the first of remedies

January 29, 2006 8:17 AM

Bob Woodruff is in serious condition after being hit by an IED in Iraq. Woodruff and [his cameraman] Vogt are undergoing surgery at the U.S. military hospital in Balad. Both men suffered head injuries. Woodruff sustained shrapnel wounds and Vogt was hit by shrapnel in the head and suffered a broken shoulder.
posted by The Jesse Helms (37 comments total)

Why in the name of Allah do you link to the Wikipedia entry for Caliphate from the words "shrapnel in the head"?
posted by LondonYank at 8:37 AM on January 29, 2006

Your links are obnoxious.

Here's a pic of Doug Vogt, and a story he wrote about covering the tsunami, because the off-camera guy always gets ignored.
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:46 AM on January 29, 2006

This is what you get for being no Peter Jennings.
posted by cillit bang at 8:59 AM on January 29, 2006

Your links are obnoxious.

Not all - I had no idea who Woodruff was until i clicked on the wiki entry.
posted by the cuban at 9:02 AM on January 29, 2006

I had a bad feeling about this very thing last night, when he signed off, saying he would be in Iraq. In the first weeks of the Iraq invasion, military personnel had a 1/600 chance of dying, but news reporters died at a rate of 1/33. The Media does put it on the line to bring us knowledge of the world situation. Prayers and meditations are in order.
posted by Oyéah at 9:03 AM on January 29, 2006

I just watched his tour through the googleplex the other day, too. I knew the face, but not the name up until that point. Now this. Strange timing (for me anyway).
posted by jikel_morten at 9:12 AM on January 29, 2006

The Media does put it on the line to bring us knowledge of the world situation. Prayers and meditations are in order.

Well, some thought should also be spared to the hundreds of thousands of innocent non-anchorpersons who are suffering in this war without any choice. Sorry if that sounds cynical, but the war isn't happening on television.
posted by 327.ca at 9:26 AM on January 29, 2006

That goes without saying, we won't see what is going on there unless non-aligned, unbiased reporters, are willing to show us.
posted by Oyéah at 9:37 AM on January 29, 2006

i listened to Seymour Hersh recently (podcast) at Princeton University and he said that all the supplies that the troops use i.e. water, hamburgers, clothing, weapons et-cetera delivered mostly from Kuwait come in huge convoys late at night driving as fast as they can with their lights off
because of this people, animals and whomever are on the road are simply run over
yes run over
what a terrible war and hellava mess we are in
posted by robbyrobs at 9:38 AM on January 29, 2006

because of this people, animals and whomever are on the road are simply run over

Uhh, shenanigans.

Yes, they're driving without lights. SOP. Night vision gear is very common in the US Armed Forces -- they're seeing things just fine.

Now it may be that they're hitting things anyway, just because. But running without lights in hostile terrain makes all sorts of sense.
posted by eriko at 9:48 AM on January 29, 2006

What Walter Cronkite said.

I hope they both are ok.
posted by my sock puppet account at 9:54 AM on January 29, 2006

"The first of remedies?" I don't get it, unless this is just more of The Jesse Helms' brand of humor.
posted by digaman at 10:06 AM on January 29, 2006

I hope he gets a dashing looking scar, it would be good for his career.
posted by Suparnova at 10:08 AM on January 29, 2006

But running without lights in hostile terrain makes all sorts of sense.
Unless, of course, you're talking about foreign policy.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:42 AM on January 29, 2006

was Woodruff wearing a helmet? was the cameraman?
posted by amberglow at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2006

Wow.
posted by delmoi at 11:06 AM on January 29, 2006

CNN's Michael Holmes in Baghdad:

"I understand that Bob and Doug were wearing body armor and helmets. They were, we're told, standing out of the hatch of a vehicle when this IED went off. Perhaps Doug was filming Bob. We don't know that yet."
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:16 AM on January 29, 2006

Maybe, just maybe, this sad incident involving a celebrity known to the average American will accelerate public pressure for changes in the Administration's Iraq policy and plans. This could be the "Have you no decency, sir? Have you no shame?" moment so many of us have been hoping for.
posted by twsf at 11:23 AM on January 29, 2006

twsf, wtf?

that questions already been answered, with a resounding no. and applauded for it.

I hope they survive/recover.
and, I wonder if any footage survived.
posted by Busithoth at 11:26 AM on January 29, 2006

It certainly says something about Wikipedia that the incident has already been documented there with multiple online sources.
posted by clevershark at 11:47 AM on January 29, 2006

It certainly says something about Wikipedia that the incident has already been documented there with multiple online sources.

Except it currently says Woodruff succumbed to his injuries and his body will be flown back.
posted by o0o0o at 12:12 PM on January 29, 2006

What's up with the "U.S. Military" and "shrapnel in the head" links? Editorialize much?
posted by fixedgear at 12:23 PM on January 29, 2006

oOoOo, current events stories are popular to vandalize. The vandalism is almost always reverted within minutes.

