journalist & fellow blogger killed in Iraq

A freelance reporter and our blogger comrade Steven Vincent was murdered Tuesday night in Basra, Iraq. Reports that he wrote on ties which link Iraqi police with ediotic extremists, likely led to his killing. National Review article, MSNBC story. This piece he wrote for Sunday's New York Times -- it is believed that this story inspired his murder. Sad news and I had been reading his blog for a while back.

In his 2004 book, he spoke of the time that Iraqi colleagues in Basra told him that "Iraqi journalists are not free. If we go too deep into some stories, we will anger certain people — and they will kill us." In this "shadow world of perpetual revenge killings", he duly noted, "there are dangerous forces throughout Iraq who do not want the media to investigate their activities. Especially in Basra, where the placid British occupation barely suppresses the violence and intrigue. Here, Islamic hit-squads murder liquor store owners and drunks they find on the street." This latest news, made me think twice to be in Iraq at this time. This death will be added to the 64 journalists and media assistants killed since the start of fighting in Iraq from March 2003, two are still missing. And I mat one briefly when I was in Karamah border, Jordan.

Bless them all!

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