"Guilt By Association..."

This article in The Nation is a must-read. A recent Supreme Court ruling defines giving "material support" to terrorists as not just what we would normally associate with that term -- donating money, giving instruction how to build bombs, etc -- but also anything that lends such a group credibility. The article describes how former President Jimmy Carter could technically be charged under this law. (I would also add Bill Clinton, who met with Kim Jong Il to secure the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.)

It also has been ruled to apply to NGOs and aid organizations, even when they are trying to teach such a group how to progress in a non-violent way. But by definition, it could also be applied to any journalist who interviewed insurgents in Iraq (Michael Ware comes to mind, obviously) or worked with possible Taliban-sympathizers in Afghanistan (Rory Stewart? Deep trouble...) and that's not even getting into terror-groups-turned-political-factions, like the IRA or Hezbollah.

Guilt by association: how the US Supreme Court

let fear overshadow common sense

Bombs target Baghdad hotels

The crater outside the Hamra Hotel in Baghdad after Monday's attack.

Smoke rises Monday following an explosion near Baghdad's Palestine Hotel.

A series of bombs targeted three hotels in Baghdad this morning, two of which are well-known as locations where journalists often stay.

The Palestine was the hotel that was shelled by American troops during the 2003 invasion, killing two journalists and wounding several others. The Al Hamra was where Time magazine's bureau was located when Michael Ware became bureau chief. More recently, it was home to the McClatchy and Christian Science Monitor bureaus. They left the hotel recently. John Walcott, the Washington bureau chief for McClatchy, sent out a note to his staff this morning about that move:

The recent move out of the Hamra was no accident, nor was it simply good luck. Hannah Allam, who oversees the Baghdad bureau from her base in Cairo, was in Iraq late last year overseeing the merger with the Monitor and was alarmed by the deteriorating security conditions at the hotel and some developments in the immediate neighborhood, most colorfully the openings of two brothels across the square, which in addition to their primary purpose provided an ideal place to survey the Hamra and its defenses without attracting much notice. The security force had shrunk to about half of what's needed, largely because NBC News has bailed out of Iraq and taken its budget with it, and one day workers arrived and began tearing down the blast walls, we suspect because of a dispute over payments to someone in authority.

The death toll from this morning's blasts currently stands at 36, with 71 injured; no journos have been reported to be among the dead/injured.

Read the rest of Walcott's note here.
Read McClatchy's coverage of the bombings here.

Afghanistan: Ware, Bergen, Stewart

Anderson Cooper hosted a panel discussion about Afghanistan on AC360 last night with guests Michael Ware, Peter Bergen, and Rory Stewart. If you're looking for a clue as to what the US should do now... these guys know the score:

CNN's Cooper, Gupta, Bergen and Ware Headed To Afghanistan

Starting next week for the anniversary of September 11th, CNN's Anderson Cooper will anchor "AC360" from Afghanistan. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be embedded to deliver reports on field trauma surgery, while Peter Bergen and Michael Ware will provide analysis and field reports.

Looking forward to the reports and coverage. Stay safe all!

CNN special Witness to War

Witness to War' airs on CNN International on Thursday, July 30, 8am and 11am, Saturday, Aug 1 3am and 1pm, Sunday, Aug 2 10am and 10pm (all ET).

'Witness to War' sees a team of six CNN correspondents (Atia Abawi, Stan Grant, Nic Robertson, Reza Sayah, Michael Ware and Ivan Watson) provide an unique, first-hand account of the horrors of conflict - from civil war, to the war on terror and the recent offensive in the Swat valley - in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The unparalleled one-hour documentary allows them to draw on their years of experience living and working in the region, as they answer several critical questions, including: What effect does the ever-present violence have on people's psyches? What danger does the constant conflict pose to the world? And, how difficult is it to report from a region where journalists are often targets?

They also investigate the human cost of conflict, discussing the stories they covered and the people they met that most profoundly affected them. They look at the reality of life in refugee camps, examine how children are impacted by the instability, and perhaps most importantly, discuss whether there’s any hope for the future.

More about this new CNN documentary and correspondents' interviews here.

No word yet as to whether it might air on CNN Domestic, but it might not hurt to send an email via the Contact Us page to ask for it!

** Update - August 4 **

CNN/US will air Witness to War on Saturday, August 8, at 8pm ET (1st airing).

More about this special and all the videos.

And the promo: