Most PBS stations Thursday night will feature an acerbic report by Sam Kiley on Iraq (check local listings). I wasn't planning on writing about Frontline/World again since I did an item last week. But Kiley's report is both funny and informative. Although Iraqi officials deny reports from exiles of women accused of being prostitutes killed by beheading on busy streets, he is able to find an eyewitness.

And the other story on Columbia is excellent. In one town 400 people have been assasinated by right-wing paramilitaries (including prostitutes - the chief of police says most are girlfriends of the rebels). One women has had six family members killed or disapeared. The website has a photo essay on civilian deaths (which also include people caught in the crossfire and accused by the rebels of supporting the paramilitaries).

As with all the Frontline/World stories, they will be streaming online Monday and there is also be other online material including an interview with Kiley and a report on the media in Iraq. He also will be participating in an online discussion Friday at 11 am ET at washingtonpost.com.

Kiley was a reporter for the Times of London for over 11 years covering Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East before quiting over censorship of his reporting on Israel.

He now reports for the Evening Standard and filed several stories while he was working on the Frontline report.

Saira Shah did the documentary on Afghanistan Beneath the Veil (she wrote about making it and Janelle Brown interviewed her) which was shown last year on Channel 4 and CNN.

Both talk in their reports about the difficulty of doing war reporting. Chris Hedges explores this in his new book War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning.
He read from it on the Connection, was interviewed on FreshAir and Tom Paine. He was one of the few reporters to break the military press restrictions during the Gulf War and go off on his own (he was captured by the Iraqis). Last year, he wrote Gaza Diary for Harper's (and was interviewed about it on FreshAir).