Monday, April 14, 2003

Ok kids, seems we have two versions of this mornings events. Pick the news source that gives you the warmest fuzzy and see how they tell it.

The "Kicking In The Door" Theory:

CBS News

...the seven ex-POWs were rescued from a house south of Tikrit when Marines kicked in the door and shouted: "If you're an American, stand up!"

"We stood up and they hustled us out of there," said Pfc. Patrick Miller, of Park City, Kan. There are conflicting reports on how the Marines learned of the prisoners' whereabouts; by some accounts their location was revealed by Iraqi soldiers whose leaders had abandoned them.


Washington Post

U.S. Marines today rescued seven American soldiers held captive by Iraqi forces for the last three weeks and flew them to safety, bringing a successful end to a prisoner drama that had consumed senior military officers.

A light armored detachment of Marines on its way north to clear away holdouts in Tikrit, former president Saddam Hussein's ancestral home town, burst in on the captured U.S. soldiers in a private house after being tipped off by local Iraqis. The seven were all in good condition, although three were recovering from bullet wounds suffered during their capture


I also heard Rumsfeld tell this version on Face The Nation.


The "Giving The Facts Without Telling The Truth" version:

CNN (updated) CNN's original report is a few posts below.

Marines on Sunday rescued seven American soldiers held by Iraqis north of Baghdad before rushing off to join in the battle for Tikrit, according to a Canadian reporter embedded with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Marines took custody of the Americans outside Samarra, a town about 25 miles south of Tikrit in north-central Iraq and 75 miles north of Baghdad.


NY Times

The prisoners were found in Samarra, about 110 miles north of Baghdad, by marines who had moved into the town as part of the assault that began today on the city of Tikrit.

When the marines found the prisoners, they were dressed in local Iraqi clothes...


Headquarters United States Central Command

Earlier today members of the First Marine Expeditionary Force returned seven American service members to the coalition.

They were found in the vicinity of Samarra, Iraq.


ABC News (ABC can't seem to make up it's mind)

Iraqi troops south of Tikrit handed U.S. Marines a stunning surprise Sunday: seven American POWs released in relatively good condition after three weeks of captivity.

The seven freed Sunday were picked up wearing blue-and-white pajamas, khakis or shorts.

Liberation came without warning.

"I was sitting there," Miller said. "Next thing I know the Marines are kicking in the door, saying get down on the floor. They said, 'If you're an American, stand up.' We stood up and they hustled us out of there."

There were conflicting reports on how the Americans were recovered. By some accounts their location was revealed by Iraqi soldiers whose leaders had abandoned them.


Fox News (Fox can't make up it's mind either)

Iraqi troops south of Tikrit handed U.S. Marines a stunning surprise Sunday: seven American POWs released in relatively good condition after three weeks of captivity.

The seven freed Sunday were picked up wearing blue-and-white pajamas, khakis or shorts.

Liberation came without warning.

"I was sitting there," Miller said. "Next thing I know the Marines are kicking in the door, saying get down on the floor. They said, 'If you're an American, stand up.' We stood up and they hustled us out of there."

There were conflicting reports on how the Americans were recovered. By some accounts their location was revealed by Iraqi soldiers whose leaders had abandoned them.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Iraqis told U.S. troops they would find the seven missing soldiers at a location about four or five miles south of Tikrit. "They said, 'You should go get them,' and they did," Rumsfeld said.


Transcript: Gen. Tommy Franks on Fox News Sunday

FRANKS: As a matter of fact, I don't have the full content of the, you know, the way they were picked up, but what I'm told is that someone came up to our Marines, who were moving along the road headed toward Tikrit, and said, "Here shortly, you're going to come in contact with a number of Americans, and just so you know, they're there." And so the tip came from an Iraqi.

And so, I believe that our guys picked them up on the road.

SNOW: Do you think you're going to be able to get out all the POWs and MIAs?

FRANKS: Oh, gosh, I don't think we could predict that at all. I think it would be a true blessing if we were able to do that, and I don't think we -- I don't think we can count on it.

But I can tell you this. Even though we can't count on it, we can work at them hard. And we have been, and we will.


Rumsfeld Speaks to Reporters

RUMSFELD: Until families have been notified the proper way to characterize it is that seven Americans have been taken into the possession of American forces, and we have their names, and they're all American servicemen.

QUESTION: Did they escape? Were they rescued? Can you tell us about the process?

RUMSFELD: It's interesting. It's happening quite frequently now in Iraq. In this case, Iraqis came up to American military, and said that there are seven Americans at this location, and it was about six or eight kilometers south of Tikrit and that you should go get them, and they did.


And then we have the less spectacular version, which will probably end up being the truth:

Reuters

"Someone came up to our Marines moving along the road (from Baghdad) headed for Tikrit and said, 'Here shortly you're going to come in contact with a number of Americans, just so you know,"' U.S. war commander Gen. Tommy Franks told Fox television.

"The tip came from an Iraqi and I believe our guys picked them up on the road."

"The guards evidently were deserted by their officers, and the guards themselves brought the prisoners of war to the Marines," said Lt. Col. Nick Morano at Marine headquarters southeast of Baghdad.


MSNBC

Iraqi troops released seven U.S. POWs - some wounded but in good condition - to Marines on Sunday, a surprise development near where U.S. troops were entering Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

Iraqi troops north of Baghdad told Marines near the town of Samarrah that they would shortly "come in contact with a number of Americans..."


I think we can all now agree, the news is usually slanted one direction or the other, and sometimes it can be completely wrong.

Kansas @ 1:45 AM