Someone has killed Steven Vincent, author of “In the Red Zone,” in Basra two days after he wrote a New York Times op-ed criticizing the Basra police:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An American freelance journalist was found dead in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday.
Police said Steven Vincent had been shot multiple times after he and his Iraqi translator were abducted at gunpoint hours earlier.
“I can confirm to you that officials in Basra have recovered the body of journalist Steven Vincent,” said embassy spokesman Pete Mitchell. “The U.S. Embassy is working with British military and local Iraqi officials in Basra to determine who is responsible for the death of this journalist.”
I didn't know Steve, but his agent, Andrew Stuart, is my former book agent. He was also a blogger and was researching another book, this one on post-war Basra. Already the comments section on the latest post is filling up. I also didn't agree with much of what he wrote, but he was intrepid enough to spend months living in Basra, which is a hard thing for a westerner to do.
It is unknown if he was killed for his coverage or if it was kidnapping and robbery gone sour. All I know is that my thoughts go out to his family and friends.
Technorati Tags: Current Affairs, Iraq, Journalism, Moqtada al-Sadr, News and Politics
Man… this is sobering.
Man… this is sobering.
It takes the death of one of your own, in circumstances like this to bring home the reality of the brutal situation that is today’s Iraq.
Keep your wits about you Chris.
Chris, can you elaborate on what it was about Steve’s writing that you didn’t agree with?
Being on the ground over there, does it seem like this was the work of criminals, Ba’athists, or Mahdi types? As far as I understand, down Basra-ward it’s mostly creepy Sadrists engaging in various shenanigans. But then, I’m in a comfortable room in Toronto. What’s you’re take?
Steven Vincent made the fatal mistake of publishing his article”Switched off in Basrah” before leaving Iraq!
Be awake, be paranoid if you want to survive in Iraq (where, there is no rules for the time being-God bless Hamurabi),not just be careful…
I could agree with some points in his article.
There is no booby cars in Basrah but there is radical religious parties controling the city, it looks like they took of all Saddam’s pictures and replaced it with the religious posters. And I do think that indeed Iran is interfering.
But It’s just not the British job to” Encourage cadets to identify with the national government rather than their neighborhood mosque”, that will create new reasons for more conflicts,it’s just will be more complicated and then the British will be the nearest ” Enemy of Islam”.
They Iraqi government should react, and stop being passive,but which government? that is the question.It’ll take time we know.
Here is a link to Steve Vincent’s blog site for those interested in what he had to say about life in post invasion Iraq .
http://spencepublishing.typepad.com/inthered_zone/
He was highly critical of the Basra police, which he claimed to be largely infiltrated by insurgents and of the low key posture of the the British military which he alleged turned a blind eye to the situation. Probably crossed the line here in not being sufficiently circumspect. The kidnappers are said to have been either police or else were dressed as such and the car they used was a police vehicle.
-test-
one article written and published in the NYTimes is isn’t reason to issue a fatwa or hit on a blogger/reporter.
The guy was on to something.
Maybe he was on to something like that Canadien reporter woman tortured to death in Iran.
-test-
one article written and published in the NYTimes is isn’t reason to issue a fatwa or hit on a blogger/reporter.
The guy was on to something.
Maybe he was on to something like that Canadien reporter woman tortured to death in Iran.
-test-
one article written and published in the NYTimes is isn’t reason to issue a fatwa or hit on a blogger/reporter.
The guy was on to something.
Maybe he was on to something like that Canadien reporter woman tortured to death in Iran.
“It takes the death of one of your own, in circumstances like this to bring home the reality of the brutal situation that is today’s Iraq.”
For many, the daily slaughter and maiming of dozens of Iraqis brings home the reality of the brutal situation in today’s Iraq, but point taken.
What is this about “agree” or “disagree”…………….
A reporter is supposed to report facts, correct?
I see these reporters hunting down the facts that support their personal view….
It’s alway “America is totally wrong” or “America is totally right.” No wonder readers are disgusted with the mainstream media. We have to spend hours a day trying to wade through the BS.
Facts. How about it?
Why do you hate america?
Didn’t he realize the danger he was in? Well, cover your ass applies to reporters also, they are getting killed at a great rate world wide, so the idea that the truth will set you free seems to mean that the truth will get you killed. I wish we had reporters in the US that told the truth, but here they are all kiss up, kick down types like that idiot Bolton.
Interesting report on Steve Vincent’s death. Possibly an honor killing over his relationship with his interpreter?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/07/wirq107.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/08/07/ixworld.html
I’ve heard these rumors, but can’t verify them so I’m keeping quiet. But bear in mind that British newspapers often should be read with a grain of salt.
However, if it’s true that he was somehow involved with his translator, all I can think is what a moron. I’m sorry, but anyone who’s been here more than week should know you don’t get involved with the local women. Period. It’s a sure way to get you and her hurt or killed.
Still, these are just rumors so far. So we’ll see…
You know, on further reading of this article, it’s highly sketchy. There are no named people quoted, with only an “investigator” giving quotes. Everything else is completely hearsay.
Nour Wedi “told investigators from her hospital bed that Mr Vincent planned to marry her so she could settle in the United States.”
“She is understood to have been aware of his plans to marry Ms Weidi for visa purposes.”
“Staff … say the couple’s relationship…”
And so on. It’s incredibly lightly sourced and I repeat that British papers — and this article in particular — should be read very skeptically.
Chris,
Point taken about this particular article, but you sure about attacking “British papers” the way you are. American papers have not exactly covered themselves in glory with their coverage of Iraq in the last couple of years.
Javi
I am in Iraq, and this is where I have been for 11 months and 15 days. The only thing that got this man killed was his careless attitude about blogging and breaching his own security. C’mon, blogging about where he goes, what he does, his method of transportation, heading all over the city, to the airport in a cab (that one was the worst). Do you think these terrorists people don’t read blogs? Well, they do and his blog is probably the precise tool used to identify where he could be kidnapped. He was an American, high priced over here. Anybody in Iraq blogging, needs to remember that anything you say can and will be used by terrorists to get to you, to take you, to kill you, to do what they do. Wake up to the reality you are living in because you are not immune either! BTW-you should check your own blog for identifying information that you might just be passing on to the same people.
Rennie,
You’ve got the point my dear.
PS. Did he really went to the airport in a cap!!! What the hell he was thinking. And also what was he thinking when he mentioned names in his articles!!!!!!!!!!!
Some people really need to re-evaluate their security measures!
++++++++++++++++++++++++
For me all the newspapers (especially the Arabic ones) “often should be read with a grain of salt.” and spices also.
Rennie and Whatever80: You guys are spot on. Which is why, unfortunately, that B2I is not as open as it used to be. It has nothing to do with my TIME employment — the only thing I won’t do on this blog is seriously dis TIME or scoop them — but I’m constantly aware that someone might be reading this. I try not to give out too much… unless I know it’s out there already. For instance, when my buddy John Martinkis got kidnapped last year, his captors apparently Googled him and found out his anti-war creds. I think this contributed to him being released unharmed. But in the course of his questioning, his captors revealed they knew a lot about us in the compound where we live, including everyone’s name and what rooms in the hotel they live in. So even tho insurgents may have that knowledge already, I try not to help them anymore than possible.