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Aug. 24, 2005
"There's a reckless arrest policy, and there's a tremendous amount of humiliation that follows that arrest policy, and I strongly believe that one of the major reasons that the insurgency is growing is because when detainees are released they come out and they're looking for retribution." -- Cyrus Kar
Part of my job as a producer in Los Angeles is to book "first" interviews for ABC News. I helped to do that for "Good Morning America" in late July when Cyrus Kar, a Los Angeles documentary filmmaker, had just returned home from a harrowing experience in a U.S. detention camp in Iraq, where he was filming. Kar is an American citizen and Navy veteran, and a supporter of the war. He was arrested in Iraq as a suspected terrorist. His story was checked out within days by the FBI, yet he was held by the U.S. military for nearly two months. His family brought in the ACLU. The perfect ending to a perfect nightmare.
The requisite scramble of reporters and hot-heeled booking producers ensued; the series of quick, live network interviews concluded. But when you've experienced the level of fear and abandonment Kar felt as he sat day after day in solitary confinement, the sound bites don't always roll off the tongue. The three-minute live interviews don't do the story justice. I watched Kar's interviews and saw his eyes communicating something much deeper than a description of the facts. Over the following two weeks, Kar revealed to me at greater length his thoughts and feelings about his captivity and the war in Iraq. The shock of his experience was wearing off, the determination to speak out was settling in. He had a lot more to say.
We brought Kar to Washington to sit down in the studio with Ted Koppel and recount, in depth, not just the circumstances of his detention in U.S. custody, but his thoughts on how that detention may be emblematic of a larger problem in Iraq -- one that may continue to create a rise in Iraqi insurgency, and a rise in American deaths. Through his voice you hear the frustration at the slow wheels of justice. Through his eyes you see a sense of humiliation and betrayal from the inside out.
We found Kar and what he has to say compelling enough to devote the next two shows to it. Tonight, the story of his arrest, and what he thinks would save lives in Iraq. We hope you join us for both nights.
Dina Demetrius & the "Nightline" Staff
Producer
ABC News Los Angeles and Washington Bureaus
"There's a reckless arrest policy, and there's a tremendous amount of humiliation that follows that arrest policy, and I strongly believe that one of the major reasons that the insurgency is growing is because when detainees are released they come out and they're looking for retribution." -- Cyrus Kar
Part of my job as a producer in Los Angeles is to book "first" interviews for ABC News. I helped to do that for "Good Morning America" in late July when Cyrus Kar, a Los Angeles documentary filmmaker, had just returned home from a harrowing experience in a U.S. detention camp in Iraq, where he was filming. Kar is an American citizen and Navy veteran, and a supporter of the war. He was arrested in Iraq as a suspected terrorist. His story was checked out within days by the FBI, yet he was held by the U.S. military for nearly two months. His family brought in the ACLU. The perfect ending to a perfect nightmare.
The requisite scramble of reporters and hot-heeled booking producers ensued; the series of quick, live network interviews concluded. But when you've experienced the level of fear and abandonment Kar felt as he sat day after day in solitary confinement, the sound bites don't always roll off the tongue. The three-minute live interviews don't do the story justice. I watched Kar's interviews and saw his eyes communicating something much deeper than a description of the facts. Over the following two weeks, Kar revealed to me at greater length his thoughts and feelings about his captivity and the war in Iraq. The shock of his experience was wearing off, the determination to speak out was settling in. He had a lot more to say.
We brought Kar to Washington to sit down in the studio with Ted Koppel and recount, in depth, not just the circumstances of his detention in U.S. custody, but his thoughts on how that detention may be emblematic of a larger problem in Iraq -- one that may continue to create a rise in Iraqi insurgency, and a rise in American deaths. Through his voice you hear the frustration at the slow wheels of justice. Through his eyes you see a sense of humiliation and betrayal from the inside out.
We found Kar and what he has to say compelling enough to devote the next two shows to it. Tonight, the story of his arrest, and what he thinks would save lives in Iraq. We hope you join us for both nights.
Dina Demetrius & the "Nightline" Staff
Producer
ABC News Los Angeles and Washington Bureaus
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