U.S. Troops Detained AP Cameraman, Confiscated His FootageYesterday the AP reported that U.S. troops in Iraq confiscated an AP cameraman’s videotape of the aftermath of a Baghdad bombing. A military spokesman, Lt. Colonel Scott Bleichwehl, explained that the troops were enforcing an Iraqi law prohibiting the photographing or videotaping the aftermath of acts of violence. That seemed strange — U.S. troops enforcing Iraqi law?
So yesterday I asked U.S. military representatives in Baghdad about the confiscation, the alleged law, and the use of U.S. troops as law enforcement for a foreign country. A spokesman replied to me that he knew of no agreement or arrangement “that would compel [U.S. forces] to enforce Iraqi law.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy declined to comment on the matter at all — even to confirm the existence of such an Iraqi media law — and instead referred me back to the military. Making matters even stranger, my interlocutor in the military told me that a colleague “checked with the unit who responded to the scene of the attack… and they reported that there was no video tape confiscated” by U.S. troops. I was unable to learn the identity of the unit.
When I asked AP for clarification about what happened, AP representatives e-mailed me this just-updated story . Apparently U.S. troops detained the cameraman — after first denying that they even had the videotape:
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told the AP Thursday morning he had checked with American soldiers who were at the scene and the U.S. military did not take the tape. He called back later and said he had discovered in further checks that the tape was in the hands of the U.S. military and would be returned to AP shortly.
The camera operator said he was handcuffed and detained by the U.S. troops at the scene for 40 minutes. He said he was kept inside an American Humvee then released. He said the Americans took the tape but returned his camera upon his release.
The Iraqi government passed a law earlier this year making it illegal to video tape or photograph the aftermath of attacks and bombings.
AP spokesman Jack Stokes tells me that U.S. troops did not explain why they had detained the cameraman, and that as of now, the AP is still waiting to have its footage returned. The U.S. military has not responded to my questions since this morning, but as soon as I know more, I’ll provide updates.
Update: AP’s Jack Stokes e-mails to clarify:
Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl in no way implied that the U.S. Army was enforcing Iraqi law. He said that by way of explanation that the tape may have been taken by Iraqi security forces.
I have questions out to Bleichwehl about this. But for the record, the AP’s original story on the confiscation yesterday didn’t paraphrase Bleichwehl mentioning Iraqi security forces at all:
U.S. authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told the AP the government of Iraq had made it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.
