CBS news anchor Katie Couric is heading to Iraq and Syria for a 12-day trip that will see her report from the war zone prior to a progress report by Gen. David Petraeus that could establish the course of the Iraq War.
Washington, August 29 : CBS news anchor Katie Couric is heading to Iraq and Syria for a 12-day trip that will see her report from the war zone prior to a progress report by Gen. David Petraeus that could establish the course of the Iraq War.
It will be Couric's first trip to Iraq since she became an anchor for the CBS Evening News a year ago. Her reports come before Sept. 15, the deadline for the report by Petraeus on the progress of the U.S. military's shift in strategy that could influence American troop levels in Iraq.
"CBS Evening News" executive producer Rick Kaplan said that he and Couric, who will leave for Baghdad tonight, want to offer viewers a full picture of what's happening in Iraq through her reporting plus that of CBS News foreign correspondent Lara Logan, who already is in Iraq.
"This Sept. 15 deadline is quite real for Congress and the military and the White House. We hope to give people a deeper understanding of the issues," Variety quoted Kaplan, as saying.
"The future of our involvement in Iraq will be decided when the Petreaus report is released; if you're going to go to the Middle East at all, this is the time," he added.
CBS is sending Couric with an impressive contingent including Kaplan, D.C. bureau chief Christopher Isham and editor Jerry Cipriano to keep their profile as low as possible when moving outside the Green Zone.
Couric will spend six days in Iraq, including four days during the Labor Day weekend reporting stories from around the country. The "CBS Evening News" will be anchored by Couric live from Baghdad on Sept. 4 and 5, then in Damascus on Sept. 6 and 7.
CBS News and the U.S. military are concerned for Couric and her crew's security in Iraq. These concerns were heightened with the abduction and death of a CBS News translator last week after a home invasion.
Two CBS News journalists were killed and correspondent Kimberly Dozier was severely wounded in a bomb attack in May 2006.
ANI