[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4426]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALISTS DISAPPEAR

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it has been said that the first 
casualty of war is the truth. In war, the way information reaches the 
people is through the messengers of truth, a free and independent 
press.
  One way to hide the truth in Qaddafi's war is for the dictator to 
prohibit the media from finding out the facts, from finding out the 
truth. So it should come as no surprise that four New York Times 
journalists covering the war have disappeared in Libya, presumably 
captured by Omar's troops. They are Anthony Shadid, Stephen Farrell, 
Tyler Hicks, and Lynsey Addario, all veteran journalists and 
photographers that have covered other world conflicts.
  More than 300 other journalists have been attacked during the recent 
turmoil in the region, and four have been killed. Last year, 57 
journalists were murdered worldwide.
  Journalists are the eyes and ears for the world, so when they are 
assaulted, kidnapped, harassed, censured, or murdered by dictators, 
those actions are a direct attack on truth and human freedom.
  And that's just the way it is.

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