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The Man from Fallujah

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PDN has an intriguing look at the life and work of Bilal Hussein, the Pulitzer-winning AP photographer who was recently arrested by U.S. military forces on terrorism-related charges. The U.S. military has until December 9th to produce its evidence against Hussein in an Iraqi court but reporter Daryl Lang notes that the Hussein's arrest may be linked to his unsparing and critical photographs from the war zone.

Conservative U.S. blogs routinely critique war photographs that don't portray U.S. military actions in a positive light. But few individual photographers have been singled out the way Hussein has been.

Blogs like that of columnist Michelle Malkin, The Jawa Report and Little Green Footballs have been following Hussein almost obsessively since his career began in 2004.

In two cases, it appears U.S. military sources fed the blogs information about Hussein that had not been made public elsewhere.

Anger over Hussein first erupted after the AP published his pictures of the armed insurgents in Fallujah. It reached a boil after the November 2004 AP article quoted Hussein claiming a U.S. helicopter fired on civilians fleeing Fallujah.

"I decided to swim" across a river to safety, Hussein said in the article. "But I changed my mind after seeing U.S. helicopters firing on and killing people who tried to cross the river." Hussein said he saw a family of five shot dead, and that he helped bury a man by the river bank .

An example of Hussein's work: 

Photo

A young girl receives treatment at a hospital Sept.17, 2004 after U.S. airstrikes in Fallujah.
(AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

 

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