| Michael Yon | |
|---|---|
Michael Yon in Iraq |
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| Born | 1964[1] |
| Occupation | Journalist, Author, blogger, columnist, photographer, war correspondent[1] |
Michael Yon (born 1964)[1] is an American writer and photographer. He served in the Special Forces in the early-1980s, and he became a general freelance writer in the mid-1990s. He focused on military writing after the invasion of Iraq.[2] Yon has been embedded on numerous occasions with American and British troops in Iraq, most prominently a deployment with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment (Deuce Four) of the 25th Infantry Division in Mosul, Iraq that ended in September 2005.[3]
Yon has had vocal feuds with the US military hierarchy, and the nature of his reports are also controversial.[2] However, Yon at one time enjoyed 'rock star' status among individual soldiers according to Brian Williams of MSNBC.[4] Yon's alternative media reporting has been mentioned by numerous mainstream media agencies, and he has won accolades from the 2005, 2007,[5] and 2008 Weblog Awards.[6] In 2008, The New York Times reported that he has spent more time embedded with combat units than any other journalist in Iraq.[1] He shifted the focus of his blogging from Iraq to Afghanistan in August 2008.[7] His work is supported primarily by donations from readers.[8]
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Yon grew up in Winter Haven, Florida, where he says he essentially raised himself. As a child and as a young adult, he was a prankster who got in trouble for, among other things, making homemade bombs.[2] Other children bullied him repeatedly throughout his childhood, particularly because of his short stature.[9] He went to a local community college and did not express any interest in journalism. After graduation, he joined the United States Army in his late teens for the college money.[2]
At age nineteen, Yon started in the United States Army Special Forces. Due to his bright blond hair, short stature, and physical boastfulness, the other soldiers nicknamed him "Bam Bam", after the Flintstones character. He killed a man in a bar room fight in Ocean City, Maryland in the 1980s; criminal charges were filed but later dropped.[2] Yon's first book, Danger Close, details this event and tells the story of his life up to the age of about 20, after he had completed the selection and training process for the Special Forces.[10] He was one of the youngest soldiers to pass the Green Beret selection process.[5]
Yon left the service in 1987, and worked in a variety of different businesses,[2] at one point providing security detail for Michael Jackson.[11] He later described Jackson as a "hostage of his own success" while also stating that he enjoyed his experiences with him at Neverland Ranch before the scandals.[12] Having learned German and some Polish within the service, he also attempted to work in Poland.[11] He started general freelance writing in the mid-1990s despite having no background in the field. Notably, he covered the Aghori, an obscure Hindu cult that eats human flesh to supposedly gain magic powers. Yon believed that he had located an American cult member and passed his suspicions on to the FBI. He began writing about the occupation of Iraq after the death of two of his army friends, one of whom he had known since high school.[2]
Yon first landed in Baghdad in late December 2004. He covered the war in Iraq for several years afterward, notably covering the Deuce Four forces. Yon briefly stopped over to Afghanistan in early 2006.[11] In December 2007, Yon was present in Basra with 4th Battalion, The Rifles during the British withdrawal from the city. He subsequently visited England and met the Duchess of Cornwall. Yon praised her for what he saw as her unstinting support for her troops.[13]
Yon moved to covering the War in Afghanistan in August 2008, which he said had become the most important field in the war on terrorism.[7] He attempted to travel to Pakistan in June 2009, but his visa application was denied.[14] That month, he also traveled to Singapore, Bahrain, the Philippines, and Turkey to report on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' security meetings.[15]
Yon has stated, in general, that "If a writer wants to make money, he should avoid truth and tell people what they want to hear. Yet to win the war, tell the truth."[16] He supports embedded journalism over traditional reporting, believing that the closer writers are to events the less likely they are to repeat military public relations spin.[7] Yon has been reluctant to talk about whether or not he actually supported the decision to go to war in the first place. He eventually said he had been a supporter due to his concerns about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, to which he had given the Bush Administration the benefit of the doubt.[1][11]
