"Crazy Shots"

June 5, 2011 12:45 AM

Ray Bribiesca: "Crazy Shots" (via "60 Minutes" video extra) Interview of "60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan highlighting Ray Bribiesca, the Vietnam War veteran responsible for some amazing combat footage.

An interview of Lara Logan with video and accompanying text that provide some really good info about this extremely brave man and his work.

posted by InsertNiftyNameHere (9 comments total)

"...He's the one, Putting down laying down, what ya call suppressive fiy-yah"...

Hmm, how weird is it to see these soldiers be so conscious of the camera that they're almost preening as they fire? Sucks that this guy who was such a bad ass in Vietnam is now just going through the motions, even though he's still in danger... the world sure has changed-
posted by ReeMonster at 1:01 AM on June 5, 2011

@Reemonster: Has the world really changed? This all looks sadly like Vietnam all over again to me... a war that was started for the wrong reasons, in a region where winning was never really possible, against an "enemy" that we used to provide with arms, a people who have no other option but to resist.

All I kept asking is why... why did allied forces ever go to Afghanistan when they knew the history (USSR trying to dominate the region and failing)? Why are they all still there when every day they are draining resources from their own countries - resources that could be used for health, education, sustainable resource research?

I have a lot of respect for both the reporter and camera person (obviously both very dedicated and brave), but why risk your life to report this? Why risk your life to film it? Apologies if I sound kinda down about it all...
posted by greenhornet at 1:21 AM on June 5, 2011

Well, I guess I feel exactly the same as you, but with the end result of.. so that's why we SHOULDN'T send people there to film anything, especially cute little reporters like that reporter.. if the old dude who filmed Vietnam wants to go, fine.. but seriously he should be hanging out here having a BBQ and she should be hanging out here doing reports about 16-year-old moms because the Afghan War is older than John Edwards bastard children.. sorry if I sound down about it all..
posted by ReeMonster at 1:28 AM on June 5, 2011

See also for those who never came back. Unfortunately the pieceuniquegallery "Under Fire"- Images from Vietnam has disappeared I wonder if anyone caught it before it went.
posted by adamvasco at 1:59 AM on June 5, 2011

I have a lot of respect for both the reporter and camera person (obviously both very dedicated and brave), but why risk your life to report this? Why risk your life to film it?

A) because it's their profession
B) would you rather we didn't know anything about this war?
posted by fourcheesemac at 4:22 AM on June 5, 2011 [3 favorites]

Hmm, how weird is it to see these soldiers be so conscious of the camera that they're almost preening as they fire?

One really does have the sickening feeling during all this that these people are "playing war". That our whole enterprise overseas has been to give our privileged youngsters the added privilege of a nice colonial war to have an adventure in. The look on that blonde's face as she bounces around inside the humvee with machine gun cartridges falling around her is pure thrill -- "wait'll they see me at home!"
posted by Faze at 6:10 AM on June 5, 2011

adamvasco: the Internet Archive has at least some of it.
posted by fake at 6:53 AM on June 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

That was very moving. I wanted to not like this, I do not like the idea of a mother of two entering a combat zone and then turning her struggle with fear into a storyline for 60 Minutes.

But I think it is very brave of Ray to stand out there like that to get the shot. That's his job, and the difference between showing the back of the head and the front of the face is a huge one, it can mean a lot to the public and for generations to come.

After all these years, you'd think his number would be called. And it's brave of Lara Logan to be out there too, covering the story. Week after week I think 60 minutes is the best photojournalism on television.

RIP Chris Hondros and Tim Hetherington.
posted by phaedon at 7:40 AM on June 5, 2011

I saw that 60 Minutes report and immediately wondered if she did that before, or after her horribly traumatic experience in Egypt. Her discussion of that incident made me wonder even more about some things that she might not realize are making herself a target.

If I was the commander of that mission in Afghanistan, I would have refused to take Lara on the mission except under two conditions.

1. Ditch the bright white T Shirt. Find something darker, more camo, or else strip and rub that shirt into the dirt until it no longer presents such a bright white target to snipers.

2. Adjust your body armor so it fits. The shoulder straps are too long, allowing the armor to drop below your heart. Raise it up closer to your throat. Yes we know you are a small woman and body armor is designed for big, burly soldiers. CBS can afford to buy you better fitting body armor.

Now honestly Lara, I am a big fan of your gutsy reporting from war zones. And we are all aware you are a stunningly attractive woman. Surely this is part of your appeal, the camera loves you, but also for me personally, seeing an attractive Western woman amidst the horrors of war only seems to throw those horrors into stronger relief. But seriously now, I've seen videos of you standing over a bomb crater in Iraq with your body armor so low I could see cleavage. At that point, the armor loses its usefulness and becomes a costume prop.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:23 AM on June 5, 2011