Embedded troops will become standard, former military officer tells APME convention

[thedrifter]

Embedded troops will become standard, former military officer tells APME convention

ASSOCIATED PRESS
12:09 p.m. October 16, 2003

PHOENIX ? The use of journalists embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq was a success from the Pentagon's standpoint and likely will be the practice in future wars, a retired Marine Corps officer said Thursday.

"It was a success, and we will never, ever go back," retired Brig. Gen. Andrew Davis, the former head of Marine Corps public affairs, said during a panel discussion for newspaper editors at the Associated Press Managing Editors annual conference.

The military has allowed journalists to be embedded with troops during war since at least World War I, Davis said.

But the conflict between the military's desire to keep war operations secure and the public's right to know has led to varying policies during U.S. conflicts.

The use of embedded journalists in the Iraq war worked, Davis said.

"We learned a lot of lessons," he said. "You all gave the world an unprecedented view of war."

David Zucchino, a Los Angeles Times reporter who was embedded, agreed that the program was a success.

Zucchino noted that he was unable to provide the bigger picture on the war effort, but that the Times' team of reporters helped ensure the newspaper gave readers that perspective overall.

"You are covering a tiny little piece of the war," he said.

APME is an organization of editors and managing editors of the more than 1,500 newspapers served by the AP.





On the Net:

APME: www.apme.com

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...onference.html


Sempers,

Roger