I found a couple of those links bizarre and shameful, TJH. For what it's worth, I added an article for Doug Vogt, so his name isn't red-linked anymore.

This could be the "Have you no decency, sir? Have you no shame?" moment

Probably a closer analogy is "I have come to the conclusion that the war is unwinnable."

Night vision gear is very common in the US Armed Forces

eriko, you know as well as I do that those convoys are mostly privatized out to civilian subcontractors. I know two truck drivers from around here who have gone to Iraq (one has come back). Many aren't even American -- Kuwaitis and Saudis commonly take the more dangerous jobs. In any case, our troops don't always have up-armored Humvees or all the body armor they should have; why make an assumption that every convoy driver has night-vision gear?

</derail>

It's going to be very interesting to see how the spin comes out of this one. Even if he survives (our first concern) Woodruff's anchor career may be over (for reasons ranging from voluntary retirement to medical disability to, we may as well consider it, appearance). The important thing is that we use this moment to think about all the other deaths and injuries who aren't of a highly attractive celebrity.

In any case, it somewhat neuters, for a time, the charge that the media isn't reporting how well the Iraqi defense forces are doing.
posted by dhartung at 12:55 PM on January 29, 2006

dhartung, he always freaked me out, appearance-wise.

I'm more concerned for his well-being, physical and mental.
posted by Busithoth at 1:23 PM on January 29, 2006

Really, this shouldn't be so surprising. It's damn dangerous over there, a high percentage of convoys are attacked, and if you are going to stand up outside the vehicle, it helps to be in a gunner position and have at least some armor between you and the rest of the world.

Trust me, plenty of soldiers get the willies just doing the convoys, because they know what could happen. Those who ignore the risks and don't keep their heads low tend to regret it.
posted by insomnia_lj at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2006

What one soldier I know said recently about the risks -- physically and mentally -- of serving in Iraq:

"It is strange mom says that there are all these people that want to congratulate me, to have a celebration when I get back…that want to interview me…why. I am nothing special I am nothing special I did not go out every day and deal with things here. and almost every time I went out something bad happened. I have seen too much I know what death smells like what it looks like…what it is to be in abject terror because you are being shot at. That is nothing special…and I don’t know if it is something to be celebrated…I have seen things that…I don’t ever want to remember.

I am so fucked up…"
posted by insomnia_lj at 1:49 PM on January 29, 2006

The liberal media is just trying to make Iraq look bad by getting blown up.
posted by iamck at 2:06 PM on January 29, 2006

its nice how bush is bring democracy and peace to mid-east. good going there bigguy.

uhhh - have you been talking to "lets rush the apocalypse" buddies lately?
posted by specialk420 at 2:30 PM on January 29, 2006

Woodruff isn't a story on any of the major right-wing blogs. Redstate.org mentioned him briefly in their Sunday talkshow roundup, and Jesse Michelle Malkin linked to the story without comment.

A couple of hours later, she linked to stories about three soldiers killed or injured by IEDs in recent days, then pointedly asked her readers to "keep them in your prayers". I found it telling that only one other soldier's IED injury has been worthy of her note, and that gentleman was a politically sympathetic milblogger -- six months ago. (Google it all yourself.)

I'll reiterate: They're constantly saying the media aren't reporting on the good news from Iraq, like how well the Iraqi defense forces are doing. Bob Woodruff got himself blown up trying to report that story.
posted by dhartung at 3:11 PM on January 29, 2006

If he really was injured, the cynic in me wonders which side did it.
posted by Toecutter at 7:18 PM on January 29, 2006

That's an unfortunate file name for the Doug Vogt link, CunningLinguist.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 8:13 PM on January 29, 2006

insomnia_lj, while what the soldier you referenced sounds like he had a rough time, I know of many people that have gone out and nothing bad has happened to them and they have been in Iraq over 2 years.

So, I think the soldier in question is a grave exception rather than the rule.
posted by Dagobert at 9:59 PM on January 29, 2006

So, I think the soldier in question is a grave exception rather than the rule.

~2300 grave exceptions are the problem.
posted by srboisvert at 4:40 AM on January 30, 2006

Woodruff isn't a story on any of the major right-wing blogs.

I noticed on Fox this morning that they decided this thing is a real negative for the Bush administration. They were in full attack mode. Saying he shouldn't have been there because he has kids... saying that if they had been in a US Army humvee, they would have been perfectly safe.
posted by smackfu at 6:05 AM on January 30, 2006

uncanny hengeman: yikes! I didn't notice.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:41 AM on January 30, 2006

I was looking at some info on Woodruff, and came across an article written about him at his undergraduate school - his wife contributed an article about being married to this type of journalist. I was curious what home life is life....

Bob W.'s article can be found through the above link or directly here.
posted by fluffycreature at 12:19 PM on January 30, 2006

Sounds like home life is pretty miserable for her. I wonder how the kids feel about it.
posted by Irontom at 4:12 PM on January 30, 2006