After first visiting Iraq in December 2004, Yon believed the situation in the country was far more violent than the mainstream media had reported.[11] Throughout the next year, he reported that "Iraq was falling apart" and was in a civil war. He also believed that NATO forces were "losing" the war in Afghanistan. Yon was a vocal proponent of a 'surge' strategy in Iraq and expressed his support in many interviews for Senator John McCain in the 2008 Presidential election.[16] Agreeing with McCain, Yon opposes the use of torture by the U.S. military,[16] and specifically opposes waterboarding.[17] In June 2009, he remarked: "I get the feeling that Obama is tougher and proving wiser than many people seem to think".[15] Yon also wrote in the aftermath of the Iranian election protests that he agreed with controversial author Michael Ledeen' views about Iran.[14] In an August 2009 interview at Helmand Province, Yon reiterated his belief that the Afghan Taliban are stronger than the NATO presence, comparing the situation to Apocalypse Now.[18]
Describing how his personal views affect his writing, Yon stated, "I feel no shame in saying I am biased in favor of our troops. Even worse, I feel no shame in calling a terrorist a terrorist".[19] The New York Times has commented that "Like most bloggers, Mr. Yon has an agenda, writing often that the United States’ mission to build a stable, democratic Iraq is succeeding and must continue."[1] The Los Angeles Times has called him "the reporter of choice for many conservatives",[2] although journalist Michael Totten has called Yon a "refreshingly unideological analyst of the war".[20] Yon has praised several media agencies he has worked with, saying "The journalists for places like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are actually very good with their facts."[15]
In his 2008 book Moment of Truth in Iraq, Yon stated:
Happy news for the Left was that U.S. soldiers were demoralized and the war was being lost... Happy news for the Right was that there was no insurgency, then no civil war; we always had enough troops, and we were winning hands-down, except for the left-wing lunatics who were trying to unravel it all. They say heroin addicts are happy, too, when they are out of touch with reality.[20]
Yon supports the personal use of his images and writings by ordinary people, but he believes that larger institutions such as television networks and magazines should respect his copyright. As such, he has taken on numerous legal cases. He wrote in August 2008 that he spends about $100,000 a year in those efforts.[7]
Yon's writing is marked by its fondness for American service personnel and Iraqis, both military and civilian alike. He sees those groups as engaging bravely in a just nation-building.[1][2] USA Today has called him "unflinchingly pro-military".[21] It is also marked by candor about what he regards as U.S. and Iraqi failures,[1][16] which led The Los Angeles Times to label Yon a "lone gun".[2] For example, Yon notably covered the story of an Iraqi taxi driver mistakenly killed by U.S. troops. Yon's work is often graphic in its nature compared to other reporting.[21]
Yon's reports detail his conflicts with the U.S. military command as well, which culminated in an October 2008 article in The Weekly Standard titled "Censoring Iraq". In particular, Yon has accused Barry A. Johnson of US Central Command of "a subtle but all too real censorship" as well as "ineptitude in handling the press".[19] The article nearly caused the military to ban Yon from re-entering Iraq.[20] Yon frequently criticizes what he sees as inept public relations efforts from the Army staff.[21]
The style of Yon's reports has garnered praise from The New York Times, calling it "enough first-hand observation, clarity and skepticism to put many professional journalists to shame",[1] as well as Slate, calling it "the grizzled, noirish [sic] style of war reportage from earlier eras."[2] Military.com has stated that Yon re-defined war coverage for the new media.[18]
Yon has also been criticized by members of the Army, such as by Lt. Col. Steven Boylan in September 2005, who have said that he violated his embed agreement by releasing photos of dead and injured soldiers before their family members were notified. He also has been accused of skirting Army rules by working before he formally signed up with a news agency.[1] However, Yon is not employed by any news organization, and employment by a news organization is not a requirement for embedding with U.S. Forces.
