And It's True, You Hear

I Don't Like The Definition 'war Correspondent'. It Is History, Not Journalism, That Has Condemned The Middle East To War. I Think 'war Correspondent' Smells A Bit, Reeks Of False Romanticism: It Has Too Much Of The Whiff Of Victorian Reporters Who Would View Battles From Hilltops In The Company Of Ladies, Immune To Suffering, Only Occasionally Glancing Towards The Distant Pop-pop Of Cannon Fire.

When I Arrived In Beirut From Europe, I Felt The Oppressive, Damp Heat, Saw The Unkempt Palm Trees And Smelt The Arabic Coffee, The Fruit Stalls And The Over-spiced Meat. It Was The Beginning Of The Orient. And When I Flew Back To Beirut From Iran, I Could Pick Up The British Papers, Ask For A Gin And Tonic At Any Bar, Choose A French, Italian, Or German Restaurant For Dinner. It Was The Beginning Of The West. All Things To All People, The Lebanese Rarely Questioned Their Own Identity.

President Bush Will Come Here And There Will Be New "friends" Of America To Open A New Relationship With The World, New Economic Fortunes For Those Who "liberated" Them.

And I Think, In The End, That Is The Best Definition Of Journalism I Have Heard; To Challenge Authority - All Authority - Especially So When Governments And Politicians Take Us To War, When They Have Decided That They Will Kill And Others Will Die.

U.s. Journalists I Don't Think Are Very Courageous. They Tend To Go Along With The Government's Policy Domestically And Internationally. To Question Is Seen As Being Unpatriotic, Or Potentially Subversive.