European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 b the stars and stripes monday february 18, 1991 v War in the Gulf War Felt in Remote saudi City in step with the air offensive ool senior airman Richard Phillips of Mobile ala., Steps gingerly along a string of 2,000-Pound bombs waiting to be loaded aboard Allied warplanes for missions against Iraq at an air base on the saudi arabian Peninsula on Friday. Military s Media limits detailed editor s note reporters covering the coalition forces in the persian Gulf Region Are operating under restrictions imposed by the . Military that among outlier things bar them from travelling without a military escort limit their forays into the Field to Small escorted groups called pools and require All reports to be cleared by military censors. To tit a reporters have complained that the rules limit their ability to gather information independently and by not allowing them to get close enough to the action or the people involved obstruct informed and objective reporting. James Lemoyne a new York times correspondent w to left to write a Book has covered conflicts in Northern Ireland and Central and South America. He was on assignment for the times in the Gulf Region from september to december before the War began. This is his account of How the rules affected his ability to report. By James Lemoyne the new York times under Pentagon reporting rules Ameri can military officials decide Quot which Yanieri can units can he visited by reporters How Long a visit will a last which make the visit and to some extent what a soldiers May say. What television cameras can show and w hat can be written. Three Pentagon Media officials in the Gulf Region said they spent significant time analysing reporters stories in order to. Make recommendations on. How to Sway coverage in the Pentagon s favor. In the Early Days of the deployment. Pentagon pros officers warned reporters a who asked hard questions that they were seen As a anti military Quot and that their requests., for interviews with senior commanders Ami visits to the Field were in jeopardy. A a a a the this during several visits to army air Force and Marine mixed handlers were intrusive. Were guarded or hostile. This almost impossible to speak frankly and get to know the troops of a particular unit. But on other occasions commanders and troops were eager to share their v news Anc the general did not like your last Story a Pentagon press officer it was due to the seemingly irksome Story. In the meantime., the commander and some of the men in the unit who had been quoted As being critical of Bush de a no need the a letter. A request to return to the unit to find out Why they it u i had apparently chanced their minds was of j 5 m a a a denied. A a the saudi recoiled in horror realizing a few Days later a Junior officer of the suddenly that she was a woman and then Hafar Al Batin saudi Arabia a starving dirt caked Kitten sprawled in the Shade on the Gritty hotel Steps too weak to drink the water a hotel guest had propped under its nose. A poor thing a the Man said trying in vain to get the Kitten to nibble at a morsel of packaged meat. A if i come by Here to Morrow it la probably be scrawny cats Are a common sight in this Bleak saudi town 45 Miles South of Kuwait a Western tip. The Region in which they roam also leads a precarious existence. One made even More so by the War. Hafar Al Batin will never be mistaken for a vacation resort or Center of business. Unlike Riyadh or even Dhahran this town boasts no five Star hotels and no Rich arabs in Gold hemmed Robes stroll its eroded sidewalks. Saudi arabians Oil Boom and defense buildup have resulted in traffic lights modern medical care and other Urban trappings but4he town has retained its feel of a Frontier outpost. However Remote Hafar Al Batin. Has not been Able to avoid the Shock of foreign cultures forced on saudi Arabia by iraqis invasion of Kuwait. For example u s. Army sgt. Jocelyn Garcia of the 410th quartermaster det said a translator recently introduced her to a saudi worker in the town while she was. Wearing All her combat gear and smoking a cigarette. They Shook hands then Garcia re press officials did not try to control interviews. A a a a in general. Pentagon press officers seemed most restrictive of television. At times they staged events solely for the cameras at others press handlers would Stop an on camera interview because they did not like what was being portrayed. By Quot far the most opem moments came when press officers left reporters alone and troops Felt at ease to speak their minds. But if the troops Frank comments angered senior Pentagon officials., reporters Access immediately suffered. For nearly two months for example this reporter had a standing request for an interview with the chief american commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf. For several weeks a Pentagon press officer telephoned with updates on the chances of getting the interview. A. Quot the general liked your last Story Quot the officer would say or. More Oqui Sously Quot the general did not like your last he said if articles were not the interview would probably be denied. One article the Pentagon officials said they definitely did not like included quotes from army enlisted men who criticized president Bush and who months. In the desert emotionally questioned the purpose of sent to fight and a perhaps die in saudi Arabia. The Day the article published the Pentagon pre its officer strongly intimated a n d other it a it Vigli t we 11 a sen 11 be i he int eff revv1 in i Schwarzkopf. The interview was later cancelled with no explanation other than that the Genera la a Quot schedule has chanced Quot in a started lecturing her about the perils of smoking. I a i told him War is bad too a she said c while the War has called this culture clash to life it upstages it at the same time. Evidence of War was plentiful All Over the Region Friday. Military vehicles clogged the pipeline Road that stretches across the kingdoms Northern Edge in both directions from Hafar Al Batin. The Road parallels the trans arabian pipeline hence its name. Plumes of dust Rose in the desert. From tracked and wheeled vehicles on Quot unit whose members had been quoted paid a quiet visit. He said that he and other men in the unit thought the article was fair but said tall hell broke Loose Quot when it was published. He said senior commanders had demanded explanations of the soldiers critical views. A a a it for the next six weeks almost All print news reporters were denied visits to army units. When reporters pressed for Access they were told there was no transport available or that units were changing Posi / Tion and could not be easily contacted dirt the Field. A Pentagon press official said privately that army commanders Felt there move. A Bulldozer was blowing up berms. Had been Quot critical Quot stories Ait the site where an iraqi prisoner transit but. Television personalities with no sex Camp was under construction. And in Prience of War such As football Star and Hafar Al Batin itself police guarded the sports announcer . Simpson and weath spot where an iraqi scud missile landed Erman Villard Scott were being escorted thursday blowing up a garage and dam by the Pentagon to a. Number of units. A a senior press officer responded to one pro. Test by saying that unlike some reporters 0j, Simpson and Willard Scott did not Quot cause a at one Point in desperation Over such controls this reporter drove out into the desert with a fellow reporter until we ran into an army armoured battalion. A the come manding of finer warm a we 1 corned the reporters a and asked Why it was that so few reporters appeared ready to spend time with the troops in the Field. When told that Pentagon press officials had stopped the reporters the officer Shook his head in disbelief. He said his troops w Ould be delighted to share their t. I pc. A two hours meeting to months later Seh Watzko r the officer in aerie embarrassment. Said he had been ordered to throw the .1 apologized for the cancellation and denied in reporters out of his Camp officer and his men seemed stunned reporters left As ordered. A the the aging of Art adjacent House. If the ground War does begin Hafar Al Batin will be in greater danger because it is near the front. The main Inland Road trom saudi Arabia to Kuwait begins Here. A saudi civilian said most women and children have it 11 Lor Riyadh or Jidida but added a most of the men they have a position. They stay Young saudi men who said they work Lor the City lounged in a Lent sipping a pop Csc cartoon on a battered color television set. One said the War won id not drive him away. Quot i work Here. My Home is Here. My family is Here he said Quot this is my Young National guard truck Driver trom Virginia waiting fur his Kieule Andrit i ii Irskay night at the Side of the pipeline Road Didu 1 share ear ill of purpose. Quot i have no idea win we re Here a he said. not i Isis a a / / i
