Andrew Marshall, Reuters' bureau chief in Baghdad for two years, came to the United States in July, having survived the war, unlike more than 48 other journalists in the past three years, including four from his own news service. Even before arriving in Iraq in 2003, Marshall, 34, who has worked for Reuters since 1994, had seen plenty of bloodshed in East Timor, Afghanistan, and other hot spots. Now he's en route to what he probably once thought was a peaceful posting--in London.
What does he think about his Baghdad years, now that he has made it out of there in one piece?
"I don't agree with those who say it is inappropriate to criticize the work of journalists in Iraq -- just because we were working in very dangerous conditions does not mean that we should be immune from criticism," he told me in mid-July. "But I regard the charge that journalists in Iraq are skewing their reporting and focusing 'too much on bad news' as ill-informed, and a great insult to the Iraqi people. Many of those who criticize Iraq coverage seem to be suggesting that the media should somehow play down or ignore the fact that so many Iraqi civilians are being killed. It's an attitude that implies that Iraqis are not entitled to the level of safety and security enjoyed by people elsewhere in the world.
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