AMARAH, Iraq — With Iraqis poised to elect a new government -- at a time when it is particularly compelling for the world to hear their thoughts -- most Western journalists are forced to operate on a short leash, unable to casually approach many Iraqis or leave Baghdad without the help of the U.S. military.
A year ago, reporters generally were able to interview Iraqis on the capital's streets and travel across the nation. Now, because of the deteriorating security situation, they can hardly go out in Baghdad, much less the rest of the country.
In Baghdad, they make appointments, traveling swiftly to and from their interviews with barely a moment to take in the mood of the street. Some journalists now live exclusively in the heavily fortified Green Zone, cut off from most of the country.
Reporters in Iraq -- An article in Sunday's Section A about challenges that reporters face in Iraq named British public affairs officer Victoria Whitford as Victoria Whitfield.
Traveling by road outside the capital has become unsafe since abductions became commonplace during the summer; an Italian and two French journalists were among those taken hostage. And most Western reporters have determined that their only option is to turn to the U.S. and British embassies for transportation help.
The embassies, with the power to commandeer military helicopters, armed with gunners and personal security details, allow journalists to leapfrog the ring of danger around Baghdad and visit the rest of the country.
After being airlifted in, some reporters are able to go out on their own in relatively safe areas such as Kurdistan and parts of southern Iraq. Others stay for long periods with the military. (Journalists also routinely use Iraqi interpreters and correspondents to report on places unsafe for Westerners.)
But in most cases, reporters seeking to do their jobs must rely on the embassies, especially for one- and two-day trips focused on the Jan. 30 election.
But with the mobility come some hindrances. Western government officials exert control over the journalists' itineraries, set up interviews, and decide who and what will be seen. The arrangements can make the trips efficient but preclude the type of free-ranging reporting that journalists usually do on their own.
Still, most journalists think this is better than not getting out at all. Yet even under these conditions, there is no guarantee there will be a story, as reporters learned Saturday on a British Embassy-organized trip to Amarah, a turbulent town in southern Iraq.
