by international groups, it turned out that 5 people were killed including suicide bombers and armed combatants. Yes I can easily believe they would rocket their own market place. PParr

Yours faithfully

Peter Parr

Scoop showing casualties of this war

The value of this service can't be overestimated, and I hope that statistics that I see published about how many people are looking at alternative internet news sources are skewed, because EVERYBODY should be seeing what war really is. Thank you for continuing to show these images. Your service to all of humanity can't be overestimated. These images are perhaps the only thing that can stop this carnage now, and in future. Cindy Ryan - Maine, USA

super site

You'll love this one..... from the USA...... exposing the media farce in the States. Check out http://home.nyc.rr.com/jesse64/index.html

R.A - Brooklyn, NY

Violence

Europeans at their very best.

mohammad

What's your point?

Editor - Great. You published pictures of children injured in the fighting in Iraq. What's your point? Were they injured by US bombs? By Iraqi shells falling back on the city? By Baath party terror squads tryong to inflame Arab opinion? Clearly, the number of innocent men women and children killed by Saddam and his agents in the past ten years will dwarf any "collateral" civilian injuries in the current conflict. I have no doubt that the number will be far smaller than the number who would be killed if Saddam remained in power for another 12 months. So what's your point?

In statistics (my field) we have a saying, "Knowledge of statistical formulas is no substitute for knowing what you're doing." You might want to consider that "Knowing how to build a website is no substitute for responsible journalism."

But that's right. You are not journalists.

Peace.

John Steiger - Olympia, Washington USA - Home of ex-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie

Outstanding site

Awesome, outstanding and very courageous. Thanks for the info. Keep up the excellent work. Raw journalism indeed!! Shells - NJ, USA

pictures

So where's your pictures of the millions Saddam Hussein has killed? Actually, even the ones you show are HIS victims, because this war wouldn't have happened if he had simply disarmed (as he had agreed to do in 1991) or left the country. Fortunately this war will be over soon, Iraq will be liberated, and you then you all can take a little time to realize how very stupid you are. There has never been a military force in history that has taken greater care than the current US military not to harm civilians--unlike Saddam's forces, who push them out in front of the troops. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.

David Curtin

photos

These photos say it all. I am so ashamed to be an American. That even one American could support this barbaric act is terrible, that the vast majority do proof that this country is beyond hope, destroying all that is good and true in the world because truth is the only antidote to power. Any country that allows a man as mediocre and mean as George W. Bush to be its ruler is without morals, without sense, without thinking, without insight, without intelligence, without a conscience. Thank you for this forum, for making those terrible photos available, for only in seeing the truth can we dare to face it.

terry doran

Keep up with truth.

I am daily reader of your web, which I love the most. And its it, which has wings of truth, and I pray, that you stand with truth for ever.

Zulfqar Ali - Islamabad, Pakistan.

Photo Essays

Of Course We Should Be Able To See Them. I Had Photos From Al-Jazeera On My Website And Was So Afraid Of The Bush Regime That I Chickened Out And Just Linked To Robert Fisk's Site. I Have Never Seen Americans This Afraid Of Their Government Before

Cloud

US citizen outraged!!!!

Everyday I try to stay informed through sites such as truthout.com and yours and everyday I become more depressed and outraged. I couldnt get the image of the little boy with flaps of skin where is brain used to be out of my head.

A lot of people in this country dont have the guts to view images like those, why, because we are a depressed and vacuous society being fed anti-depressants at alarming rates.

Every other person I know suffers from panic attacks. People of this country want to remain ignorant because they cant fucking cope with life in an empty, materialistic society that offers them nothing but 40-60 hr work weeks at meaningless jobs. At work I tried to speak to fellow workers about current issues and most of these 20 somethings didnt even know who Rumsfeld is. Where am I, Mars?

I'm frustrated and obviously not alone as there are great numbers of US citizens who are informed and anti-war, but not quite enough to stop a hijacked government and a mainstream media catering to the majority of sheltered, uninformed, self serving American public. God help us!

Sorry!

I just realized I didnt sign my name after I ranted about my lousy country and that might appear cowardly, but I'm not afraid of letting people know how I feel.

Jana McCall - Montana, US (See… US citizen outraged!!!! Above)

Recent Photo Essays on Iraq

Thank you for publishing these. As I sat here, In my safe NZ home, my children asleep in their beds (no blood on their heads) I cried for these poor people... Yes, "liberation" indeed. I would wish for a very different form of liberation than the one that GWB & his coalition are dealing out.

These images, as shocking as they are, bring us home to what all war is about - Pain and Loss (and in this case, lies and money).

My prayers are with the Iraqi people, and to a swift end to this terrible mistake.

Thanks for your work Scoop, you do good stuff in the world.

Hilary Jackson – New Zealand

War Photos

Keep the camera rolling!!!!

Jack Weldon - Scoop on the intenet in Seattle, Wa. USA

Photoessays

Disgusting awful photos that sicken me.

You are to be congratulated for forcing us to confront the truth of war rather than having is served up as sanitised, seamless war mcnuggets. The true face of war may not be palatable, but anyone who endorses war as an instrument of diplomacy should be required to stare the horror full in the face.

Congratulations. Indendence and the provision of alternate viewpoints is the hallmark of good journalism and Scoop continues to exemplify it.

S Kennedy – New Zealand

graphic images

Thank you. I had a conversation today with a fellow american who is the first i've encountered who supports my country's invasion of iraq. She was utterly mis-informed, and showed no interest in educating herself. Photos like these should be on our billboards and buses. The caption: Why Do They Hate Us?

david wilson

responsibility

No TRUE Christian is involved in this carnage; "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."! Read also 21,22, &23.

Howell Graham: Warth

My Son is in this war

I am sharing my few as a parent of a solider over in Baghda, I dont think that P.O.W. should be placed on any web site or tv station. Freedom of Speech is one thing, but they are someones child, thats tough to handle. I also think showing children on this web site is shameful on your part. If you can lay your head on the pillow at night and feel good about this then maybe you should be over there fighting amongst the Iraqi regime. Shame on YOU

Gail Denobrega

sccop

?

Jaime Grimes

be careful who you bomb

I wonder at what point the German people and the third Reich realized that Hitler was nuts...or did they ever.The American people are going to wake up oneday and say,"How could I have been such a fool to allow this man to take over my country?" He's worse than Hitler. At least Hitler didn't project all of his characteristics to his opponents and then claim they're worthy of being slaughtered because of that. Thank you for a really informative and thought provoking paper.

American Muslim

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