Yon's editorial columns have run in National Review Online[22] and in The New York Post.[23] Although working exclusively as a writer, Yon had to cross the line and contribute to a firefight in order to save his life in an August 2007 battle in Mosul.[21] His dispatch about the incident became his best known work,[4] but it led to a strict reprimand from the Army administration.[21] He wrote in August 2009 that it is not his place to directly interfere in what he covers.[24]
Yon won the 2008 Weblog Award Poll for 'Best Military Blog' on December 31, 2008,[6] and he won the 2007 Weblog Award] for 'Best Military Blog' on November 1, 2007.[25] He won the 2005 Weblog Award for 'Best Media/Journalism Blog' as well.[5] In January 2006, his blog was one of the 100 most linked on the internet according to Technorati.[2] Websites for the CNN, ABC, and CBS networks have referred to his work. He has appeared on the CBS Early Show and Good Morning America shows.[5]
Yon has been quoted by Fox News,[26] by Newsmax,[27] and by Times Online.[28] His reporting has gained the praise of some well known and respected journalists, including Christopher Booker[13] and Toby Harnden[29] of The Daily Telegraph, Brian Williams of NBC,[4] foreign correspondent Joe Galloway, Alex Perry of Time, and US News and World Report writer Michael Barone.[5] Barone has referred to Yon's work in his column.[30] Oliver North has supported Yon's reporting,[2] and John Gibson cited Yon in an editorial.[5] New York University professor Jay Rosen has named Yon's writing as a prominent example of successful citizen journalism.[8] Bruce Willis has stated his intention to produce a movie about Deuce Four's deployment in Iraq, to be largely based on Yon's experiences with the unit. Willis said, “What he is doing is something the American media and maybe the world media isn’t doing... telling the truth about what’s happening in the war in Iraq.”[31]
| External images | |
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| Little Girl | |
In May 2005, Yon took a picture of U.S. Army Major Mark Bieger cradling an Iraqi girl, named Farah, wounded by shrapnel from a car bomb. Major Bieger tried to take the girl to an American hospital to receive treatment, but she died on the helicopter ride. Yon wrote shortly after taking the picture that it "provoked a flood of messages and heartfelt responses from caring people around the world."[32]
The photo created international news media attention as well.[5] It was submitted to Time. Their website's viewers selected it as the 'Top Photo of 2005'.[33] It received 66% of the vote.[34] An Islamic-based non-violence organization asked to use the picture, and Yon gave his permission. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore used the photo without permission at michaelmoore.com,[35] with it placed alongside then-Senator Hillary Clinton attacking her support for the invasion of Iraq. In May 2008, Yon wrote that he planned to sue Moore for copyright infringement and described some of Moore's media work as pornographic.[33][36]
In 2006, the 'Little Girl' image was the center of a controversy when it was used by the Hachette Filipacchi Médias’ publication Shock Magazine. The magazine displayed the picture in a context that was critical of the war in Iraq. Yon felt this usage of the photo both dishonored U.S. troops and breached his copyright. He especially criticized the fact that the agency released the disputed article on Memorial Day.[9]
Yon contacted his lawyers and agreed with Hachette Filipacchi Medias that he would be paid a licensing fee, with the majority of proceeds going to a charity supporting US military families. On June 9, 2006, the agreement appears to have collapsed, with Yon alleging further misuse of the image by Hachette Filipacchi Médias at its shocku.com website.[9]
Through June and July 2007, Yon followed multinational forces in battles at and around Baqubah during Operation Arrowhead Ripper, and he reported that the forces discovered a mass grave at the al Hamari village. Yon stated that Al Qaeda elements had murdered hundreds of innocent people in the area.[37] He compared the scene to the 'Killing Fields' of Cambodia. He speculated from the positions of some of the bodies' that the militants may have forced a father to dig the graves of his children before their summary execution.[38]
