Yon and Gordon - The Only Sources In Baqubah

Michael Yon* is a reader-supported journalist and former military serviceman. He's been covering the war in Iraq for some time now, and doing an outstanding job. Michael Gordon is a reporter for the New York Times. But Yon vouches for Gordon's reporting, saying "...Gordon has been very accurate and on target."

What's remarkable about operation Arrowhead Ripper goes beyond the bloodbath that's about to ensue. The most remarkable thing I can see so far is that Yon and Gordon are the ONLY reporters taking advantage of the full access being given to the press on the battlefield:

Michael Yon : Online Magazine » Blog Archive » Operation Arrowhead Ripper: Day One

The combat has only just begun, and media has now figured out this is serious business. During the morning brief (June 20th), Major Robbie Parke mentioned that CNN, TIME, Reuters and some others, are trying to get out here now. Problem is space. Looks like Gordon and I are mostly alone for now.

The Army is giving full access to the battlefield, and while on base full access to the TOC (HQ)

Now, the war in Iraq has been going on for quite some time, so I can understand the reluctance of press to show up to every morning briefing. But there are two reasons why these morning briefings are NOT to be missed by any member of any organization whose primary purpose is to inform the American public:

1. Arrowhead Ripper is no ordinary operation. The enemy is NOT insurgents, it is Al Qaeda. This battle is being promoted as and has been prepared for like this was the title fight between Rocky Balboa and Mr. T.
   
   
2. The military is giving unrestricted access to press. Anything is up for grabs, except Special Forces operations.

Michael Yon is too professional to point out the implications of being one of two reporters in the middle of this action right now. But I'm not an embedded reporter. I'm proud of Yon for what he does and the professionalism with which he does it. So let me take on the dirty deed of implication. As Yon has suggested, the mainstream media has only today figured out that Arrowhead Ripper and Baqubah are a serious story. And so they have a problem. Nobody but Yon's and New York Times readers have a source on the ground. What is the rest of the MSM to do?

I would suggest that in the weeks ahead we pay close attention to a few things:

1. In any MSM report on Arrowhead Ripper/Baqubah, who is the source? If it's Yon or Gordon, fine, otherwise we may be dealing with false reports.
2. http://www.michaelyon-online.com - because we know he has the real story.

AQ is about to reap what it has sown. I hope Allah's stocked up on virgins...


*I cannot stress enough that Yon is supported by contributions from us. If we want to continue getting the kind of truly unbiased coverage of operations in Iraq, we should support him.

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