GOP Congressman to CNN: GET OUT OF IRAQ

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) Calls on Cable News Network to Pull Embedded Reporters from Iraq

David Brock of Media Matters for America Responds

Washington, DC - Media Matters for America President and CEO David Brock today made the following statement in response to Congressman Duncan Hunter's (R-CA) comments on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer regarding CNN's decision to air part of an insurgent-made video showing an attack on American soldiers, which CNN clearly identified as a piece of insurgent propaganda.

"CNN has a right and a responsibility to cover this war in its entirety. For Congressman Hunter to claim that CNN is forwarding enemy 'propaganda' is just preposterous, especially when you consider he's never even seen the video in question. The American people deserve more, not less, coverage of the war in Iraq.

"With just weeks to go before Election Day, it isn't surprising that Rep. Hunter and his fellow conservatives would single CNN out as this fall's boogeyman. It's just another example of the right's ongoing campaign to bully the media into submission while blazing a trail of fear before the American public.

"Many news organizations, including CNN, have had reporters embedded with the military since the beginning of the war, more than three and half years ago. Conservatives have attempted, from the start, to limit the reporting of real-life, everyday, accurate accounts of the war in Iraq. Their attempt to keep the American people in the dark and keep the focus off of the war is inexcusable."

BACKGROUND:

On CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) called for CNN to pull the embedded reporters from Iraq because of an insurgent "propaganda" film CNN aired during a news segment on the war. CNN has repeatedly stated they did not show American soldiers being hit or being killed in the video and clearly informed the viewers that they were watching a "propaganda piece."

In addition to Late Edition, there have been many other Republicans and conservatives bashing CNN in various news outlets. For example, on MSNBC's Scarborough Country, Pat Buchanan suggested CNN is aiding and encouraging the terrorists by airing the footage of an insurgent attack on American soldiers, and likening CNN to Al Jazeera.

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Posted to the web on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at 12:11 PM ET