US Reporter: Mosque Killings “Unforgiving for all of Us”
In a letter explaining to US marines with whom he was embedded why he filmed the shocking incident and put it on the airwaves, NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said that it appeared to him very plainly that “something was not right”, when it comes to the rules of engagement in Fallujah, Britain’s daily The Guardian reported Tuesday, November 23.
“I did not in any way feel like I had captured some kind of ‘prize’ video. In fact, I was heartsick But I have never in my career been a ‘gotcha’ reporter – hoping for people to commit wrongdoings so I can catch them at it.”
The shooting in the Fallujah mosque became public Tuesday, November 16, with the airing of the footage taken Saturday by Sites.
“Not Right”
Shocked by seeing such a grisly scene taking place in front of his own eyes, Sites since realized that something was not right with the US practices in the chaos-marred Iraq.
“Observing all of this as an experienced war reporter who always bore in mind the perils of this conflict, even knowing the possibilities of mitigating circumstances – it appeared to me very plainly that something was not right.”
“I was not watching from a hundred feet away. I was in the same room. Aside from breathing, I did not observe any movement at all.”
Sites told the US military unit’s commanding officer what had happened.
“I shared the video with him, and its impact rippled all the way up the chain of command.”
He continued: “Anyone who has seen my reporting on television or has read my dispatches on the web is fully aware of the lengths I’ve gone to play it straight down the middle – not to become a tool of propaganda for the left or the right. But I find myself a lightning rod for controversy in reporting what I saw occur in front of me, camera rolling.
“It’s time for you to have the facts, in my own words, about what I saw, without imposing on that marine guilt or innocence or anything in between. I want you to read my account and make up your own minds. Here it goes.
