Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/02/24

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Embedded Brit journalists will receive Iraq Campaignmedal
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 10:31:43 -0500

Kevin Argue wrote that, having spent time covering Canadian troops in
Bosnia, he may qualify for a 'time in theater' peace keeping medal, and
then write...

"After all the civilian 
> contractors working for the military in Bosnia and Afghanistan are 
> getting them."

Which leads me to ask rhetorically - were you "working for the
military," as those civilians were, or were you there as part of the
media, as a theoretically impartial observer reporting back to the
citizens of Canada on what their military was doing in Bosnia?

Those "civilian contractors" are, in effect, members of the military -
they are mercenaries, whether armed or unarmed, individuals paid to aid
the military. So if they get medals, what's the problem? But journalists
are not paid to aid the military - they are paid to report the truth as
they see it. Big difference.

B. D.

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