Yon wrote on July 18 that the news media had been ignoring the story.[39] An Iraqi official later said that the insurgents had, among other atrocities, baked a young boy and served him to his parents.[37] Yon himself wrote in a later dispatch that he offers "no opinion about the veracity of [the official's] words".[40]
In April 2008, Yon published his second book, Moment of Truth in Iraq, through Richard Vigilante Books. The book describes how U.S. counterinsurgency methods are creating what Yon sees as a foundation of success in Iraq. Within two weeks of its release date, Moment of Truth entered into Amazon.com's list of Top 10 bestsellers. Yon wrote fellow blogger Glenn Reynolds saying, "That's just wild. Folks really did want that book after all. I was wondering how many people even cared. It's great to know that people want to really know what's going on."[41]
Through spring 2010, Yon engaged in an ongoing war of words with Canadian Army Brigadier-General Daniel Menard and US General Stanley McChrystal, the latter who commanded International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Yon accused Menard of incompetence when the Tarnak Bridge was destroyed by insurgents, near the Canadian Area of Operations, claiming that Menard had been watching a hockey game at the time. When it was publicly demonstrated that the bridge was not a Canadian responsibility, Yon blasted Menard for negligently firing his weapon in Kandahar. Yon publicly admitted that he would not have looked into the rumors of the negligent discharge(ND), if it weren't for the bridge controversy. Menard was later charged with an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. While Yon complained that neither the ND nor affair were the issue, he claimed victory in taking the General's "scalp."
The attacks on a coalition partner and allied General were embarrassing to the ISAF and diplomatic efforts. It appears that this resulted in a breakdown of relationships between Yon and the Public Affairs Office of McChrystal, which Yon described as "crazy monkeys." [42]
Despite Yon's praise for General McChrystal on the eve of the Tarnak Bridge incident, his Facebook updates became increasingly critical after Yon was disembedded.[43] While most of Yon's criticism focused on McChrystal's media relations, he also criticized Stanley McChrystal's war strategy on many occasions, particularly the restrictive Rules of Engagement under his command. Daily Telegraph journalist Toby Harnden described Yon's commentary as "excoriating".[29][44] Yon suggested that McChrystal's specialized background in the U.S. Special Forces left him ill-prepared to manage the ISAF, with "an incompetence... that I've never seen before".[27]
After publication of a June 2010 Rolling Stone article containing controversial quotes from McCrystal and his staff, which mocked their civilian Obama administration colleagues, Yon wrote; "Unless McChrystal basically denies the article, he must be fired. If he is not fired, I will start calling him President McChrystal because Obama clearly is not in charge." Both McChrystal and Menard later left their commands. Despite the allegations of Yon being absent in the dismissals of both Generals, Yon declared victory and claimed to have been prophetic in claiming their "two scalps." [29][44]
After General David H. Petraeus was appointed to Stanley McCrystal's command, Yon sent Petraeus a message of support and later wrote on his Facebook page that Petraeus sent back "a nice response".[29][44]
On April 11, 2010, Yon's embedded journalist status with the US military in Afghanistan was terminated, officially due to lack of slots for requested embeds,[43] but in the wake of his accusations that Brigadier General Menard and General McChrystal were incompetent, and worse.[42] Neither Yon, nor his detractors accepted the official reasons given.
The conflict with General Menard and General McChrystal directly led to conflicts with milblogs. Many of the same milblogs had previously praised his work and recommended that their readers donate to his cause.[45]
In June 2010, Yon published an email on his Facebook Fanpage from a soldier in the field detailing the security shortcomings of a base in Logar.[46] Yon described allegations that this was an OPSEC violation as libelous;[47] CJ Grisham later highlighted the passages which he thought were infractions.[46]
On Jan 21, 2011, Yon alleged that popular columnist "Uncle Jimbo" had misled readers because he had never served in combat. This renewed the feud with the milblogs.[48]