Journalist: War 'far from over'; Reporter talks to Eastern students about experience

For Alicia Argenta, an Eastern Connecticut State University senior, a Monday afternoon lecture by a journalist who covered the invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan gave her a close view of what her boyfriend, Ryan, sees on an ongoing basis.

That’s because Argenta, who was one of more than 100 people on hand to see journalist Dahr Jamail, said her boyfriend is in the process of serving a 13-month tour in Afghanistan.

“It’s definitely really difficult,” she said, about sitting though Jamail’s presentation and said it was really “eye opening” to hear Jamail’s reports on the ongoing wars – which go outside the coverage of the mainstream media.

“I thought it was really interesting,” she said.

Argenta said she was aware of one topic Jamail addressed – reports by female U.S. soldiers involving sexual assaults – from discussion in her classes.

However, she said she was surprised about a poll by the U.S. military – cited by the Brookings Institute – that found more than 70 percent of Iraqis oppose the U.S. occupation in Iraq. “I didn’t know the numbers are so high,” Argenta said.

Jamail held a brief press conference Monday afternoon, before speaking at 1 p.m. to students, faculty and others in attendance inside the Betty R. Tipton Room of Eastern Connecticut State University’s Student Center.

Jamail spoke during an exclusive interview discussing what led up to his decision to travel to Afghanistan.

Prior to his decision, Jamail said he was working as an Alaskan mountain guide and had “very little” experience with writing or being a journalist.

However, Jamail said his decision to go to Iraq was fueled by the “outrage at the media” for their coverage of the events leading up to the Iraq invasion.

“There was nothing to justify the invasion,” he said, adding that the mainstream media was serving as “mouthpieces for the Bush administration.”

He said he decided he would “see what’s happening (in Iraq) myself.”

Jamail said he “packed up” and got in touch with someone who was already in Iraq who was writing a blog, who directed him to where to go.

He said he had “no idea how to do anything,” but that the blogger told him where to go and who to meet up with.

“So I basically followed his instructions,” he said, adding that he kept meeting the “right people” during his trek. “Things just kind of started falling into place.”

“It was definitely overwhelming,” Jamail said, describing the areas he visited as “clogged” and “chaotic.”

Jamail spent a total of nine months in Iraq, and said his first trip was November 2003 to January 2004 – eight months after the March 2003 invasion into Iraq.

He said much of his work was doing reports, visiting hospitals and talking with ordinary citizens.

However, Jamail said every so often he would hear the sound of an explosion and, “You’d literally get out and start covering that.”

“It was a wild experience,” he said.

Stories he filed included coverage of the U.S. military using cluster bombs and white phosphorus in civilian areas, which violates Geneva Convention regulations.

“The occupation is not over,” he said, “This is far from over.”

He also spoke of safety and said it was a concern, but that the kidnappings and beheadings weren’t as prevalent when he was there.

Jamail touched on Iraqi civilian input and said a vast majority of Iraqis want a total withdrawal of occupation forces.

When asked if Iraq would then turn into chaos, Jamail said from his discussions with Iraqi citizens, that they are concerned about that.

However, he said citizens in Iraq said the country has militias, but their militias don’t have weapons that occupying forces have – including tanks and planes dropping bombs.

“War is not pretty,” he told the audience, adding that it’s “vile,” “disgusting” and “terrible.”

He spoke of the “new” embedded journalist program, and said because journalists have to rely on the units for their safety, their coverage of the military unit would be favorable for “obvious” reasons.

Jamail spoke of how stretched the U.S. military was, and that the soldiers were “long past a breaking point” and have people who are on multiple deployments.

However, he said the information he was offering isn’t found in the “mainstream media” and that the importance of a democracy is having an informed population.

He asked how can there be a democracy, “If you guys don’t know what’s going on?”

Jamail also read a passage from one of his books, detailing reports of women who were sexually assaulted in the military and said according to the Pentagon, 80 percent of sexual assaults never get reported.

He also talked about kidnappings and violence against journalists in Iraq.

“You do have to worry about those things,” he said, adding that he would try to fit in with the citizens as best as he could.

Jamail said fitting in included wearing local clothes and growing a beard.

He said he didn’t believe wearing a flak jacket that says “press” on it, and riding around with the military was a way of fitting in.

Jamail also responded to an audience question about the government in Iraq, which he said was a “puppet government.”

Jamail said citizens in Iraq believe the government lacks legitimacy and that they meet inside the “green zone” – a heavily guarded area inside Baghdad where coalition forces work.

He also spoke of the statistics that more than 70 percent of Iraqis oppose the occupation and that he would “always defer” to the wishes of the Iraqi people. “It’s not our country,” he said.

Jamail has written two books – “Beyond the Green Zone,” which includes dispatches from an unembedded journalist in occupied Iraq, and “The Will to Resist,” about soldiers who refused to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jamail currently writes for Inter Press Service and Le Monde Diplomatique.

For more information, visit Jamail’s web site at www.dahrjamailiraq.com.