#Tim stark sniper update
#Tim stark sniper series

#Tim stark sniper update

military personnel actually face: 'Thanks for having the guts to show the sniper update and to show us the other side of the story. Others praised us for showing the threats U.S. (We clearly warned viewers the video was not appropriate for children before we aired it.) Some worried about kids who might have watched the program. Many viewers thought it inappropriate for us to air video of Americans being shot: 'If I had a son or daughter over there serving, I would be outraged by what I feel is your aiding and comforting the enemy.' Instantly, the piece received many strongly-worded responses from viewers.

We also heard from Major General William Caldwell, a coalition forces spokesman in Iraq, and CNN military analyst General David Grange, formerly with the Green Beret, Delta Force and Army Rangers. He's been both under attack from insurgent snipers and he has himself operated as a sniper. Our reporting included an interview with a current U.S. You should also know we tried to put all of this in context. That decision, as well as the decision to build a piece around the sniper tape - in fact, all the decisions about this story - were subject to hours of intense editorial debate at the highest levels here at CNN.

A number of us felt airing that precise moment was simply too horrific. You should know we dipped to black at the moment of actual impact of the rounds. In fact, many of them are victims of sniper attacks.įor those who did not see the piece, you can watch it here now: ( Watch CNN's report on the insurgent video) military casualties so far this month, October is already the third highest month for U.S. But after getting beyond the emotional debate, we concluded the tape meets our criteria for newsworthiness. We also understood that this kind of footage is upsetting and disturbing for many viewers. Of course, we also understood that some might conclude there is a public relations benefit for the insurgents if we aired the material, especially on CNN International. We are assuming they included the sniper tape to prove the authenticity of the Al-Shimary interview tape and to establish their credibility. But this tape uniquely included audio from the sniper team as they selected targets, waited for their opportunities and then praised Allah as they made their escapes. Indeed, you can find them on the Internet. This group has released similar tapes in the past. To be clear, insurgents shot the tape themselves. It documented 10 incidents of insurgent snipers attacking U.S. One had Al-Shimary himself on camera - his face electronically concealed - responding to Michael's questions. He was surprised when he received two videotapes in response.

#Tim stark sniper series

Michael had sent him a series of questions concerning the insurgency in Iraq and its motives. The backstory is that through intermediaries Michael had been communicating with Ibrahim Al-Shimary, a shadowy leader and spokesman for the Islamic Army. Last night, we ran a controversial piece produced by our Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware.