"Err" Jordan Still Employed by an Ethics-Challenged CNN

Eason "Err" Jordan seems to be quite the athlete, deftly turning away from dozens if not hundreds of real incidents of torture, rape and murder by tyrants and dictators, only to volunteer that charges of war crimes by U.S. soldiers are a slam-dunk... without the first shred of corroborating evidence. I think Jordan would be very close to fouling out of the game of journalism for good if his masters retained any integrity at all.

Eason Jordan first came to light in October of 2002, when The New Republic accused CNN of collaborating (registration required) with Saddam's Ministry of Information in order to retain access in Baghdad. Jordan denied it-sort of-at the time. When Baghdad fell in April of 2003, Jordan told a much different story, admitting that he hid the truth. He said he did not report the truth because it would have "jeopardized the lives of Iraqis." Jordan turned a blind eye to murder, rape and torture to retain access to get access to Iraqi leaders. How concealing the existence of government-sanctioned rape rooms and torture chambers saved lives, Jordan never adequately explained. For this ethical offense alone, he should have been fired. CNN declined to do so.

Many allege Eason Jordan allowed Saddam to use CNN to broadcast his propaganda, unedited, and uncut.

Jordan claimed U.S. troops tortured and killed journalists in 2004, which is very close to the comments Jordan is alleged to have made at the World Economic Forum, where he claimed U.S. forces have targeted journalists on purpose. He never produced any evidence to support this wild claim. He should have been fired for this offense as well. Again, CNN declined to fire him.

This most recent incident in Davos at the World Economic Forum was not an isolated incident, but one event in an established history of ethically outrageous behavior on the part of Eason Jordan and CNN. A lot of very credible people witnessed this willful and malicious slander of our troops, including Congressman Barney Frank, Senator Christopher Dodd, journalist David Gergen, and Wall Street Journal writer Bret Stephens, among others. And yet, once again, CNN once again refuses to fire Eason Jordan.

Why is that, CNN?

It is one thing to capture a questionable event and report it as Kevin Sites did in Fallujah, but quite another for a dangerous allegation to be made during wartime without a shred of evidence.

Eason Jordan tacitly supported the terrorism of the Iraqi people, turning a blind eye to torture for his (and CNN's) professional gain, and then commits slander against our military on multiple occasions, presumably to further ingratiate himself to the despots of the world and allow CNN even greater access to the dictatorships of the world.

This must not stand.

If CNN retains any sort of moral fiber or journalistic ethics it will fire Eason Jordan.

Unfortunately, CNN and other so-called "professional" news organizations seem to be circling the wagons to protect a man who is treading dangerously outside the lines of what we will morally (and legally?) accept as a society regarding slander and sedition.

Eason "Err" Jordan has erred one time too many to retain his credibility as a news executive for a major news organization. He should be forced to resign from CNN, if not fired outright for his outrageous, unsubstantiated claims against our troops and a history of a dangerous lack of ethical judgement.

Update: This thread has been been Malkinized. I'd suggest my readers check out Michelle's site, as she seems to be the lead investigator into this issue across all forms of media.