CNN 'as bad as Al-Jazeera'

CNN 'as bad
as Al-Jazeera'
Government leader tells visiting families
negative reports made him fear to return

A government leader in Iraq's Kurdistan region has told Gold Star Families visiting U.S. troops in the Mideast that the news media's coverage of the situation in Iraq is terribly biased.

"CNN International and Al Jazeera are equally bad in their coverage of the situation in Iraq," said Nerchivan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan.

"When I was in the United States recently and read the negative news in the Washington Post, New York Times and in the network TV broadcasts, I even wondered if things had gotten so bad since I had left that I shouldn't return," he said.

Barzani's comments came during meetings with the delegation of Gold Star Families on a historic trip to Iraq. These families each lost a child in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and they now are traveling in Iraq to see the land and people for whom their loved ones gave their lives.

Organizer Move America Forward said, to its knowledge, no other such trip to Iraq by families of fallen troops had ever taken place.

Group members also had an hour-long meeting with Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani, who related emotional stories about those whose lives were lost at the hands of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The Gold Star Families shared their accounts of lives loss, too.

"It was a huge honor for us to be able to speak with the prime minister and president of Iraqi Kurdistan. They were extraordinarily gracious and warm," said Debra Argel Bastian, whose son, Derek, died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"We've been treated so well by everyone. During our meeting with President Barzani he pulled down a tapestry framed from his wall and gave it to us. I can't tell you how much we appreciate the kindness and generosity of these people," she said.

There also was an emotional experience for Joe and Jan Johnson, of Rome, Ga., who lost son Justin during combat in Sadr City, Iraq, just a few days after Justin's close friend, Casey Sheehan, died in combat in the same city. Sheehan was the son of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.

Theirs are the lives and stories of heroism profiled in the newly released book "American Mourning", a WND book by Catherine Moy and Melanie Morgan, founder of Move America Forward.

The families were visiting U.S. troops when a man who had been stationed with Justin Johnson approached. He had gone out on a mission to rescue Justin, but the soldiers did not arrive in time to save Justin's life.

He never had thought he would be able to meet Justin's parents, and was overwhelmed by the experience.

Jan Johnson's audio account of the meeting is available at Move America Forward's website.

The families also joined the people of Iraq over the weekend in celebrating the guilty verdict handed down against the murderous former dictator, according to officials for the two-year-old troop support organization.

The American families are on a 10-day trip to see the land their children died to free.

The delegation includes Joseph Williams, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Williams, died in 2003; John Holley, whose son, Army Spc. Matthew Holley, died in 2005; Mike Anderson, whose son, Marine Corps Cpl. Michael Anderson Jr., died in 2004, Debra and Todd Bastian, whose son, Air Force Capt. Derek Argel, died in 2005; and Janet and Joseph Johnson, whose son, Justin, died in 2004 and is the subject of "American Mourning;"

The book contrasts the Johnsons with the family of Justin's war buddy, Casey Sheehan, and tells how John Kerry tried to recruit the Johnsons at their sons' funeral to speak out against President Bush and his Iraq policy.

Move America Forward said it is providing updated accounts of the trip, with photographs, audio and video on its website.

The trip, planned for more than a year, is being financed by the contributions of thousands of Americans, the group said. No government money has been used.