Targets: Reporters in Iraq
At the time when Maziar Bahari made this documentary, over 100 journalists had
already been killed or kidnapped in Iraq. He had worked in the war-torn country
for three years himself, and this documentary contains original footage and
photographs, accompanied by ominous background music and Bahari's voice-over.
Bahari films himself and a New York Times photographer while they are
embedded with the Iraqi police. Afterwards, he interviews the photographer, who
wonders whether people use him only for propaganda purposes. Due to safety
risks, reporters can no longer move around freely. Bahari interviews several
journalists who were kidnapped, among whom Scott Taylor, who reluctantly returns
to Iraq to tell American soldiers about his abduction. Bahari proceeds to talk
with some soldiers and shows what life is like on their base. Journalist Hannah
Allan explains how she used to go to Fallujah to eat kebab; particularly since
the heavy fighting around Fallujah in 2004, the safety situation has
deteriorated drastically for journalists. Some get kidnapped and even killed by
the many insurgent groups, while others end up getting killed by American
soldiers at checkpoints. This is what happened to the Italian intelligence
officer who arranged the release of the kidnapped journalist Giuliana Sgrena,
whom Bahari also interviewed.